Rugs To My Door Review

Sara's Take

I've been looking for a braided rug for my bedroom for, oh, ages now. But I had a specific color scheme in mind and most places that sell these rugs only have them in muted shades of brick and blue and beige - not bright and cheerful enough for the robin's egg and red theme I've got going in our boudoir. Plus, shopping in person for just the right braided rug isn't something I wanted to tackle. I envisioned myself spending days going from store to store and still not finding the right colors.

So I was thrilled to find such a great selection of braided rugs at Rugs To My Door. They have your standard muted/rustic styles, plus an array of brighter styles, and I found just the perfect combination of blue and red. But then, I let my head get turned by another style that looked like it might have a little more blue in it, with a sunny splash of yellow. So I ordered that one.

When I got my rug, I definitely liked it. But the colors were darker than they'd seemed online - with a little too little red, so at first I thought I'd hit another wall in my quest for the perfect rug. But I tried the rug out in our bedroom, and it works. I'm keeping it. The colors tie the room together nicely. It's great quality - and (here's the most important thing for me) the price was really reasonable. Plus, ordering online was convenient - definitely the way I prefer to shop.

But I was curious how other consumers could avoid having their rugs arrive with colors that aren't quite right, so I emailed the owner. He says, "By calling our 888 number, a customer care rep can help describe colors to the caller. We are open Monday through Friday from 9 AM-5PM EST. We do not have a very large company-so I have made sure that all customer care reps have been thoroughly trained by the rug manufacturers about the products' quality, and been able to see many of the rugs in person. Online shopping is a great thing for time savings and price comparing. That said, the one challenge is color-and we try our best to mitigate the challenge with our trained customer care reps."

Sounds good to me - and when picking out something like a home decor item, I do prefer to talk with a human being just to double check things. The next time I order, I'll make sure to ring up the reps before hitting "purchase."

Cara's Take

We were due for a rug replacement in our foyer. After a couple years, our Home Depot find wasn't holding up. The pile was pretty crushed down and I was starting to see spots as well. So, I ordered one of the family friendly rugs from Rugs To My Door.

Rugs To My Door teamed up with Sphinx by Oriental Weavers to offer an industry first. The family friendly rugs come with a real 10 year warranty against staining. If the rug stains within the first 10 years of ownership, the company will repair or replace it at no charge. A pretty good deal!

Although, it was a little tough picking a rug online, it sure beats hitting every store in town. Now that we've had our rug for a few weeks now, I can say we're happy with it. The rug is very soft and is definitely a better quality than what we had before. Thanks, Rug To My Door!


Tela's Take

I really can't tell you how long I've been looking for a rug to replace my 7-year-old Target special. While it was a nice rug, it was from Target, and I have a two-year-old son, a dog, and a cat. It just wasn't holding up.

So, the family friendly rugs from Rugs To My Door are exactly what this busy, and let's face it, sometimes dirty, family needed. I thought a family friendly rug with a 10-year warranty against staining might not look so nice, but I was wrong. The rug looks great and the pile is awesome (so soft!). We've already tried out the stain warranty! Multiple times! Everything that has landed on it (mac 'n cheese, grape juice, mud) has come up with no problem whatsoever. I was kinda amazed, actually.

Similiar to Sara's experience, I was slightly surprised by the colors. If I order a rug online again, I'll definitely utilize the customer service reps. While I wasn't sure if the rug worked at first, I'm happy now. I think I simply needed to get familiar with the new rug's colors. I got a completely different color scheme and was used to seeing darker, rather than neutral, colors in the room.

Try Rugs To My Door--I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Guest Blogger, Kati Neville, Shares Tips and Brings a Gift

WMAG welcomes guest blogger, Kati Neville. Kati co-wrote the best-selling Fix, Freeze, Feast cookbook with Lindsay Tkacsik. She shares free money and time saving tips regularly, by blogging on The Forklift and on The Saver’s Kitchen podcast at SaversKitchen.com. Kati also speaks and teaches classes to women’s and mom’s groups. You can learn more about her at KatiNeville.com.

10 Tips: Meal Planning to Save Money
By Kati Neville

In my recent podcast on school lunches, I discussed a new government report that estimates food and beverage companies spend $1.6 billion dollars annually marketing their products to teens and children. That’s 1,600 million dollars per year! It’s a lot of money, and the implications for our children’s health and nutrition are concerning.

But if these companies spend $1.6 billion marketing to kids, what do they spend to persuade you and me? Most moms control all the household food-buying decisions and have more than a $2.00 allowance at their disposal. No doubt these companies spend tens of billions more.

