Reviews

SodaStream Review

August 20, 2012 by Erin 6 Comments

My husband and I gave up buying cans of soda several months ago due to the cost. And because we found we drank a lot more water when we didn’t have soda on hand (shocking). But when Soda Stream offered to send me a machine to test out, I couldn’t pass up a great opportunity. Sometimes I just crave something fizzy to drink and the Soda Stream is the perfect solution.

The Soda Stream turns tap water into carbonated water that can then be flavored with tons of different options. Soda Stream sent me a bunch a different flavors to test out, including diet cola, root beer, black currant and pear, and some flavorings for sparkling water.

The Soda Stream is really easy to use. Just fill the bottle to the line with tap water (don’t overfill it or it will make a bit of a mess…not that I did that). Screw the bottle into the machine and then push the button down until you hear a loud buzzing. Repeat 3-4 times. Initially, I wasn’t pushing the button down hard enough and nothing was happening, but once I figured out that you have to push down pretty hard it was simple. Then just unscrew the bottle, add your flavoring and enjoy.

The machine comes with one 1 liter bottle, but I would suggest getting a least one more. The awesome Soda Stream rep I met at BlogHer ’12 was nice enough to give me a 2nd bottle which is perfect. I keep them in the fridge filled with water, so they are cold and ready to go when I want to make soda.

My favorite flavor is probably the Cola Free. I’m a dedicated Diet Coke drinker and to be honest, the Diet Cola didn’t taste enough like Diet Coke for me. It tastes more like a store brand diet cola. But the Cola Free (similar to Coke Zero) is great (probably because I don’t know that the “real” thing tastes like). Also at BlogHer ’12, I got the chance to try out some of the newest Soda Stream flavors from Country Time and Crystal Light. Including my all time favorite Crystal Light flavor…Peach Iced Tea. Oh my! Carbonated Peach Iced Tea is amazing. I’ll be picking up some of that flavor for sure.

The Soda Stream bottle cap has a special seal that keeps your soda fizzy for much longer than a regular bottle. I was really surprised at how fizzy the soda was in a bottle I had left in the fridge for several days.

The Frugal Factor: So how does the cost of the Soda Stream bear out? The basic machine costs around $80 and the bottles of flavor are about $5. The Soda Stream website states that the price of a can of soda works out to $0.25 per can. That is about $0.10 less than we were previously paying for soda at Costco. Plus, I can have a bunch of different flavors on hand without taking up a ton of space.

I definitely think the Soda Stream is worth the investment. It is so easy to use and gives you so many delicious options. Plus, no hauling and storing cans and bottles. And you aren’t creating any waste because the Soda Stream bottle can be used over and over again. I highly recommend the Soda Stream.

Do you have a Soda Stream? Or are you considering getting one? What is your favorite flavor?

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: review

If You Care Review: Environment Friendly Household Products

July 27, 2012 by Erin 2 Comments

If You Care is a great company that sells environmentally friendly household products. These products are made from sustainable, renewable or recycled resources. They are no added chlorine and no toxins. They also use vegetable based inks for printing.

If You Care sent me a huge box filled with their products to try out. The first thing I noticed was they sent the items in an old printer cartridge box. I’m sure this isn’t standard practice for their shipping, but I appreciated the recycled box.

Here is a bit about the products I received.

Paper Snack & Sandwich Bags: These bags are made from 100% unbleached greaseproof paper. These bags are not coated with any petroleum products, but still naturally prevent grease or fat from penetrating. Perfect for lunch boxes or diaper bags.

All Natural Waxed Paper: Made from 100% natural soybean wax, this paper is chlorine-free and compostable. It uses no petroleum products.

Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil: This foil is made from 100% recycled aluminum and can be recycled over and over again. It only takes 5% of the energy used to produce regular aluminum foil to produce this recycled aluminum foil.

Paper Loaf Pans: These baking pans are made from paper from responsibly managed forests. They have great release properties that don’t require any extra greasing. I used the loaf pan to make Coconut Banana Bread to take to a friend. I liked that it expanded with my bread, despite the fact that I overloaded it. I was also surprised that the paper didn’t change color even after an hour in the oven.

