Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Shopping for Fall Basics on a Budget: My CookiesKids.com Experience

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When it comes to obtaining clothes for my children, I am lucky beyond measure. Darah is granddaughter #4 on one side of the family and Layah is granddaughter #7. Additionally, one of my sisters-in-law has a knack for finding great deals on really beautiful children’s clothing online, and we inherit those clothes after her kids have worn them. It is really awesome. But even with all that access to great (and FREE!) clothes, I still find that I need to supplement some things, especially as Darah gets older and the clothes heading her way have been worn for longer periods of time and might need to be replaced. A few weeks ago I realized that I was having some trouble getting Darah fully dressed in the mornings after the weather got a bit cooler. I made a list of the articles of clothing I kept reaching for but that weren’t there in her closet. And I was surprised by how many basics were needed! I was missing the following:

  • black long-sleeve shirt
  • white long-sleeve shirt
  • jeans
  • basic skirt
  • footed tights in a basic color (white, black, red)
  • black pants

I’m on a tight budget (who isn’t, these days?) so I was rather nervous when I saw how many things I needed to get. I wasn’t really sure how to get all of these items without spending more money than I really could afford to. And as many of you can understand, its not a fun feeling when you are struggling to figure out how to meet a need for your child. I turned to CookiesKids.com to try to find these basics at a good price. I had been hearing a lot of buzz from other bloggers about the huge inventory and the unbelievable prices, so I decided to go for it. I did my shopping at 4 in the morning (ah, the beauty of the internet!) so that I could shop in peace and quiet and not have to even put on any makeup! Darah is interested in clothes I bring home for her, but at 3 years old, she still has precious little patience for actually browsing in a store. If you’d like to follow along with my shopping experience, check out my Google+ album here.

One of the tricky things about shopping at CookiesKids.com is the fact that they carry a large assortment of brands. And that means that fit can vary quite a bit. I’m impressed that CookiesKids.com is working hard on a solution with a program called Alva Kids. You can find the icon by the size option. Once you register with this free and easy program and provide it with some basic information about your child’s measurements, you can better know how each brand on the site is going to fit your child. That’s very cool and can save a great deal of headache! Since I was shopping VERY early in the morning, and since I have a child who is very petite, I skipped this size, knowing that there was no possibility of a 3T in any brand being too small for her. PEOPLE, LEARN FROM MY EXAMPLE. I should have taken a few minutes to do this, because I ordered a few long-sleeve shirts, all from one particular brand, and they were all too small. I was really shocked by this, and then annoyed at myself because I could have prevented the problem.

CookiesKids.com did have a very impressive variety of clothing options and I found myself going down a few rabbit holes as I spotted things not on my list that were so pretty. I mean, how adorable is this sweater dress?! And just $9.99!

I actually stumbled upon some gray cords and some gray leggings, neither one of which were on my list but both of which I decided to purchase as staples for this year. I’m so glad I did! But perhaps my most awesome find was a set that included black pants (which was on my list) and also included a really cute black and gray fashion top, and the price was amazing…just $6.99!

This shirt was SOOOOO soft. And it also has a little bit of tulle at the bottom to make it sassy, which Darah especially loves. In fact, when it was time to model a different outfit, she asked if she could keep the top on just a little bit longer. I happily complied with her request, and it gave me an opportunity to see how her new gray cords would work with the top. They looked great! They are also a better option than jeans for her, as she finds jeans to be stiff and doesn’t really like wearing them. She’d actually wear dresses all year if she could, but at some point, pants are a must. So this outfit is a good compromise for her because she feels like she is wearing a dress, just with pants underneath!

Then we moved on to a white top (which will get near-constant use this season, I predict) and those gray leggings, which were from Esprit and still only cost $6.99. They are the cutest things ever!

I think #CookiesKids is a really good online shopping option for parents who need to stretch their dollars as far as possible but who still want to find kids fashion that is on-trend. Again, I want to stress the importance of doing a little bit of prep work by registering for Alva Kids so that you can buy with confidence and you know that everything you order is going to fit as it should!

Even if you don’t have to worry to much about the latest kids style because your child is in a uniform at school, Cookies Kids is still a great place to find good deals on those school uniforms. Basically, they’ve got something for everyone! They are also celebrating their 40th year of business, so you know they are doing something right!

