Baby Bahoonie is a online Canadian boutique offering apparel & accessories for hip infants & kids, 0-4 years old. It features over 20+ eco-choice lines of organic cotton, modal & bamboo clothing as well as high-quality toys and accessories such as wet bags, bath squirties (love these!!) and organic teethers.
The owner of the boutique is Cinnamon Bhayani, a gregarious and passionate mompreneur. Cinnamon first launched Baby Bahoonie a few months back out of a desire to make top-grade baby and toddler products readily available to Canadian families via the convenience of online shopping. She carefully selects each brand and product that she offers to ensure it not only provides maximum functionality but is also fair-trade, respects human rights, leaves a minimal carbon footprint and has an affordable price tag to boot! I must say that she has also designed a terrific website for her boutique! It's super easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing. Plus, I'm a sucker for owls. :D
In recent months, I was super-addicted to entering giveaways. Not only was it fun to win some fabulous, free loot but it also introduced me to a bunch of great products, companies and shops! One of the most useful products I discovered during this time was the kitchen wetbag. As a cloth diapering mama, I'd collected my fair share of wetbags for S's diapers, however the idea of a wetbag for the kitchen had never occurred to me up until that point. But it makes so much sense - both in theory and in practice!
Our daughter is 8 1/2 months old and we're striving to be more eco-friendly, so we accumulate a large number of dirty cloth items in the kitchen - dish rags, dish towels, bibs, face cloths, etc. Prior to owning a kitchen wetbag, these items would inevitably end up either lumped on the kitchen counter/sink, or flung down the basement stairs in the general direction of the laundry area. Not the most elegant storage solution, I'm sure you would agree. (Though do I see a few of you sheepishly nodding your heads out there? ;)
So needless to say, when I discovered this oh-so-nifty item, I knew I had to have one! Since I wasn't hitting pay dirt on the giveaway scene, I bit the bullet and purchased one. In deciding where to buy from, I browsed through several Etsy shops I'd discovered through giveaways and ended up at Green Bumkin. I loved how their wetbags are entirely customizable with a huge selection of cute patterns available! I was also lured in by the other great items sold at the store, such as reusable snack/sandwich bags and extra small wetbags for wipes. Plus, Green Bumkin's prices are very reasonable, and it is a Canadian shop to boot! (No, not "aboot". But I digress.)
Check out my bag! I ordered a large one in the "Zoology" print:
Some features of the large bag:
Lined with PUL waterproof fabric and has an outer shell of designer cotton.
Each fabric is sewn separately to avoid wicking.
Measures approximately 15" x 18".
Closes with a zipper. Has two 9" x 1.5" straps at the top which close with snaps for conveniently hanging on your oven door!
I love the last feature in particular. The oven door is definitely an accessible location!
Here's a close-up of the materials - PUL interior, cotton exterior, snaps and zipper (all customizable!):
The large bag has a GINORMOUS capacity. After several days of accumulation, it is rarely more than half full.
I also love how the bag adds a splash of colour to our otherwise aesthetically simple kitchen!
Finally, it's nice and easy to wash as well. On laundry day, just turn the bag inside out and dump it into the washer along with everything in it! I tend to wash this load on medium heat, however I don't see why it wouldn't hold up to high heat if that is your preference.
All in all, I love my Green Bumkin kitchen wetbag! The only (fairly minor) criticism I can come up with is that the zipper is a bit "stiff". I find that I need both hands to open and close it. It would be nice if it would slide more easily so as not to require that second hand (which is usually filled with dirty cloths!)
Buy It:
To purchase a kitchen wetbag for yourself, visit Green Bumkin's Etsy Store and customize to your heart's content!
Win It:
Amy, the owner of Green Bumkin, has generously offered to give away a medium kitchen wetbag to one lucky Manager to Mom reader!
Note: The medium wetbag measures approximately 12" x 15" and has about 50-60% the capacity of the large. Otherwise, it is identical in design to the large. Amy told me that she uses the medium herself and that it holds 4-5 days worth of kitchen laundry.