Sponge Cloths: These clothes are made from 100% renewable resources. They are washable and will replace 15 rolls of paper towels! I really liked these clothes. They are very durable and hold a ton of water. They are perfect for cleaning the kitchen or bathroom.

Firelighters: The firelighters are made from 100% renewable resources and produce 100% carbon neutral emissions. They are non-explosive and non-toxic and don’t have an unpleasant smell. I haven’t tried these out yet, but I’ve added them to our camping supplies and I know they will come in handy.

Food Waste Bags: These compostable food waste bags are made from starch potatoes. Starch potatoes are not grown for food and require no irrigation, only natural rainfall. These come in 3 gallon, 13 gallon and 33 gallon sizes. I received the 3 gallon size and these were probably my favorite product that I received. These compostable bags are perfect for juicing. Usual I line the discard bin of my juicer with a plastic bag that I then empty into the compost bin.

The 3 gallon size of these bags fit perfectly into the waste bin of my juicer.

All the pulp collects in the bag and then the whole thing can do into the compost bin. No more shaking out the plastic bags. Love.

The Frugal Factor: The environmentally friendly products from If You Care definitely cost more than traditionally manufactured products. However, you are paying for products that are going to be better for you and for the environment, which I think does make this products worth more. I found several of the items available on Amazon with Subscribe & Save, which will save you some money. If You Care products are also available at Whole Foods. Personally, I think the sponge cloths and the compostable food waste bags are a great value and are products that I would definitely purchase again.

For more information on If You Care products, please visit their website.

Disclosure: I received the above items for free to faciliate my review. No other compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Reviews, Simply Frugal Tagged With: green living, review

Wittlebee Box Review & Discount

July 3, 2012 by Erin 8 Comments

I love being the mom of a boy, but one of the downsides is the clothes. Rack after rack of cute girls clothes, while the boys clothes are relegated to one rack and usually covered with cartoon characters. Shopping for my little guy can be exhausting, so when I heard about Wittlebee I jumped at the chance to try it out.

Wittlebee is a subscription service for kids clothes. For $39.99 per month, you will receive a customized box with 6 items for your kids from size newborn to 5t. Your items will have a retail value of at least $100. That works out to about $6.50 per item. Shipped for free to your door.

Wittlebee was kind enough to send me a box of clothes to review. I filled out a style profile for my son, which included questions about his size, clothing style (casual, preppy, etc), graphic style (animals, plaids, etc), favorite colors, clothing needed (shorts, pants, etc) and climate. Wittlebee covers all the bases. And the box that I received was a perfect match with the profile I filled out.

My box came with 4 bottoms and 4 tops. Please note that Wittlebee recently changed from 8 items to 6 items per box, but the overall value will still be at least $100. All the items were 100% cotton and there were several brands I recognized (American Apparel, Crazy 8). I absolutely LOVED everything in my box.

My son was happy to play supermodel and show off his new clothes.

We received these light weight fleece pants in both blue and black. These are my new favorite pants. They are the perfect weight and length. My son has been wearing them non-stop since they arrived.

In true supermodel fashion, the melt down started towards the end of our photo shoot. He’ll hate me for this picture some day!

My husband is way pickier about our son’s clothes than I am and has a couple “go-to” outfits. So I knew our Wittlebee box was a winner when my husband picked out one of the outfits for our son to wear without any prompting from me.

I am really impressed with the Wittlebee box program. While $39.99 per month might seem like a bit much, when you consider the price per item, the convenience of having them delivered right to your door and high quality items you will receive, I think Wittlebee is a great value.

If you aren’t sure about your little ones style, you can request a consultation with a Wittlebee Stylist to help guide your choices. You can change your size, style and climate preferences at any time. You can also pause or cancel your membership at any time.

Want to give Wittlebee a try? Use Wittlebee and you will receive $10 off your first order. That’s just $29.99 for 6 items customized for your child. Wittlebee would also make a GREAT baby shower or birthday present.

You can check out more sample boxes on the Wittlebee website and Facebook page.

I hope that you will give Wittlebee a try. I’d love to hear what you think.

Disclosure: I received a Wittlebee box to facilitate my review. I received no other compensation for my review. All opinions are my own.