(stupid?) product review: insta grip

ok.

 i admit it. 

i am a sucker for anything that says "as seen on tv". i guess it is the lazy consumer in me...i think that that ONE amazing product may indeed solve some of my legitimate concerns. 

yes---i have trouble opening opening jars!! maybe i need one of these??

and what if my house burns down because my dryer has too much lint??

maybe this gadget will ease my stress:

of course, not all of these products actually live up to their claims, as i sadly found out the duvet donuts. you can see my review of those here.

well, i was at the grocery store a while back when i spotted this:

i wasn't really sold, but then i noticed THIS claim:

what??

a DESIGNERS DREAM??

oooo....too tempting! i HAD to get it, right?

the claims:

"reposition able"

"easy to use"

"keeps rugs in place"...(and can be used for scrapooking and all sorts of other stuff, which i wasn't interested in the least)

here has been the scene at my back door lately:

and even worse---the hallways leading to my garage, laundry room and mud room:

this has honestly bee driving me nuts since we moved in. this is a pretty thin, indoor outdoor rug, and the rug pad is always shifting underneath it.
(PS--i ordered this rug from overstock for $35! it is currently out of stock, but you can view it here.)

i have trimmed the rug pad, and adjusted it, and it still looks like this after a day or two.
very aggravating! (and sorry for the messy floors. when i took this picture, it was after we were cutting wood in the garage for our kids closets.)

if there was even a chance that this stuff was going to work, i was willing to give it a try.
here is what came in the package:

two sheets, and two rolls of varying widths.

the directions said to clean the floor first, so i did.

then, it said the trim the insta grip, and stick it to the back of the rug.

then , peel back the lining and place the rug where you want it.

lets revisit those claims, shall we?

*repositionable?

yes---i found this to be true. it took a couple tries to get the hallway runner in the right spot, and it easily came up. 

* easy to use?

yep. i thought it was very easy to use. i still have a lot left after laying both rugs--probably enough for two smaller rugs or one larger one. 

*keeps rugs in place?

well, this is the BIGGEST question, right? i mean, who care if it is easy to use and reposition able if it DOESNT WORK, right?
well, i have to say that i am really impressed! it really has worked wonders on both of my rugs!

i have had it down for about 6 weeks now, and neither rug has budged---even with the heavy traffic that the garage hallway gets...and we have been pummeled with snow, and the entire family has been coming in and out of the garage with snowy boots on, and the rug has stayed in place beautifully.

the verdict:
(NOT stupid)
i was super impressed with instagrip. it has solved my issue of both of my rugs shifting and sliding around. worth the trip to the "as seen on tv" aisle in your local supermarket.

this item was purchased by me, and the review is my opinion about my experiences with this product.

(stupid?) product review: duvet donuts

i was recently at bed bath and beyond, and came across a product that i thought could potentially be life changing. we have 4 beds in our house, and every one of them have down comforters and duvet covers on them. there are two beds in particular (my bed and my sons bed) where the duvet is always misaligned with the duvet cover and it drives me nuts! 

i saw these, and i had a coupon, so i decided to give them a try:

THE CLAIMS:

"easy to use"

"attaches in seconds"

"keeps your comforter from bunching and shifting inside your duvet"

too good to be true? i was about to find out!

as instructed, we laid out the duvet cover (the malou from ikea) inside out on the floor, and put the duvet on top of it.

next, we put one side of the duvet donut on the top, and the other side on the bottom, and the pieces locked together . easy enough for a 9 year old.

so, yes. the claims of "easy to use" and "attaches in seconds" were pretty much accurate.

after the donuts were all attached, we flipped the entire thing right side out.

hmmm. not really loving the way that is is looking! (and sorry about the NON vaccumed carpet!)

(i tried again to get the rings to the very edge of the duvet, but it still looked the same...not pretty, to say the least, BUT...if it worked, then i thought that i could live with it. at least for my sons room...)

now---to see if they HOLD the duvet cover in place...

***i came back a week later to find that two of the donuts had come loose. i asked my son if he had pulled them out, and he hadn't. i snapped them back into place, and a few days later, one of the same ones and one different one was loose. (in fact, after 2 weeks, only one remained in place)

VERDICT:

in my opinion, these are pretty much worthless. (sorry duvet donut people) they made the duvet bunch up at the corners, which i found unattractive, and they didn't even hold the duvet together, which is what they claimed to do. maybe other people who have used them think they are great and love them, but i would not spend money on these again.

this item was purchased by me, and the review is my opinion about my experiences with this product.