cleaning – BurritoBuzz

Play & Go {Product Review}

Published on November 30, 2017November 29, 2017 by KirstynVelez- www.BurritoBuzz.comLeave a comment

Getting our kids to clean up there toys is always a tedious, argumentative task. Cayden’s new thing is “I can’t carry them all”- to which I typically have him use his shirt as a “pouch” and I fill it up. It’s cute- but it’s annoying.

I was thrilled when offered to review the Play & Go. It’s a play mat, storage system that when flat acts as the play mat, and when it’s done being utilized, a draw string cinches the sack together and cleans everything up.

Cayden loves cars. He loves racing them around, driving them, making roads and lining them all up. What he doesn’t like is cleaning them up.

The Play & Go mat didn’t change that, but helped it not be such an argument. We received the Play & Go Roadmap print and Cayden loved it. He immediately went and got his cars while I flattened the mat out in the living room.

Now, this thing is huge! 55″ in diameter to be exact and the material is high quality, thick, polycotton canvas so durability isn’t even a concern.

The size is great as a play mat, but isn’t small hand friendly. Cayden, who is 4.5, couldn’t cinch it together by himself. I had no problem helping him, but would love to see something easier for smaller hands.

Overall what I don’t like, is the draw string system. There are two places to pull the drawstring and with a 4.5 foot diameter, it leaves a weird taco shaped ordeal, not the “sack” I was hoping for. I think if it had 4 places to pull to cinch it closed, it would be better and close more efficiently.

Price wise, you’re looking around $40 for the regular sized and they do offer a Mini which is only $20. It is the same concept, same material, but only 15″ in diameter. It works great in the car for travel toys, a quick snack holder for park trips, or every a makeup bag. Play & Go has a color and design for everyone. Their Classic Collection offers 8 solid colors, the Print Collection offers 14 fun (yet subtle) prints, and their Designer Collection offers 5 choices including a “Color Your Own”. The Mini Play & Go is only available in 2 prints- either Cherrys or Thunderbolts.

You can find this versatile product on Amazon, in select speciality stores or you can send an email to info@hotalinginc.com where they can take you order and ship it direct.

Love the concept and the size. Not a fan of the seemingly ineffective draw string and think it would be more effective with 4 handles instead of 2.

4 out of 5 stars.

Kirstyn

**Burritobuzz received this product free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of my own and no compensation was provided or offered in exchange for a positive review**

Keep Germs Away with CleanSmart Toy Disinfectant

Published on September 23, 2016September 22, 2016 by Casey SehmLeave a comment

As you know, cold and flu season is unfortunately upon is. With the changing of the weather and the start of the school year, illness is something that we can’t really ignore. My four year old started her second year of preschool last week and was kind enough to bring a cold home. My family of four all got runny noses, we were sneezing like crazy, had awful sinus pressure, coughing, and had watery eyes, including my poor 6 month old. She got hit the worst and is starting to feel better minus the never ending runny nose. Over the weekend she had a pretty high fever and was overall miserable. When babies get sick, you heart breaks because there’s not much you can do for them. Lots of cuddles and some tylenol to bring down the fever is about all you can do when they’re really young. So what can you do to help prevent the spread of germs when little ones always have toys in their mouths? I have found an amazing toy disinfectant from CleanSmart and I love it so much! I knew I had to share it with our readers!

CleanSmart makes products that are not harmful to people. There are no chemicals or chemical residue, harsh fumes, and the products are 100% natural – just salt and water is left behind after cleaning! There is zero toxicity and can be sprayed around anyone (babies, too). There are no allergy or asthma triggers in any of the products, so you can feel safe knowing what you’re using to clean and disinfect and know the products work! You won’t see any first aid labels on CleanSmart products because there are no hazards. What more could you want in a cleaning product? Watch here to learn about the CleanSmart difference:

I was looking for something to clean my children’s toys, especially with having more than one kid, germs spread entirely way too easy. If one is sick, the other will be soon. It’s just a fact. But I wanted something to help prevent illness as much as I could. Babies put everything in their mouths as we know and germs linger. CleanSmart Toy Disinfectant kills 99.9% of germs and cold and flu viruses, E. coli, salmonella, listeria, strep and RSV. The best part, you just spray and play! You can literally clean toys without rinsing right in front of your child. I often clean my little one’s exersaucer while she’s in it. It’s so easy and I love not having to think twice about using it around my kids. No gloves needed and you don’t have to have a crazy ventilation system (or open all the windows/doors in your house to air it out). It’s perfect to use with teething babies and after sick kids.

I love this product and look forward to purchasing more awesome products from CleanSmart, including their household disinfectants, hand cleansers and more products for my little ones: Pacifier Sanitizer ($4.99) and Nursery & High Chair Cleaner ($4.99). Products for little ones are now available at Babies R Us, so they’re easy to find! You can purchase all CleanSmart products on Amazon. The price point is perfect, $5.99 for the Toy Disinfectant. I’ve had it for about to months now, and I have about ⅔ of the bottle left so it does last a while. Because it’s not harmful, that doesn’t mean it should be left around children. Keep out of reach of children to keep them safe.