For those of you who hate (not too strong a word) meal planning or are less than diligent about it, here’s my advice: Make your peace with it. Because meal planning to save money is your best defense against the billion dollar budgets urging you to spend, spend, spend.

Tough love.

The good news is that meal planning is not difficult. It does take a little time. But with a plan in hand, you’ll be much less tempted to veer off course and blow the budget. Here are some strategies to keep in mind:

1. Set a budget. The average family with school-age children spends over $9,000 on food annually. That’s about $175.00 per week, $25.00 per day. How much do you spend compared to this average? Examine your food expenses and make realistic savings goals.

2. Plan weekly. You don’t need a crystal ball to predict everyone expects dinner. This isn’t a surprise so don’t wing it. Instead, plan for it. In doing so, you will gain independence from expensive restaurant meals and last minute dinners from a box. Do it weekly.

3. Use it up. Visit the pantry, fridge, or freezer before you plan. Look for leftover or abandoned items to use up. Give priority to high cost, perishable foods like berries, nuts, cheese, and meat. Then target spices and canned goods. Select 1-2 items and seek recipes that use them.

4. Plan with grocery store ads and sales cycles. Proceed with caution here. Planning meals with advertised specials, or “loss leaders,” can save money. However, studies by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab show that multi-unit pricing (such as, “3 for $3” or “10 for $10”) and other promotions encourage over-buying–and not just a little. Customers purchased 30 - 105% more! Buy only what you will use. Remember, it’s not a deal if it’s wasted.

5. Buy in bulk. Buy generic. Twelve cents of every food dollar buys advertising and packaging. Can picky eaters truly tell the difference between store and name brand mozzarella in lasagna? Will the chili suffer if you use bulk bin spices? Use bulk or store-brand products where picky eaters are less likely to detect them.

6. Consider low-energy cooking methods. Slow cookers and stovetops are the most energy efficient cooking methods according Paul Scheckel, the author of The Home Energy Diet. Select one of these cooking methods weekly and save on your electricity bill too.

7. Scale back your tastes. We’re not in a sundried tomato economy anymore, folks. And with the world population projected to increase to 9 billion by mid-century, I expect food prices will continue to rise. Serving meat at every meal may not be practical or economical. But if you just can’t bring yourself to love lentils, beans, grains, and “rabbit food” (as my dad says), then dust off grandma’s recipes for strata, soup, and hash. These simple heirloom recipes are designed to make a little meat go a long way and stretch you food dollar.

8. Include snacks and sides. According to the Consumer Expenditures Survey, the largest single category of spending on food at home is NOT meat, dairy, fresh produce, or cereal/bakery items. It’s “OTHER.” It’s products like soda, fruit juice, snack crackers, boxed side dishes, and frozen pizzas. So after you plan meals, think about how you can reduce your reliance on convenience foods. Do the kids really need 3 glasses of juice at dinner? And what about those expensive 100 calorie-pack snacks? Consider buying the larger warehouse-size and making your own snack packs. Or buy it to split with friends.

9. Cook once, eat twice. Lindsay calls these meals planned overs, because you intentionally plan to use your leftovers. I do this all the time too, because it saves time. It’s easy to make extra rice, for example. Serve it one night as a side, with Mango-Cranberry Chicken over it. And then use the rest in other meals throughout the week, like Egg Fried Rice, Black Bean Burritos, or Lentil Rice Soup. Spend some time learning how to store your leftovers properly, so you can safely extend their shelf life to prevent food born illness.

10. Make-ahead meals. Last but not least, integrate make-ahead meals into your routine. Whether using recipes from Fix, Freeze, Feast or another source, remember that even a few meals in the freezer will save you money.

Copyright © 2009 Kati Neville. This article is for personal use only and may not be reprinted without consent of the author. Feel free to post a link to it in your blog or forward this .pdf to friends and readers for their personal use.

WIN A COPY OF FIX, FREEZE, AND FEAST

Time to get cookin', ladies. Enter for your chance to win a copy of Fix, Freeze, Feast. Just email us at workingmomsagainstguilt@gmail.com with the subject line "Feast" no later than Tuesday, April 7 at midnight. We'll select a lucky winner at random and contact you about your prize.

Want to see what's inside? Check out sample recipes from Fix, Freeze, Feast.

WINNER UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS, ALISON!

