Hello, and welcome to In My Bag! My name is Jenn, and this is my product review blog. 
I grew up in a Tide detergent household. It’s what my grandmother always used, what my mother always used, and so naturally, when my husband and I moved into a rented home that had a washer and dryer (and nine months later purchased a home and our own washer and dryer for it), I turned to Tide for my laundering needs. But Tide, while more than satisfactory, is expensive. So I tried out Arm & Hammer laundry detergent a few times (I’d use it now, except that I can’t find any HE varieties!), and gave Tide Simple Pleasures a whirl (I loved them, but sadly gave them up because they weren’t HE compliant).
Lately I’ve been switching between Purex Complete 3-in-1 and Tide, but when I was at the grocery store a few weeks ago, they were out of Purex and the Tide was wayyyyyyyyyyyy overpriced. As I was standing there, contemplating my options, I saw that all Clorox cleaning products were on sale. I happened to have a $2 coupon for any Clorox product in my wallet, so I decided to pick up a bottle of Clorox Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent.
Right off the bat I can tell you that Clorox Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent smells amazing, and the clothes feel great! But I want to do a few more loads before I give my final opinion. 
Now that summer is over I’m retiring my orange and coconut scented body washes. It’s time to move onto something a little more “neutral” for the cooler months ahead! I didn’t feel like running over to Victoria’s Secret for my usual body wash (Squeaky Pink), so while I was at Target the other day I picked up a bottle of Softsoap Nutri-Serums Body Wash.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
A few weeks back I was feeling really miserable — fever, sore throat, headache, body aches, general fatigue, vertigo and dizziness, so I dragged myself out to Target to pick up some cold medicine. I normally keep a selection of OTC cold medicines around, but we depleted our stock last winter and spring, and I never got around to replenishing it. So I grabbed a shopping cart and picked up bottles of Dayquil (generic), Nyquil (generic), Tylenol Cough & Cold Severe (brand name), soothing throat spray and cough drops. Upon checking out, however, I had to show my ID, and the way to cashier looked at me made me feel like I was doing something wrong, that I had to defend my right to purchase cold medicine.
Now, I know that there are a lot of messed up people that use the ingredients found in cold medicine to mix up their own concoction of drugs, which more often than not will wind them up in detox or drug rehab, but seriously? I am NOT one of those people. I was just sick and wanting some relief, and decided to stock up for the winter while I was at it.
As my mother often puts it… way to go, illegal-drug-using-individuals, for ruining it for the rest of us. These days you can’t buy a few bottles of OTC meds without having the Inquisition on your ass.
P.S. If you’re struggling with drug abuse, or know someone who is, one potential resource is SAMHSA — Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Kids and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, and silver and good, just to name a few comparisons. I serve up Kraft Macaroni & Cheese as a side dish 2-3 times per month. Sometimes I make it and serve it as-is, and other times I’ll mix in a bit of vegetables and/or tuna beforehand. It’s an easy way to get my kids to eat some extra protein and vegetables.
I’m posting about Kraft Macaroni & Cheese because I wanted to comment on the low-fat preparation that the box suggests. I usually just put together mac & cheese the “normal” way — four tablespoons of butter and 1/4 of a cup of milk. But I’ve been working hard at making better food choices (no best fat burners for me, thank you very much), so I decided to try the low-fat preparation. In case you don’t know, that involves just 1/2 of a tablespoon of butter, and three tablespoons of milk (fat-free is suggested; I used 1% fat). FYI, reducing the milk and butter cuts out 60% of fat!
And the verdict is… it still tastes great! I enjoyed it and the kids enjoyed it, so I’ll definitely continue with the low-fat preparation method.
Rating: 
I love Seasonal Sensations Candles. They are 19 ounce soy candles that are colored, scented and named for various seasons and times of the year. Now that autumn is upon us, I have dug out the Autumn Traditions candle I purchased last year. It features layered wax in a few different shades of orange, and the scent reminds me of pumpkins, spice, crisp leaves and burning firewood. Along with it I add Stay Indoors Vanilla, which as the name suggests gives off a vanilla scent.
This may not be the time of year to think about Cancun specials, but it’s definitely time to think of cool nights, hoodies and sweaters, camp fires, and cooler weather in general! I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite season, and I’m all about decorating and scenting my home to reflect upon my love for autumn.
Seasonal Sensations Candles seem to be exclusively sold at Target, so if you want some, that’s where you’ll need to go.
The founder of Gripit Floss Holders recently sent me a few of his flossing products to try out! The Gripit Floss Holder makes it easy to floss because the flossing string is held securely in place. Gripit is capable of holding a fifty (50) yard reel of floss, and is reusable for as long as you continue flossing! This means that you won’t have to keep buying bag after bag of disposable flossers (which I completely admit to doing, but this will probably change now that my husband and I each have our own Gripits!).
As you know, flossing is important because the process removes harmful bacteria that build up around and in between your teeth — places that most toothbrushes are unable to reach. There’s no reason not to floss. If you can afford patio furniture, you can afford to floss. Heck, even if you can’t afford patio furniture, you can still afford to floss! Flossing is a cheap habit that is very good to get into.
According to the Gripit website, the Gripit makes flossing easy because its very design keeps floss pulled taut. The shape and length (or height, depending on how you look at it) makes flossing easy and hassle-free — you don’t have to contort your jaw open or stick your fingers in your mouth in order to reach all of your teeth.
Gripits can be used over and over again — simply replace the reel of floss as it depletes! I can tell you that replacing and threading a new reel is quite easy. My three year old son undid one of the Gripits, and I was able to pop open the other Gripit and use it as a reference.
My husband and I will be using the Gripit Floss Holders for a few days, after which time I’ll be sure to post a full review of them. But so far they seem quite promising!
My husband came home with a canister of Aquafresh Iso-Active Whitening. Apparently he’s now into teeth whitening? This is kind of funny to me, because it has never been a priority or even a concern of his before. But hey, I’m not complaining. I’ve been purchasing teeth whitening focused toothpastes (Crest) and am three quarters of the way through a fourteen day routine of using Crest Advanced Seal, so bring on the whitening toothpaste!
I tried this toothpaste out tonight, and my first impression is wow, HOLY FOAM! But I want to try it out for a few more days before I provide an actual review. So, stay tuned!
