If I Only Had More Time…and $250 More Dollars

At least once a week, if not once a day, a woman will proclaim that if she only had more time, she could get one more thing on her never-ending list of duties done.

As we have mentioned quite a few times before on Woman Tribune, Alice is an amazing web service (and iPhone app!) that will help you take and keep stock of all the household products you use and need on a daily basis. It gives you a super easy and convenient way to order new household items and have them shipped directly to your house, and Alice will also alert you to let you know when something is running low that you may not have noticed. Gone are the mornings when you realize you’re out of shampoo and walk into work with a mop on your head. Typically, an Alice user eliminates the chore of going to the store for these much-needed items, saying them 30 minutes per week. Of course that’s according to Alice, because I’ve experienced shopping trips that last much, much more than 30 months and that is more than once a week; but nevertheless, you are pretty much guaranteed to save a half hour of time usually spent in the store when working with Alice.

Because Alice is the awesome household friend that just keeps giving, they are asking What would you do with more time? Your answer could very well give you $250 extra dollars to use on Alice.com and save a pretty penny on your household items.

To enter this contest, all you have to do is submite your story detailing what you would do with 30 extra minutes a week. Would you play with the kids, make an extra special dinner for the husband, take a bike ride or a yoga class, or maybe even take a nap? Whatever it is, Alice wants to hear about it. You can also submit a video, for no other reason than to accurately portray your desperation for $250.

Get Alice on Your iPhone

With the amount of benefits Alice provides to busy folks shopping for household essentials and the oh so excellent deals they have to make sure you’re getting the lowest price, it was only a matter of time before Alice had her very own iPhone app.

If you’ve never heard of Alice before, it’s a website that makes it easier and cheaper for you to shop for your household essentials like Q-tips, toilet paper, laundry detergent and more and even get reminders of when you’re running low and need to order more–and not only that, but Alice will ship your order right to your house so you don’t even have to go to the store. From a personal perspective, Alice is a hermit’s dream. When you download the Alice iPhone app (for free, I might add!), you will have full access to product lists, coupons, reminders and shopping cart. You can access price comparisons, ingredients, customer reviews and coupons for the top 50 daily deals on Alice.com.

Get the new Alice.com iPhone app

Ditch the Disposables Challenge

Every month or so the Crunchy Domestic Goddess issues a challenge to all of us who want to make a better effort at going green. For the months of September and October, she is asking us all to ditch the disposables.

This challenge focuses on every day items that we use and then mindlessly throw in the garbage. Every week when we take out or garbage, it is picked up by the garbage truck and hauled off to a landfill or whatever method your community uses to get rid of its population’s trash. As we all are aware of, the Earth needs our help as global warming is upon us and our Earth is suffocating, shriveling up and dying at rapid speeds. It will continue to do this is we, the people of this planet, do not make conscious efforts each and every day to reduce the amount of waste we put out there.

Think of the every day items you use that you could easily do away with and start using the reusable alternatives. You could ditch your paper napkins and towels to cloth napkins and towels, tissues to handkerchiefs, disposable water bottles (think of how much bottled water a household or person can go through) for reusable bottles or cups with lids; on that same note, you can reuse the same water bottle, thus eliminating the amount of your waste long-term. You could also ditch your plastic sandwich bags and paper bags for reusable containers and bags. If you’re using disposable diapers you could switch to cloth diapers; a lot of different companies have started making excellent cloth diapers.

Another great reusable alternative women should seek out are reusable menstrual products. I have personally done away with disposable pads and tampons and started using reusable products. The reason for this is because I have had minor kidney infections that have caused frequent urinary tract and yeast infections. All the women out there know that this is not fun! After doing some research on minor things I should be doing to keep my reproductive organs the healthiest they can be I found some very troubling information about disposable menstrual products. Standard pads and tampons (made by men, I should point out) contain synthetic fibers and bleach, both of which can cause infections. I then did some research on reusable alternatives and found quite a few great alternatives. For women who use pads, I could not recommend Lunapads enough. I have been using their pads for about a year now and couldn’t be happier. They are made with fleece and cotton, they use cute fabrics so even while you have your period you can feel cute and match your outfit with your pad and they are oh so comfortable. Just a simple machine wash (or hand wash, I hand wash mine and have found it to be a great way to bond with my body during my menstrual cycle and further understand the functions of my body) and an air dry and they’re ready to go again! Lunapads also makes the Diva Cup, a reusable tampon alternative. Other pad and tampon alternatives you could check out are The Keeper and The Moon Cup, Glad Rags, Pretty Pads and New Moon Pads.

