Stuff Parents Need

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

Favorite Products of 2011

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About a month ago I made a list of my VERY VERY favorite products that I reviewed in 2010 (if you missed it, click here to check out this blogger’s favorite things!).

I really enjoyed writing that post, and decided that I’m also going to write one for 2011. And at the end of the year, I’ll write about my 2012 top picks, as well! When I first reviewed all the products from 2011, I was blown away by all the awesome, and was really overwhelmed. I had 33 “top picks” at first! But I have since narrowed it town to my top 10. These are the products that got and are continuing to get the most use in my home. If a product isn’t on this list, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it, or even that I didn’t love it, though.

So here’s my list, in no particular order:

1. Shaklee cleaning products. The cost per use is so unbelievably cheap, the products work amazingly well, and everything is eco-friendly. What’s not to love?

http://stuffparentsneed.com/shaklee-basic-h2-and-shaklee-scour-off-review/

2. George Foreman Grill. This is how we cook our chicken about 90% of the time, which means this gets used every single week.

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/06/knock-out-the-fat-with-george-foreman-and-win-1000-2/

3. Robby Wash Ball. This has pretty much replaced other detergents in my home for any non-cloth diaper laundry. I love how little space it takes up in my laundry room!

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/06/think-about-your-laundry-detergent-once-per-year-giveaway/

4. Automatic Yogurt Maker. I’m not sure how anyone with small kids in the house lives without one of these! It makes excellent yogurt and it much more cost effective than buying it!

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/06/how-we-successfully-made-our-own-yogurt-giveaway/

5. Girl Gotch underwear. Not only are boxer-briefs adorable on little girls, but the coverage is also unbeatable. Best underwear for little girls on the planet. For real.

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/06/does-darah-prefer-boxers-or-briefs-giveaway/

6. Fun Fort. This makes building a fort take about 30 seconds. Can be used inside or out. Will be used for years and years. Basically, this product rocks.

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/12/fun-fort-build-a-fort-anytime-anywhere-giveaway/

7. Gallery Direct Framed Art. I have reviewed many MANY gorgeous pieces of art from Gallery Direct. This beach scene was my first. And it remains my very favorite. I look at it every single day and it always makes me feel calm.

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/07/the-case-for-framed-art-2/

8. Build a Dream Playhouse. This cardboard castle still gets played with and is in pretty decent shape, and I just love that it lives under our couch!

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/06/build-a-dream-playhouse-review-and-giveaway/

9. Hanes Comfort Flex Bra. I slept in these throughout my pregnancy and even 5 months postpartum, I am still grateful for their comfortable fit. It’s the perfect “around the house” bra.

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/10/maternity-week-sleeping-a-lot-in-comfort-hanes-review-and-giveaway/

10. Kaboost Chair Booster. Darah went right from the high chair to an adult size chair thanks to this product. It still gets used 3 times a day, every day! We’ll be getting one for Layah as soon as she needs one!

http://stuffparentsneed.com/2011/04/booster-chair-alternative-kaboost-chair-booster-2/

 

How to Make Yogurt

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Sometime last year, I decided to try my hand at making yogurt. Darah eats yogurt at least once a day, and we were reaching the point where I was thinking about investing in some yogurt stocks (only half kidding…that kid eats a LOT of yogurt). I had heard people online say that making it wasn’t so hard and could help you save money.

That was all I needed to hear; I was in!

I used a crockpot method that involved several steps, and heating the milk at varying temperatures for about 18 hours. It was a long process.

The end result for me? Chunky milk, which is NOT yogurt. It was SOOO disappointing! I didn’t roll my sleeves up and try again. I just quit. One spoiled gallon of milk was enough for me to go back to buying yogurt.

But then I learned about a very cool cool gadget called the Automatic Yogurt Maker. I found it at an awesome online resource that is all about cheese making called the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Hang on to your hats, folks….a review of their cheesemaking kit is forthcoming! So exciting!!! I’m not usually a fan of kitchen gadgets that just do one thing, but considering just how much yogurt my family eats, it made sense for us to give it a whirl.

Here’s a video showing you what we did! We had a thermometer (came in our cheesemaking kit) to help us get the temperature just right in the beginning.

I’m very happy to report that the yogurt maker worked beautifully and took about 1/3 of the time as the method I tried before. And it tastes awesome! While we used some store bought yogurt to create a starter this time, we can either save one jar of yogurt that we make to use as the starter for our next batch, or we can use some of the yogurt cultures that the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company sends along with your purchase. We’ll never buy yogurt again! Wow! This product is a winner for us, and if your family eats a lot of yogurt, I highly recommend it! This is a really great way to make organic yogurt for a fraction of what it costs in the stores. The Automatic Yogurt Maker is available for $49.95.

Win it!: Oh my gosh, this is such a fun giveaway! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win the Automatic Yogurt Maker, courtesy of the New England Cheesemaking Company! The contest will run until June 21st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company is such a cool cheesemaking resource. Poke around the website and tell me something you learned there or something else you’d like to own.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Join the monthly newsletter for the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email or RSS

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.