Ooh, la... laLOOP Review and Giveaway

Wearing sunglasses on top of your head is sooo out. Wearing them on laLOOP is sooo in.

laLOOP can be seen in the pages of today's hottest fashion magazines and around the necks of celebrities like Heidi Klum. Creator, Debbie Zoullas, was constantly fed up on misplacing her eyeglasses and sunglasses. So in 1999, she teamed up with partner Elizabeth Faraut to develop a line of stylish necklaces with a hinged loop to keep glasses in place. And voila! laLOOP was born.


laLOOP comes in many styles and price ranges, from 14K gold and sterling silver chains to beads and leather straps. Each has a specially designed, hinged loop that holds onto your glasses so you never lose them.

I received the turquoise SportLOOP recently, which is made of a stretchy, washable cord. I put it to the test last weekend to see if my sunglasses would really stay attached while I cleaned up the house. I would have rather went canoing, hiking, or something more outdoorsey, but the weather was still cold and nasty. Anyway, to my delight, my glasses stayed put. I'm notorious for wearing sunglasses on top of my head--a habit that will be hard to break. But, hopefully now with laLOOP I'll make it through this summer without losing them.

ENTER TO WIN A SportLOOP!

Want to look like Heidi Klum and me? (Probably more like Heidi.) Just email us at workingmomsagainstguilt@gmail.com with the subject line "laLOOP" no later than Friday, April 3 at midnight. We'll select a lucky winner at random and contact you about your prize.

WINNER UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS, LJ!

Polliwalks

Last summer when I switched O’s daycare, I found out that the new daycare prohibits open-toed sandals. Bummer, because I just bought him a cool pair of Teva-type jobbies from Stride Rite. I went out on a search for another pair of sandals he could wear to school—something with a closed toe, that fit his wide feet, and that he could easily take on and off himself.

I found these (in Army) from Polliwalks and fell in love. Only if you looked closely could you tell they had a little, almost hidden, alligator face on them. A little surprise, almost. O loved his new “alligator” shoes, and wherever, and I mean wherever—Target, at the park, at daycare, on the street, at my work—we went, at least one person would comment on how cute the shoes were. Perfect strangers would coo “Awww… how cute are those?!” (Of course, it was the amazingly adorable face and sparkling personality of my son that drew them in first, and THEN they’d notice the shoes. Ahem.)

But aside from the super adorableness of the shoes, I was also pleased to discover the soles to be super flexible, and they were wide enough to accommodate my son’s feet. No blisters on his “pinky” toes or on the exterior sides of his feet with these bad boys.

Because I loved them so much, I wrote to Cheryl at Polliwalks to tell her about how much we, and perfect strangers on the street, loved her shoes.

That’s when I found out that Cheryl started the business along with her husband, Joel, a footwear designer and former toy designer. He had the idea of creating a shoe line just for kids from their perspective. And their son, Isaac, came up with the name Polliwalks. Pretty neat.

Then she offered to send me a free pair of shoes and offered to give away a pair to our readers.

Another pair for me and the ability to share the love? Plus helping out a momtrepreneur in the process? Heck yeah, I said! Sign me up.

Cheryl sent me the new T-Rex shoe in the army color. They fit great, but I find the design to be a little over the top, myself. There is no missing the fact that these shoes are supposed to be dinosaurs. While I might not care for the look, my son loves them (he’s also the guy who picked out light-up monster truck shoes from Stride Rite), and if they make him happy, they make me happy.

To enter the drawing for your own pair of Polliwalks (your choice of style), go to Polliwalks.com and then either leave a comment with your favorite style or email us at workingmomsagainstguilt@gmail.com with your favorite style by midnight on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. If you choose to leave a comment, please make sure there is a way to get in touch with you! If we email you and don’t hear back within 24 hours, we will pick a new winner.

Give Your PC a Boost with System Mechanic

Tired of your tired out PC? We were. And since buying a new computer wasn't a option, we decided to give System Mechanic a try.

System Mechanic from iolo technologies is a program that tunes up your PC by boosting speed, cleaning out clutter, fixing problems, eliminating crashes, stabilizing your system and more.

After a quick download, System Mechanic analyzed our PC's overall condition as "poor" and listed a number of detected problems. I could view the details of each problem, choose which ones to fix, or choose to repair them all. Of course, I wanted to repair them all, so with one easy click it went to work sweeping out the cobwebs, trashing junk files, and tidying up folders. (At least, that's how I imagined it went.) Before long our PC was up to "good" condition.