And if you happen to live in the NYC area, Cookies Kids has 7 stores there. For the rest of us, shopping with this store is a possibility 24/7 by going online. You can also stay up to date on the latest happenings (and the SALES!) by following Cookies Kids on Facebook and Twitter. You can also use the code stuffparentsneed to save 10% on your order from now through 12/14/2012! Woo hoo!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and CookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

How I Discovered the Difference Between Smooth and Genuinely Soft Skin

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When I was in my mid-20’s, I had at least 15 bottles of lotion. I was a huge fan of shopping at Bath & Body Works and I would go absolutely nuts during their semi-annual sales. My skin smelled great, but I couldn’t help but notice that its conditioned never really improved beyond the first hour of applying the products.

Eventually I got so overwhelmed with my collection while also feeling so underwhelmed by the performance of the lotions that I quit buying cold turkey. And it took me about 4 years to work through my lotion collection. I now only own two bottles of lotion for myself, and both of those were given to me as gifts.

I’m currently using the Renew lotion and have always been pleased with the results. It’s a stark contrast to my former lotion picks in that it is in a very large container and it is unscented. But my skin feels smooth for hours after applying it. It sits on my bathroom vanity and I usually remember to apply it after taking a shower.

Lotion is an important component for baby massages, which Layah absolutely adores. Darah also loves to apply lotion herself and asks to do so whenever she sees me using it. For my girls, I go natural/organic. I have a goal to eventually set the same standards for my own lotion use,  but I have yet to find an organic product with lasting results for my skin.

Speaking of my skin, I should mention that making my skin feel soft is a very VERY hard thing to do. You see, I have Keratosis Pilaris, which is a very common skin condition that causes lots and lots of little tiny bumps. They don’t itch or hurt, but they also don’t go away. No amount of exfoliating or hydrating will cause them to fade. Trust me, I’ve tried it all, and I’ve done my research on the condition. The bumps are here to stay.

So any lotion I try out on my skin really faces a serious challenge. How do you make bumpy skin feel soft and smooth? I recently headed to Target to do some comparison shopping in the lotion aisle. Want to follow along with my adventure? Click here to see the whole trip and my thoughts about what I saw.

I brought home a product from Nivea, and did a side-by-side comparison of it with the Renew lotion I have been using for the past several months. Below you will see the Renew product on the left and the Nivea product on the right. I immediately noticed how much thicker Renew was, and that left me feeling nervous for Nivea.

After applying both products, I immediately felt both arms, and they both felt quite smooth (remember, “smooth” is a relative term when talking about my skin). I couldn’t tell a difference right away, but I didn’t really expect to at first.

I waited 10 minutes, and then I checked again. I thought that my left arm, which had Renew on it, felt a bit softer than my right arm, which had Nivea. I asked Tim’s opinion (he didn’t know which arm had which product) and he thought the Nivea arm was softer. So we agreed to disagree.

But here’s where things got really interesting. Four hours after applying the product I had Tim feel again. He said, “The right arm (which, as a reminder, is the Nivea arm) feels genuinely soft, and the left arm feels artificially soft…like it has a layer of lotion sitting on top of it.” I was dumbstruck by his observation. And after hearing it, I realized that he was right. The Renew lotion did make my skin feel soft, but it didn’t do a great job of actually absorbing into my skin, whereas the Nivea product penetrated the surface. Below you will see a picture of my right arm. It may not look very different on the surface, but the beauty of this product is that it goes beyond what lies on the surface to provide a more lasting hydration.

After having this experience of wading through the truly overwhelming selection of lotions available, and then realizing that I was being fooled by my own lotion into thinking I was getting good results, I was left with a few thoughts. It is easy to understand why so many women just throw their hands up in the air and either get whatever is on sale or stick with one brand so they don’t have to think about it any more. Even I have been relying on family to give me whatever lotion they like as gifts so I don’t have to mull over my options! And I absolutely believed that a thicker lotion would always mean a better lotion.

I’m surprised by my results, and I feel happy to have a new lotion that I am now using with complete confidence. I look forward to seeing how using Nivea Extended Moisture will impact the overall health and softness of my skin over time.