Connect with CleanSmart on Facebook and Twitter!

– Casey

Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent {Review}

Published on June 20, 2016June 12, 2016 by Casey SehmLeave a comment

When you have kids, you want to find the best possible products to use on and around them. You don’t want unnecessary chemicals and synthetic materials to be used around your precious little ones, whether it’s cleaning supplies, skin care products or something as simple as laundry detergent. I never really put much thought into the type of detergent I was using until I was given a few samples of Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent right before my youngest was born. It made me rethink (and ultimately switch laundry soaps) what I was using to wash our clothes with.

Seventh Generation’s laundry detergent is awesome. It allows me to wash all of our clothes together, including my infant and toddler’s clothing. Because it is so gentle, I feel really good about washing my baby’s clothing in a detergent that gets her clothing clean and keeps her clothes free of harmful chemicals. Seventh Generation laundry detergent comes in several different types of soap (in liquid or powder form), including a new detergent specifically meant for baby’s delicate skin (which I love a million times more than Dreft, as I cannot stomach it’s strong fragrance). It cleans in all water temperatures and it has enzymes that lift stubborn stains, which we all know are inevitable with babies and kids (and adults, too).

IT’S NATURAL!

Designed for Standard and HE machines
Free of dyes & synthetic fragrances
USDA Certified Biobased 97%
Supports sustainable palm oil
Works in all temperatures
2x concentrated formula
Hypoallergenic

I give it a 5 out of 5 stars. I was impressed from the very first wash and have been a customer ever since. If you want a detergent that is truly harmless for your family, Seventh Generation is the way to go. And it works, which is what we all want in the end: fresh clean clothes for the whole family. It keeps clothes clean and our skin free of harmful chemicals. It’s a win-win for everyone! Click here order Seventh Generation detergent online or find out where to buy in-store here!

Be sure to follow Seventh Generation on Instagram, on Facebook and on Twitter! And don’t forget to check out all of Seventh Generation’s family-friendly products here! I also only use their plant-based natural hand soaps, the fresh lemon & tea tree scent is to die for! Seventh Generation also makes Free & Clear diapers and baby wipes and I have to say, the diapers are very absorbent and the wipes are nice and thick, they’re great at cleaning up yucky messes!

– Casey

**Burrito Buzz received this product at low or no cost for the purpose of review or testing. No compensation for a positive review was provided. All product reviews are based 100% off of our personal experiences and we never guarantee a positive review.**

Mommy has OCD

Published on May 21, 2016May 17, 2016 by Casey Sehm1 Comment

Being a parent is hard. I mean, it’s a never, ever, ever ending job. Your work is never done and will probably never be done even when your babies are grown with babies of their own. But I find being Obsessive Compulsive AND a mom is literally the hardest thing I may ever do. When you have OCD, you obsess over specific things. For me, it’s cleaning and tip organization. If you come to my house and I’m expecting you, you most likely won’t find any toys in the living room, kitchen, bathroom or our bedroom. All of my three year old’s toys are in her room with a few lucky ones in the future playroom in the basement. All of those toys are organized to a damn T. You wouldn’t even know we have children if it weren’t for their pictures plastered on the walls, artwork displayed on the fridge, the rack drying my youngest daughter’s bottles on the kitchen counter and the mamaRoo in the living room (it’s hard to move and store). Being told “for having kids, your house is the cleanest I have ever seen” is one of the best compliments I have ever gotten. Here is a little glimpse inside my irrational and sometimes crazy OCD mind.

Dishes: There cannot be any dishes left in the sink at night for me to do in the morning. There is no way I can sleep knowing they are there. I just can’t. Also, if you want to see me to go bat shit crazy, go ahead and put a dirty dish in the sink right after I get done washing and drying all of them. I freaking double dog dare you.

Toys: Ahh, with kids come massive amounts toys. You can throw one away each day and it seems like three show up in its place. Who buys all this crap anyway? When I notice my daughter is done playing with something, like Lego Duplos for example, no matter how bad I fight it, I have to clean them up and put them away even though I know she will get them back out five minutes later (it happens every time). They all have specific places for them in her room, too. Although my husband knows this, he refuses to put them where they go. I think he does it on purpose to see if my head will actually spin all the way around.

Sweeping: If you have a dog or cat or both, you know how much hair they can produce. You can find it along the baseboards of each room, clumps of it stuck to the carpet, pretty much everywhere in your house. It is utterly disgusting and gets even worse the two times a year when our Border Collie/Lab mix sheds his coat. There are days when I don’t get to eat but remember that I had some of his hair in my mouth several times that day so that must count as eating something. Anyone know how many calories hair has? No matter how many times I vacuum the entire house and brush his coat outside, the hair never goes away and it’s almost maddening how fast it finds its way back to the baseboards.