After running System Mechanic, I can see our PC is running smoother than before. It's still not the fastest, but there is a difference when we go to start it up or open a program. It's good enough to keep our PC in running shape until we're ready to buy a new one.


Here are some of the ways System Mechanic can boost speed and performance for your PC:

- Remove uneeded services from startup. System Mechanic removes unneeded performance drains to boost your PC’s speed, particularly the time it takes to boot. Further, System Mechanic’s threat detection can inform you which programs are safe and which are potentially dangerous.

- Optimize the registry. The registry is vital to your PC’s ability to run correctly and when it becomes corrupted, overall performance degrades. System Mechanic can safely diagnose and fix registry errors and can also defragment and compact the registry to speed registry processing.

- Tune internet settings for increased speeds. System Mechanic’s NetBooster® technology tailors PC settings to boost web download rates and network speeds, even if you have a dial‐up connection. Most users experience dramatically faster access, with reports showing speed increases up to 300%.

- Defragment hard drive and system memory. Defragmenting hard drives reorganizes scattered data, which increases file access speed and extends drive life. System Mechanic can also defragment system memory to reclaim valuable RAM and improve PC efficiency and speed.

- Keep it clean. System Mechanic can thoroughly clean out temporary internet files, cookies, cache files, history files and more. Eliminate all the debris that clutters your PC and overtaxes its resources.

- Repair hard drive errors. A damaged hard drive can prevent you from saving and retrieving files. System Mechanic can fix hard drive errors, protecting your data and improving PC stability, and can also report potential drive reliability problems.

ENTER TO WIN A FREE COPY OF SYSTEM MECHANIC!

Want to give your PC a boost? Just email us at workingmomsagainstguilt@gmail.com with the subject line "System Mechanic" no later than Thursday, March 26 at midnight. We'll select THREE lucky winners at random and contact you about your prize.

Protect-A-Bed Review and Giveaway

Have you ever watched one of those TV news specials that show the microscopic view of what lives in your bed and pillows? Man, that grosses me out.

I try to keep things clean, washing the sheets regularly and vacuuming on a semi-weekly basis. But what can I do about those nasty little dust mites, pet dander and God knows what else in our sleeping quarters, where we spend 50+ hours a week? Especially because Hubs suffers from allergies -- he's extra sensitive to all those allergens.

Protect-A-Bed can help. They sent some mattress and pillow protectors for my family to try out (even a crib mattress protector for Cassie's bed), and gave me some info that made me feel a little better when we all snuggle in for a good night's sleep. The fitted-sheet style covers create an impenetrable barrier between us and allergens, and are breathable and comfortable. The ultra-thin, extra soft and super absorbent mattress and pillow protectors don't detract from comfy bedding. Their products are easy-to-use and machine washable. (Tested that too -- works great.)

If you have a family member who has issues with allergies, you might want to check out Protect-A-Bed. WMAG readers who are considering purchasing a mattress protector or pillow protector can get a special code for 15% off, good for the entire month of March 2009. To get the discount, simply visit www.protectabed.com, select the items you'd like to purchase, and then enter the code BLOG015 at check out.

Giveaway
You can also win a free mattress and pillow protector of your choice -- just email us at workingmomsagainstguilt@gmail.com with the subject line "Protect A Bed" no later than March 10. We'll select one lucky winner at random and contact you about your prize.

Johnson's No More Tears 50th Giveaway

Did you know in the year 1959...

- 25 was the average age at which a woman had her first child?
- The average number of children a woman had was 3.7?
- The most popular baby names were Michael and Mary?
- AND Johnson & Johnson introduced No More Tears!

Johnson's is celebrating its 50th anniversary by introducing two new No More Tears bath time products, Johnson's Bubble Bath & Wash and Johnson's Head-to-Toe Foaming Wash, both containing an updated, even more mild No More Tears formula.

Although my kids aren't little babies, I still love using Johnson's bathing products and shampoos. My six-year old son can shampoo his own hair and I don't have to worry that it'll will sting his eyes. And my 3-year old daughter loves her bubble bath--and I love the way she smells afterward.

ENTER TO WIN the JOHNSON'S 50th ANNIVERSARY GIFT BASKET!

To celebrate, Johnson's is giving you, our lovely WMAG readers, a chance to win this fantastic basket filled with all your Johnson & Johnson favorites--including the two new products. To enter this giveaway, just email us at workingmomsagainstguilt@gmail.com with the subject line "Johnson's" no later than Feb. 5. We'll pick one lucky winner and contact you with the details.

WINNER UPDATE: Congratulations, Whitney!