I would love to hear about your lotion routine. Do you have a favorite product? Are you overwhelmed with the options out there? And have you ever been fooled into thinking that a lotion was improving your skin when it really just sat on top of it to give the illusion of working? Do any of you also have Keratosis Pilaris?

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

What Do You Know about Menopause? Preparing for “The 2nd Talk”

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So I’m going to go on record here and say that I’m relatively certain we are finished having children. At least biologically. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for my two healthy little girls, and am so thankful that we were able to have them. I think enduring a third pregnancy would put me permanently on the other side of crazy, though, and for the sake of my current family’s happiness, we should leave well enough alone!

So now that my child bearing days are over I’m ready to get educated about a life change that will be occurring a bit down the road, and that I know embarrassingly little about: menopause.

It’s coming, people. Maybe not for a while, but it WILL happen, and I’d really prefer to not be caught off guard by it. We fear what we don’t know, right? And truthfully, I am somewhat afraid of it. But that’s easy enough to change by equipping myself with some knowledge!

Poise has an entire site devoted to “The 2nd Talk” and I have been spending quite a bit of time on the site this morning, watching unscripted videos from women who have gone through menopause and checking out all the resources that are available so that I can better understand the symptoms of menopause and also some of the solutions to problems that can occur during this life change.

One very important thing that I’m learning about menopause, and that I want to make sure you understand, is that this period of our lives does not need to be veiled in mystery, and it CERTAINLY doesn’t need to be veiled in shame or embarrassment. There’s power in speaking out about these issues and in coming together as women to have open, honest discussions about how our bodies are changing. In fact, The 2nd Talk website encourages us to celebrate this transformative time in our lives. I love that language, as it kicks shame and embarrassment to the curb!

I also learned that October 18th is World Menopause Day, and it’s a day when a whole lot of conversations and even events will be taking place globally to raise awareness about menopause.

Poise has also launched a set of products especially for women going through menopause, and I headed out to Walmart to learn more about them. If you’d like to see my entire shopping adventure, check out my Google+ album here.

I want to make sure you know where to find these products if you are experiencing menopause. I found them in the same section as feminine wash and vaginal dryness products.

 

 

 

I put all 3 available products in my cart. I’m really impressed that getting three different products to help with three different problems associated with menopause only cost $12. That’s fantastic! Additionally, this month All You magazine has a $1.00 off coupon for #PoiseFab5, which sweetens the deal even more! Additionally, I saw a coupon offer on the Poise The 2nd Talk website (scroll to the bottom right corner). But wait! There’s more! You can also snag a coupon from Walmart (just be sure to watch the video so that you can be re-directed to the coupons afterwards!) So there are plenty of opportunities to make these affordable products even more affordable!

I think all of these products from Poise are fantastic and can help address some of the less-than-fabulous aspects of going through menopause. In particular, I want to highlight the Poise Body Cooling Towelettes. I spent a lot of time in the pharmacy section at Walmart, and there is NOTHING like this product available other than what Poise has just released. After watching the videos online and learning more about what a hot flash must feel like, I can say with certainty that I’d want to have this product on hand to help me get through it more comfortably! A huge thanks to Poise for creating a product that help meets a real need of millions of women!

My mother is actually going through menopause now. So when I think of menopause, I think of my mom. She seems to be going through this change gracefully, overall. Though I will say that even in the dead of winter, she has every fan in her house turned on to help her endure the hot flashes! So she’s going to be getting these body cooling towelettes to use and enjoy!

Mom has also been educating me on bone density issues, as that is of primary concern to her as her hormones change. There is a lot to know about aging and menopause, and I’m really thankful that Poise has stepped up to create an online community full of answers to questions and helpful advice so that when our bodies are ready for menopause, our minds are ready, too, fully equipped with a good understanding of what changes are on the horizon and how we can help ourselves feel great during the journey!

Poise has a wonderful and comprehensive website that I stronlgy encourage you to check out. They are also active on Twitter and Facebook, and that’s another great way for you to keep your finger on the pulse of all things related to menopause. And for all your Pinterest fans out there, check out the Poise Fab 5 board!

What questions do you have about menopause? 

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Poise #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions listed here are strictly my own. 

My Triumphant Return to Walgreens: Who Needs Coupons with Deals Like This?!

