Well look at this! We have another guest blogger on our hands! I met Melissa when we both were living the Downtown Baltimore Life. We met at work but then bonded outside of work– mostly at happy hours at Mick’s or Maisy’s. I bet those establishments miss us. Now, we are sadly separated by half a country but we still text pretty much nonstop and is one of my best friends. I am excited to welcome Melissa to the Boxy Lady Life! Here she is!
I am going to start with the caveat that I am a subscription box novice and skeptic. I generally like to spend my money on things that I choose instead of leaving things up to chance (read: control freak). I am a Julep Maven, but I know with that box I am getting nail polish, which I cannot have enough of. I was also a member of a few wine clubs pre-pregnancy, but those were from specific wineries that my husband and I had visited. However, when reading about Jill and Lauren and all the “presents” they were getting, I got caught up. I want presents, too! I like other kinds of surprises, so why not a surprise in the mail?!
It was with this attitude that I started looking for just the right box for me. I am currently about 5 months pregnant with my first child. In a whirlwind year, I have gotten married, bought a house, gotten pregnant and finished my Master’s degree. I have not had time to pour through tons of books about being pregnant, and have the general attitude that billions of other women have done this before me—I am just going to eat right and ask questions when something seems weird. When I came across the 21 Bundles site, I thought it might be the perfect learning experience for a newbie mom like myself.
According to 21 Bundles, you receive 21 total boxes. Nine for each month of pregnancy and then a full year once baby is born. Each box is tailored to your month of pregnancy and/or the age of your baby. All of the products are earth-friendly and organic. Sounded like a good idea to me. Since I am a little behind the 8-ball, I missed the first four boxes, but I ordered and eagerly anticipated my “presents” in the mail.
On Saturday, my box finally arrived! It was well-packaged and heavy. I tried to think of the things I would want it to be at this stage in my pregnancy. Definitely some lotion as my skin is stretching more and more every day to make room for baby, maybe an organic cotton scarf since it’s getting chillier here, and definitely some food. This baby is always hungry.
Sadly, according to 21 Bundles, my 5th month is supposed to be spent doing dishes. I basically got a box full of soap.
Life Tree Concentrated Dish Soap, 16 oz. $5.59 on Amazon
I try to use natural products as much as I can, but so far I have not been too impressed with any of the brands of natural dish cleaners that I have tried. The two people who tried it on Amazon seemed to like it–maybe this will be the one that will blow me out of the water. I have no idea what this has to do with being pregnant though.
e-Cloth Washing Up Pad. $6.75 on Amazon
At first glance, this is a nice scouring pad, but it’s really a specially designed cloth with fibers that bust through grime and bacteria WITH NO SOAP. Yeah—there’s no way I am not using soap to wash my dishes. It might be good on the cast iron skillet since I can’t use soap on that, but it seems a little scratchy. Reviews on Amazon are mixed. Still not related to being pregnant.
Acure Peppermint Argan Oil Castile Soap, 16oz. $6.99 on Amazon
Described as “Minty freshness in a moisturizing Argan castile that will put some tingle in your dingle.” I wasn’t scared of it before, but now I am. I don’t want my dingle to tingle!
Dapple Naturally Clean Baby Laundry Stain Remover, 16.9oz, $4.99 on Amazon
Finally, something related to being pregnant! Except the baby’s mess is fairly contained at the moment. Luckily, I have a spill-prone husband I can try this one out on.
Motherlove Pregnant Belly Salve, 3ml
Hey—something I can actually use now that is solely dedicated to pregnancy. Too bad this is the only sample size item they included. I could have really used the full size version of this one. Got great reviews on Amazon as well.
Acure Dark Chocolate Mint Lip Balm, $3.99 on Drugstore.com
This is the only product that I tore into right away. Chocolate mint lip balm—awesome! Except it just tastes like mint, not chocolate. It’s also a tad greasy, but I will put it in my purse (and subsequently lose it in the sea of receipts).
Overall, I would rate this box a D. These presents were the equivalent of getting socks on Christmas morning. Maybe I could use this stuff, but not exactly what I want to spend my money on for fun. Also, the value for what I paid for the box is very disappointing. If I had bought these items (with exception of the lotion sample, which I couldn’t find a price for) from Amazon, I would have spent $28.31. Instead I used a promo code to get this regularly $40 box for $30. So I essentially overpaid and had to wait a month to get it instead of 2 days with Amazon. I am not sure what’s in store for 21 Bundles and me, but I thought pregnancy would be more fun. Click here if you are interested in more information on 21 Bundles!
I’m 12 weeks pregnant. I ordered this to give it a go. Plus is rare to find a box that ships to Canada. Good luck with your next box.