In My Bag » household products http://www.in-my-bag.com Reviewing the stuff I buy Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:03:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Warmly Yours Under Desk Heater http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/03/06/warmly-yours-under-desk-heater/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/03/06/warmly-yours-under-desk-heater/#comments Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:46:10 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/?p=4290 When my husband and I rented an efficiency apartment, we relied on radiator heat. The good: it was efficient. The bad: it was a little too efficient (we lived in an apartment building, so we had no control over the individual settings in our apartment). Also, it tended to create a dry atmosphere, so I routinely had to set out bowls of water to add humidity and reduce frizzy, static-y Persian cats.

The next two places we lived in had electric baseboard heat. Inefficient and a pain, especially where furniture placement was concerned.

When we moved to our own home and “upgraded” to forced dry air in 2007, provided by propane, I thought we had it made in the shade. That was short-lived. We spent nearly $1000 on propane our first winter, and the bill has been $800 – $1200 every year after that.

Warmly Yours So when I discovered Warmly Yours, I just knew I had to give their products a try. Warmly Yours specializes in heating products that are electric-powered, meaning they can be used in any type of home with any type of heating setup, so long as there is an electric outlet nearby. Warmly Yours has floor heating options for carpets, area rugs, even tile, stone, laminate and hardwood flooring. They have specialized shower systems, and for outdoors, snow melting options for walkways, stairs, patios and driveways. But what interested me was Warmly Yours’ comfort products – heating solutions for those everyday situations and places.

Warmly Yours very generously sent me their Under Desk Heater, a portable floor mat that provides soothing, radiating warmth from the floor up. The Under Desk Heater is designed to generate the same amount of comfortable heat as a space heater would, but with significantly less energy consumption. The Under Desk Heater is available in two sizes: 18″ x 24″, which is ideal for most desk setups; and 24″ x 36″, which is better suited for larger areas.

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Of course, the very week the mat arrived was when we were having a rare warm snap; but by last weekend the cold temperatures were back! And since I work from home every day, and deal with being uncomfortably chilly due to significant weight loss/minor thyroid issues, I couldn’t wait to pull out the Under Desk Heater and set it up in my home office (which is just a corner of our bedroom, but still, it’s very officey!). Once I plugged it in and turned it in (via a simple on/off switch located along the cord), I was immediately impressed at how quickly it began to heat up. Within ten minutes the mat had reached its maximum temperature, which is quite toasty. I don’t wear shoes inside our house, and in bare feet the heat was almost too hot. But with socks on, it’s perfect.

As an added bonus, my Pug, Leah, now has an added incentive to lay at my feet. She seems to chill easily like I do, so now my feet have competition for real estate on the mat!

Leah on the Under Desk Heater

I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to review the Under Desk Heater from Warmly Yours. It’s a compact, stylish, comfortable and energy-efficient solution to the need for additional heat in small spaces.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Disclaimer: Warmly Yours provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest opinion.

]]> http://www.in-my-bag.com/2011/03/06/warmly-yours-under-desk-heater/feed/ 0 Up & Up Liquid Laundry 2X Concentrated Detergent http://www.in-my-bag.com/2010/01/13/up-up-liquid-laundry-2x-concentrated-detergent/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2010/01/13/up-up-liquid-laundry-2x-concentrated-detergent/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:56:31 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/?p=2201 In an effort to save on household expenses, I decided to try Target’s brand of liquid laundry detergent, Up & Up Liquid Laundry 2X Concentrated Detergent. It’s $8.99 for a large bottle, but I can usually find a $1 or $2 coupon to make the detergent even cheaper. I’ve been using the detergent for two months now, and I’m happy to say that it works very nicely. It cleans our clothes, the kids’ clothes, cloth diapers, cloth dog pads, etc., perfectly. The Up & Up detergent is available in two scents, which are both light and pleasing, and an unscented version, which would probably be ideal for those with sensitive skin.

So in summary? Save on the cost of laundry detergent by giving Up & Up Liquid Laundry 2X Concentrated Detegent!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

]]> http://www.in-my-bag.com/2010/01/13/up-up-liquid-laundry-2x-concentrated-detergent/feed/ 0 Target Up & Up bath tissue http://www.in-my-bag.com/2009/08/01/target-up-up-bath-tissue/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2009/08/01/target-up-up-bath-tissue/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:08:53 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/?p=1669 We’re typically a Charmin kind of family, but in the interest of saving money, I have been switching over to the generic varieties of some products. Note I said some. There are some things I won’t scrimp on, and they include cosmetics, hair products, and laundry detergent. The hotels you’ll find at Gatlinburg vacations destinations may offer generic everything, but not this household! So anyway, toilet paper. Like I said, I normally purchase Charmin, particularly the Ultra Soft variety, but recently I’ve noticed that it’s… different. It isn’t as soft and plush as it used to be. When I mentioned this to my mom, she said that she too noticed it felt different. Even more interesting is that we’re obviously not alone with this opinion, as “Charmin Ultra Soft changed” came up as a search suggestion at Google!

target before So when I was at Target about a week or so back, I decided to try their generic toilet paper: Target Up & Up bath tissue. Right on the package it claimed to be just like Charmin’s Ultra Soft. And I’m not going to turn down twelve rolls of toilet paper for $5.94!

A week and six rolls later (What can I say? We’re a family of three (there’s a fourth, but he isn’t potty-trained yet), and we’ve had a lot of company over, including two friends who stayed with us for two nights!), I’m sold. It may not be Charmin, but it’s close, and the price is most definitely right!

In all seriousness, Target Up & Up bath tissue is pretty damn close to Charmin. There is a very, VERY slight reduction in quality, mainly just thickness. Other than that, it’s spot on! I’m definitely going to be purchasing this toilet paper from now on.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

]]> http://www.in-my-bag.com/2009/08/01/target-up-up-bath-tissue/feed/ 2 The Green Glass Company http://www.in-my-bag.com/2007/12/20/the-green-glass-company/ http://www.in-my-bag.com/2007/12/20/the-green-glass-company/#comments Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:47:52 +0000 Jenn http://www.in-my-bag.com/2007/12/20/the-green-glass-company/ A little bit ago I received a set of goblets and tumbler from The Green Glass Company. This company takes beer and wine bottles and turns what would otherwise be trash clogging up our landfills into gorgeous, one of a kind, functional glasses, goblets, tumblers and more.

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Looking at the set of goblets and tumblers I received, I would never imagine they came from dark brown and icky green beer and wine bottles! The goblets are particularly interesting, because according to The Green Glass Company’s about page, the goblets are always made from the top half of bottles, while the tumblers are made from the bottom half, without any waste left over. All of The Green Glass Company’s glass products are made in Wisconsin, with all of the glass products coming from waste streams and special partnerships with other companies. The unique process of turning trash into gorgeous, one of a kind glasses is free of hazardous by-products, and the glasses themselves are strong and durable. I should know – I have already left one in the fridge, another in the freezer, put all four in the dishwasher, and my daughter already dropped one on the floor!

I really like the glasses and tumblers. I only wish I had more to pull out for parties and the Christmas lunch we are busy planning!

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