Windows: The hardest ‘chore’ (if you want to call it a chore) for me are the windows. They are never clean enough, even the ones my toddler isn’t able to reach and lick. If I see a smudge or streak, I have to drop everything (except the baby, I lay her down), get my Windex and paper towels and get to cleaning. But it’s never good enough. Sometimes it looked better before I tried to clean them which fills me with rage which means it’s earmuff time for my toddler as I drop a few f-bombs. Someone should invent self cleaning windows or a spray like Rain-X so it repels everything. Did I just invent a multi-million dollar product? Shark Tank, here I come!

Laundry: I never understood when people said ‘it’s laundry day’ and have mounds and mounds of laundry to do. Every day is laundry day at this house. I do at least one load a day. We have a hamper in our room but no clothes ever see the inside of it. They get thrown downstairs and get put in the washer and I run it when it’s full. There are never any towels on the floor or random socks anywhere. If you looked in our closets you would definitely know someone with OCD lives here. All of our clothes are organized by color and sleeve and pant length. Yes, I know I have entirely too much time on my hands.

Making Beds: If I could, I would make the beds while my husband and and daughter are still in them. I just can’t with unfolded blankets, pillows thrown about and the sheets wrinkled. It makes my skin crawl just looking at an unmade bed. I don’t drink coffee or tea in the morning (or at all – how am I so high strung without caffeine?) so to get my day going I have to make our beds. Now that I say that out loud it sounds a little crazy.

Organizing: I like to think of myself as the Queen of Organization because my house is so organized that it annoys the shit out of me (and my loving husband, too). Everything has to be lined up perfectly, centered on the wall, facing the right way, labels out and it has to be clean. Rugs on the floor have to be lined up perfectly to the couch or in the center of the cabinet it lies under. I don’t even like my husband to touch certain things because I know he won’t put it back the correct way. He knows he will feel the wrath of his crazy ass wife. How in the hell am I still married? My husband is an honest to God saint.

I’ve seen quotes saying “a messy home means love lives here” or something to that effect. A messy home may mean that love lives there but it doesn’t mean love doesn’t live here. It’s just a spotless, well manicured kind of love so mommy doesn’t lose her shit.

– Casey

The Sound of My Sanity

Published on October 5, 2015October 20, 2015 by KirstynVelez- www.BurritoBuzz.com2 Comments

…being flushed riiiight down the drain.

Legos. You know what I’m talking about…those little expensive sharp cornered bastards that you can never find when you’re trying to clean up…only when you’re barefoot in the middle of the night trying to check on your LO. Yea, those. They suck and I hate them. What I hate more that Legos themselves is the bucket I store them in…and worse than that is the noise it makes when the whole…entire…damn…bucket is being dumped out. The whole thing.

And you know just as well as I do that once you tell a two year old to help “clean up”, and he sings that cute little song, that he still won’t clean up and will subsequently destroy everything you’re trying to clean.

So what do I (try) to do…

Cycle out the toys. C has a toy shelf thing with bins on it. Some bins get put up depending on how much I feel like picking up that day..errr I mean so he’s not overstimulated… diversified stimulation is a good thing…or something like that. Each bin is organized… One has Legos, one has cars, one has trains, one has foam letters, one has musical instruments, puzzles, random junk that doesn’t belong anywhere else, etc. I typically leave out something fun, something busy, something intellectual and always his trains. He also has 24/7 access to his bookshelf.
Start a Routine. C knows that before nap time and before bed time we clean up… And then I typically clean up little by little throughout the day. He also knows where his toys are kept and what goes where, so that definitely helps. He cleans up well, just not to my standards.
Task it out. “You clean up your shapes, while I clean up your cars”…and he will. Then I get the “I help you” phrase and quickly have to find the next spot for him to clean before he all of the sudden wants to play with his cars again. Keeps him busy so he doesn’t destroy too much, and helps at the same time.
Set up designated areas. I’m not a “helicopter mom”…frequently C plays in his room, unsupervised, by himself (gasp!) and he’s perfectly fine. He will bring his shapes (or letters), his guitar, and his (unloaded) nerf gun to the living room when I’m sitting out there, and he is absolutely allowed to but he knows that nothing gets left on the floor and his toys either stay on the love seat or the ottoman. He also knows that the living room and the main hallway are “play zones” and knows the whole house is not his for his toys. Don’t get me wrong, he is allowed anywhere in the house (except upstairs by himself) but the toys, not so much… designated areas.

Now if you’re one of those moms that’s perfectly okay with your entire house looking like Toys’R’Us threw up in it, more power to ya. I’m too much of a neat freak for that and I know I’m not the only one out there. The most important thing is make your kiddo responsible for his/her mess… After all, you’re the mom not the maid…

-Kirstyn