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I used to rock out with coupons every week. I vividly remember stocking up on diapers for Darah when I was pregnant (this was before I knew about cloth!). I amassed 6 months’ of diapers for her, and paid, on average, about 25% of the retail cost per package. It was pretty awesome.

I stopped couponing for about a year after Darah was born just due to a lack of time. Once I got her into a parents’ day out program and once we found our new rhythm in Chattanooga, I got back into couponing. And once again, I got wonderful deals, largely at drugstores like Walgreens. I routinely saved between 50-75% on stuff I needed, as well as stuff I could save for later.

But as soon as morning sickness with baby#2 set in, I was off the couponing wagon. And I have yet to get back on. I’m just short on time, folks! I’m sure you can relate.

But here’s the weird thing: I’ve noticed that because I don’t use coupons anymore, I feel as though I shouldn’t even visit my favorite drugstores. It’s like I have this mentality that if I don’t know how to maximize the deals for the week and get all those Register Rewards then there’s no point in even trying. So I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in Walgreens in the past year. And I used to go every single week! I think in some weird way I felt as though I would be a failure if I shopped without all those coupons.

But just this past week, Walgreens unveiled a new program that is SUCH a good thing for people just like me: the ones who love to save money but who also need to save time. They now have the Balance Rewards program, and Layah and I ventured into the store I used to frequent to get signed up and see what all the buzz is about. You can see my full shopping experience (including two diaper changes BEFORE we got out of the house! Sheesh!) in my Google+ story here.

Here are some highlights:

 

This is my (little) big helper, Layah. I successfully got her in the car, finally! She’s ready for our adventure.

I signed up for Balance Rewards at the front register. The salesperson was very helpful and had me all set up in 3 minutes!

I was THRILLED to see that Walgreens sells milk at a competitive price. This is actually cheaper than what I pay at the grocery store. I’ll be back for milk next week, and the week after, and the week after…

JACKPOT!!!! Walgreens had all their summer toys marked down by 75%, and the selection was great! May I suggest that you make a stop at your nearest Walgreens today to see if you have the same good luck I had? 🙂 I bought several cool gifts for our gift closet (those birthday party invites keep rolling in!).

I learned all about some of the great features of the rewards program, such as the fact that if you can build up your points a little bit more, your payout rate improves ($50 for 40,000 vs. $5 for 5,000 points). And please check out the pharmacy chat option that Walgreens offers its customers!

When looking through the sale flyer, I was really impressed with some of the point earning opportunities. By spending on Zyrtec and/or Children’s Benadryl (which you’ll likely need at some point this fall!) you get 10,000 points, which is basically like getting $10 back!

While I have a dinosaur model of the iPhone, those of you who are slightly more up-to-date will most definitely want to download the free mobile app. You can keep track of your points balance on your phone, shop online (oh heck yes! Free shipping with orders over $25 and under 10 lbs!), and even ask a Walgreen pharmacy professional a question. Gotta love a store that takes the convenience factor to a whole new level.

Walgreens is definitely on the cutting edge of offering a variety of ways for its customers to save time AND money. I’m so very glad I got over my fear and stepped back into the store. What I found waiting for me were great deals galore!

You can keep up with all the latest and greatest Walgreens happening by following them on Facebook or Twitter.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Walgreens  #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

A Lesson in Gratitude for Sharing with #SpinbrushCFK

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You may remember that about a week ago I did some shopping for oral care supplies to donate to a local nonprofit organization as part of the #SpinbrushCFK Simple Service Project. I purchased several items at Walmart, and if you missed it, you can read all about my Champion for Kids shopping trip here.

We donated the oral care products to Room in the Inn, which is a transitional housing facility for women and their children who are experiencing homelessness. It was my aim to get Darah very involved in this project, and for this to be an opportunity to talk about sharing and gratitude. I started off by laying out all of the products we were going to donate for Darah to see (I’ll tell you about the aluminum foil, which likely seems out of place, later).

Darah was quick to notice the Arm & Hammer brushes that had stickers, and picked them up to give them hugs.

When I told Darah that we would be sharing these toothbrushes with other children, her face fell. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she wanted to keep these toothbrushes. I’m actually really glad that she felt that possessiveness take over, as it gave us the opportunity to really talk about sharing.