To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Comments do not count as entries, however feel free to add a comment to remind yourself that you entered!
Disclosure: The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Green Bumkin. I received no financial or product compensation myself for writing my review or offering this giveaway. This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.
If you've read my About page, you may recall that I detest clutter! I strive to keep our home and possessions organized on a daily basis, especially now that we have a daughter who has multiplied the amount of "stuff" kicking around our house! So when I was contacted by Lisa King, an independent consultant with the growing company Thirty-One Gifts, my interest was certainly piqued. In addition to a very large selection of stylish purses (their main product category), Thirty-One also offers numerous organizational and storage items - including those catered to babies and young children! Sweet!! :)
Thirty-One is a direct selling company, currently operating within the United States exclusively. Within 6 years, its team of consultants has expanded to nearly 10,000 so the company is growing quickly! Lisa King is based in Tell City, Indiana. She was wonderful to work with during this giveaway, providing a comprehensive rundown of the Thirty-One products she felt would be a good fit for my family and my blog. She was also willing to ship the review and giveaway items free of charge to Canada, so that my Canadian readers would also be able to take part in the giveaway and learn about this great company. Thanks so much, Lisa! Take a look at her personal page on Thirty-One for her contact information and a listing of her current events. Check her out on Facebook and Twitter as well!
Thirty-One has so many nifty products that it was hard to choose just one to review, however we ended up deciding on the Square Utility Tote, a flexible and stylish container for storing and/or transport household items. I thought this would be perfect for S's toys, so I ordered it in the super-cute "Cheeky Elephants" print. Here it is!
The tote measures approximately 9" H x 12" W x 12" D, so it is very roomy and can hold a lot of stuff! Here it is holding a bunch of S's "wipe down only" toys (those are a pain, aren't they? :) I'd just finished wiping them in S's nursery while she had fun rolling around beside me, and then I used the tote to bring 'em all back downstairs!
One thing I really like about the tote is that it has soft handles which meet in the middle and can be grabbed with one hand. This is really convenient when you're holding a baby (or something else) and your other hand is unavailable!
Another nice feature is that the tote folds flat, so it takes up very little room if you want to store it away or pack it to bring on an excursion.
Finally, while this is certainly a very practical item from an organizational standpoint, it also has aesthetic appeal! The Cheeky Elephant pattern looks cute in S's nursery, and the tote comes in several other patterns to suit different tastes!
All in all, I think this tote is a simple but effective and stylish organizational item, and I'll certainly be using it a lot to keep clutter under wraps in our home!
Buy It!
The Square Utility Tote is available exclusively from Thirty-One Gifts. You can order one (and/or any of the other great items in their catalog) from Lisa King or from a consultant closer to home, if you prefer. Find a consultant in your particular area.
Win It!
One lucky Manager to Mom reader will win their own Square Utility Tote, in their choice of pattern!
To enter, please leave a separate comment for each entry, and include your email address with each one. The number beside each action denotes how many entries it is worth, so make sure to leave the corresponding number of comments if you complete that action. I'll be checking each entry for validity, so please ensure that you complete all actions as indicated.
Like Thirty-One Gifts by Lisa King on Facebook; include your Facebook first name and last initial. It would be nice to thank Lisa for the giveaway as well (although not mandatory). (+1)
Tweet this giveaway; can be done once daily. (+1 each) Please use the following tweet or create your own; must contain @managertomom, @31giftsbylisak and a link to this giveaway post:
Reduce clutter in style! #Win a Square Utility Tote from @managertomom and @31giftsbylisak ! http://tinyurl.com/669k6tz CAN/US 6/30
Open to residents of Canada and the US, except those who are active consultants of Thirty-One. This giveaway will end on June 30, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org, emailed, and announced on my blog shortly after giveaway ends. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email before a new winner is chosen.
Disclosure: The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Lisa King, independent consultant for Thirty-One Gifts. I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample item free of charge. This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.
