Product Reviews: Chlorox, Yoplait & Career Expedition

One of the perks of blogging that I never anticipated is the occasional opportunity to review products.   Although I am getting these products for free, I’ll give you the straight scoop on them.  If I like them, I’ll say so.  If not, you’ll know that too. And I’ll say right up front that affordabilty is an important issue to me. Today I have 3 products to talk about.  (And, oh, I’m even giving out owls!!)

1.  First is a spray called Clorox® : Clorox® Anywhere.  This morning I used it to clean my counters, my sink, my kitchen window and my appliances. I liked that I could use it for anything, even my stainless appliances.  (Supposedly you can even use it to clean bottles, but that idea wigs me out a little. Chemicals in a baby’s bottle?  Ew!)  It is very mild-feeling, almost like water, but did a good job cutting grease and shining windows.  It did not get my porcelain sink as clean as my beloved ‘Barkeeper’s Friend.’  But otherwise it did well.   I am not sure if I would buy it again, but for a person who really wants a go-anywhere cleaner, this seems like a good option. I’m giving this product a 3 owl rating.

2.  The second product is Yoplait – Products – Whips.  I actually had my college-student daughter try these out for me. She said they were tasty.  But she didn’t feel they were a very good value for the money.  Not only is the serving size a little smaller (4 oz instead of 6, I think) there is also a lot of air whipped into the yogurt (I don’t know why this surprised me– it says ‘whips’ right in the name!)  So that means you’re getting less food for your money.  Unless I had a really good coupon, I probably would not buy this product.  I’m giving this product one owl.

3.  The final product for today is a game called  Career Expedition.   I was so pleased that Kelly from Pass The Torch  sent this one for me to review!  As a homeschool mom, I also play the role of guidance counselor, and a big concern of mine is helping kids along a viable career path. So I appreciate any help I can get in this.

 The other evening I sat down with 7 of my 8 kids and played this.  As could be expected, the 1 and 4 year olds were too young to get much out of it, though the 4 year old enjoyed counting tokens and rolling the dice.  Also playing were two 8 yr olds, and a 12, 14, and 18 year old.  

The goal of the game is to get the chance to fill in all the sections of a little worksheet that helps you discover your likes and dislikes.  You do this by answering questions about your likes and strengths, and by drawing ‘Navigation’ cards that demonstrate how various decisions can set you back or move you forward in the game of life.

All of the kids were immediately engaged in a thoughtful way with the questions.  We had to paraphrase and explain some of the terms to the 8 year olds, but even they were able to state their preferences, for example, regarding whether they’d like to live in a big city as adults, whether they’d like to travel a lot, and if they’d like to do indoor or outdoor work.

The game took us 45 minutes or so to complete, and afterwards all the teenagers were looking at their sheets in an appraising way, trying to ‘read’ what these answers might mean for their future.  Several even carried their paper away with them, to ponder further.  

One thing that my 18 year old wished for was actual lists of careers included with the game, so that you could look at your responses and then read about some possible career choices to match those preferences.  I agreed.  Info like that would really make the game more meaningful and complete.

But overall the game was worthwhile. I liked the discussion it generated. And it was a good chance to really listen to my children talk about their likes and dislikes.  Though this game was created to be used in a school setting, I think it would also be good for homeschooling families like mine, where lots of kids could benefit from the insight.

Kelly is offering a 50% discount to my readers who mention they saw the game here and buy the game during the month of October.  What a deal, eh?  Taking into consideration the discount, I am giving this game 4.5 owls. So click on over and check it out.

Here concludes this way-too-long post.