I asked her to think about the times when she has gone to someone’s house to play, and how wonderful it was when they shared with her. I also asked her to think about all the times that mommy has come home from the thrift store with new treasures, all because someone else donated them to share. I told her how thankful I was that people share with us all the time, and she said that she was thankful, too.

Then I told her that part of loving other people is to share with them whenever you are able. We had the opportunity that day to share with other people, and isn’t that so wonderful? At this point, she really got excited about sharing, and it made my heart melt. If Tim and I can raise children with compassionate hearts, we will have left the greatest legacy.

So we got in the car and went to Room in the Inn. Upon our arrival, Darah immediately spotted the playground!

We then headed inside and met with Mary, the administrative assistant and former client. She had an amazing story to share and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to visit with her.

 

Then I asked Darah to unpack all the things we brought to share.

The products I selected were based on a conversation I had with the staff at Room in the Inn before I went shopping. I called to see which oral care products they needed the most, and I’m so glad I did, because the answer surprised me. They said they actually had an over-abundance of toothpaste, adult toothbrushes and dental floss, but that they had nothing for children. They also mentioned to me that they could really use some aluminum foil, so I picked some up for them while I was shopping (check out how I found a really good buy on aluminum foil in my Google+ shop link!).

Before you make an in-kind donation, you might want to give the site a call to make sure you are getting what they really need the most. The answer may surprise you, and your call will definitely ensure that your donation gets put to use!

I want to encourage you to check out the Champions for Kids nonprofit and think about small act you can do to help better your community. You can follow them on Twitter or Facebook, too.  And if you liked those fabulous toothbrushes with the stickers, get connected with Spinbrush and Arm&Hammer via Facebook and Twitter, too!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions For Kids #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Making a Difference in My Community: #SpinbrushCFK

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Did you know that children living in poverty are twice as likely as their more affluent peers to suffer from tooth decay? I’m not very surprised to hear this, as MANY people in this nation, even those who have basic medical insurance, lack dental insurance, and a trip to the dentist can be a real budget-buster.

But these kids who have untreated oral disease suffer daily from pain and from the embarrassment of having discolored or damaged teeth. While I don’t have the funds to help cover dental bills for another family, I CAN help on the prevention side, and so can you!

I’m part of the Champions for Kids program, which seeks to gather folks together to donate oral care supplies to local nonprofits who work with children. I’m participating in the Spin into Action SIMPLE Service Project, and through this, I’m going to be donating some oral care items to Room in the Inn, a Chattanooga residential program for women and children experiencing homelessness.

Room in the Inn is an impressive program, because it works with the women in the program for anywhere from 3 to 9 months to help them find stability and reduce the likelihood that they will find themselves homeless again in the future. Health care, life skills training, parenting classes, mentoring and assistance with finding affordable housing are all offered. I really respect what the program does!

Two days ago I went shopping  at Walmart for some oral care supplies to donate, and you can check out my shopping experience here, if you like! Here are a few highlights:

Cute Arm & Hammer spinbrushes! You can customize your look with stickers!

It’s important to look for flouride-free toothpastes for little ones who might not remember to spit it out after brushing!

Anti-cavity rinses are a great way to help prevent tooth decay in children. 

I hope you are inspired by this post and might be able to make a donation of oral care products to an organization in need in your community. If you decide to be one of the Champions for Kids, please go to www.championforkids.com/simple and let us know that you are one of millions who has made a positive difference! You can also keep up with what’s happening with this program by following Champions for Kids and Spinbrush/Arm&Hammer on Twitter!

Stay tuned for an update next week where I tell you more about my donation experience!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions For Kids #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.  

A Blogger Who Has Inspired Me!

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This post is meant to be a big pat on the bag and cyber high-five for Lindsey from So Easy Being Green. Lindsey and I have never met in real life, but we have been bloggy friends since before she even became a blogger!

It has really been a treat to watch her blog grow and evolve. I’ve also really enjoyed having someone to swap ideas with as our blogs have grown.

But that’s not why I’m giving her a shout out today (although she totally rocks, in general, and is worthy to be celebrated just for being her!).

I want to bring attention to Lindsey because this weekend she ran her first race.

(photo from soeasybeinggreen-blog.com)

Five weeks ago she started training. At that point it was a big step in her training when a few days in she ran for 5 minutes straight. She worked her way up to this day and ran 4 miles without stopping. She also met her goal to get it finished in under an hour.

As someone who once tried the couch to 5k program (which I quit after 2 days) I know that what she did took a whole lot of commitment and determination. I felt completely overjoyed to hear of her success, and it rekindled something within me. Just because I gave up on something once before doesn’t mean it is out of reach for me. I can take it one day at a time, just like Lindsey did!

Lindsey, like me, has 2 small children. And she’s a blogger. And a wife. And a woman with her own interests. Making time for fitness is REALLY hard to do in the midst of this season of life. But she did it. And she’s glowing!

I am SO inspired. Way to go, Lindsey!

Collective Bias and Good Call (remember that amazing iphone docking station I reviewed that is the latest and greatest iPhone innovation and is just $80?) have come together in celebration of moms who inspire others, and are offering up 10 of their #GoodCall sets to nominated women, and I am officially throwing Lindsey’s name in the hat! She deserves it!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content was created for Collective Bias™ and GoFusion but is a non-compensated post.  If Lindsey wins the set, I also win a set, but that’s totally not why I wrote this. I wrote it because she rocks my socks off! #CBias #SocialFabric 

How I Revolutionized My Inbox: UnRoll.me

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I pride myself on keeping my inbox from getting out of control. I actually think of my email inbox as kudzu, which is a vine-type weed that grows at an unbelievably fast rate and will cover EVERYTHING if you give it the chance. You must stay on top of it in order to keep it under control. So yeah, my personal email is like kudzu! (image from theresilientearth.com)

The week before Layah was born, I started to be not quite as disciplined about getting through my emails each day. Frankly, I just had other things that needed my attention more. And then I went to the hospital for a few days to have her, followed by a few days back at home where I didn’t even open my account at all.

You can imagine what happened when I finally did check my email. It was OUT.OF.CONTROL. And 5 weeks later, I hadn’t recovered, and was still fighting a losing battle with my kudzu email. Here’s a screen shot of my unread email from a few days ago:

Yeah…395 unread messages. It was making me sick to my stomach, and was actually causing me to not want to check my email at all, which of course, only makes the problem bigger. Just when I was thinking that I would hate my email account for the rest of my life, I heard about UnRoll.me, which is a FREE online service that will categorize all of your email subscriptions for you and help you unsubscribe with ease, as well as keep all your subscription emails in just one daily digest. 

Ok, so then I got signed up for UnRoll.me. You just need to give them your email address and permission to access some of your info. Then you sit back and wait while they compile all your subscriptions. I had to wait about 5 minutes for the system to compile all my data. Here’s the tally:

Yeah….I had 79 email subscriptions. GOODNESS! UnRoll.me had them all organized for my review, and they were even categorized into groups like deals and rewards, social, education, entertainment, etc. It was so cool!

And then it went from being cool to being BLOW YOUR MIND AMAZING. Because in about 3 minutes. Yes, 3 MINUTES I unsubscribed to 44 things. YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!

This is work that I had been putting off, and if I had unsubscribed to all of these things in one sitting, even if I was super focused, it would have taken me at least an hour. And I probably would have hesitated a bit more and decided not to unsubscribe as many. But seeing just how many different types of emails I was getting gave me the strength to slash and burn!

Here’s the other cool thing that UnRoll.me does. For all those subscriptions that you’d like to keep, it gives you the option of getting them all rolled up into one email. You can take any of the subscriptions out that you’d like if there are some that you want to make absolutely certain you don’t miss. I took a few out that were important (stuff from my bank, for example). But the rest all come to me at one time, rather than throughout the day and night. UnRoll.me sends them my way every morning, so I know just when to expect them. It ROCKS! Now my inbox looks like this (note how few emails I get in a day now!):

 

The only problem I had with using UnRoll.me was that I didn’t have success getting it to work in Chrome. Every time I tried to choose my email type, it would start me over in the process. It worked flawlessly in Firefox, so I’m guessing it is just some little kink that needs to be worked out. I’m telling you this just in case you have any trouble with it. If so, don’t give up, just try a different browser!

Go forth, my friends, and revolutionize your inbox. Find the solution to your kudzu-like emails and tame them forever! You’ll be so glad you did.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.