So what disposables do you think you could live without for the next two months? Have you already eliminated disposables from your household? Tell us about them!

Make Dieting Easier: Diet Food Delivery

Disclaimer: Woman Tribune and its staff does not condone “crash dieting” particularly because it has been proven not to work long-term and is extreme in its nutritional deprivations, typically severely restricting calorie intake. We love each and every woman just the way they are. No matter what size you are, we think you are fabulous. If you are currently crash dieting or are thinking about starting a crash diet we hope that you are doing so for health reasons and are treating your bodies with the respect that they deserve. This post is about dieting, but if maintained correctly, these diet resources are in no way deemed as “crash diets” and have the ability to work long term. If you do choose to start a diet, we strongly suggest you follow your diet correctly and maintain a healthy calorie intake with nutritional value.

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Dieting is perhaps one of the hardest acts to carry out effectively. Women particularly have a hard time losing the weight they wish to lose because women lose weight very differently than men. If you and your partner have decided to start a diet together, you may find him losing weight at a much escalated rate than you, lowering your confidence and will power to be able to carry your diet out long enough to see changes to your own physique; I know, I’ve been there.

The key to effective weight loss is to do it right–In the healthiest way possible. When most people hear the word “diet” they immediately start thinking that they must give up the foods that they have come to love and are apprehensive about it even working to begin with. Most women who diet have also tried two or three other diets in their lifetime, all proving to be ineffective long term. The key to success is your determination to lose weight and also to treat your diet (and your body) with respect. You should not be giving up the foods you love or treating the act of eating as a chore. Food is what makes so many people happy and while this leads to portion control is some cases, the key is to limit your portions, not give up the food you love completely, ie: you can still have a piece of chocolate cake (Oh the love I have for chocolate cake…) but you can’t have an entire chocolate cake.

Grocery shopping, especially for me on a personal level, is a chore and a half. For one, I live in a strictly residential area in the middle of nowhere; I have to drive for at least a half hour to get to the nearest grocery store and because it’s the one grocery store for an entire three small cities, they hike their prices up to a degree where you feel as if you are being robbed by the time you’re ready to check out. Because of this, I usually drive over an hour to get to WalMart, which is the only other option I have for cheaper groceries. If you go through a similar ordeal when it comes to grocery shopping and also feel that purchasing the foods for your diet cost you an arm and a leg and after a few weeks have to quit your diet because it’s easier to order off the McDonald’s dollar menu than buy nutritional, healthy foods for yourself, I have a secret to share with you.

There are many diet programs who offer diet food delivery for a price cheaper than buying it in the store. This is an excellent option for people who, like me, find it difficult to get to a grocery store or find their bank accounts fast approaching zero because of what it costs to buy them in the store.

Medifast knows that dieting is all about choosing health, they believe in choosing health over anything else so much in fact, that it’s their motto. Medifast has a great food delivery service that will ship you the best possible diet foods making it easier for you to diet and not have to give up the delicious foods you love. Medifast is also a highly trusted company when it comes to weight loss, so what you receive from them is simply the best and by using their diet regimen, you will be losing weight and going about the process the healthiest way possible.

The foods you will receive from Medifast are high in nutritional value and are given to you in well controlled portions. While they are about portion control, which is what every diet thrives on, their foods will not leave you hungry afterward, eliminating the temptation of overeating. Their menu is highly diverse with a menu that will please everyone–Even those of you who are vegetarian will be surprised by their extensive menu.

For an entire breakdown of Medifast, their diet plan and diet foods as well as some of their success stories, be sure to check out the Medifast diet reviews.

Nutrisystem is a diet plan that helps you not only lose weight and keep it off long-term, but it will help you lose weight fast. For any of you who need to lose those 10 or 15 extra pounds before your wedding, high school reunion or any other event where you really want that wow factor as soon as you walk into a room, Nutrisystem is for you. Nutrisystem will also work at the same fast pace for people who want to lose up to 100 pounds or more. It has been said to be the fastest working diet plan out there right now, so it is definitely worth looking into and hey, if it’s not for you, they offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you don’t get what you expected or were looking for. With a money back guarantee like that there’s no reason not to try it!

Nutrisystem ships you prepared and packaged food right to your front door. They understand that people who are instructed to eat the same, bland meals every day aren’t going to stick with that diet, so their plan is all about choices giving you a myriad of food choices to fit your particular lifestyle. They offer over 120 different products for you to choose from to help satisfy your hunger and cravings for delicious food.

The Nutrisystem has many different systems to choose from including omnivores, vegetarians, different programs specifically for men and women because women tend to lose weight very differently than men and they also cater to men and women with type 2 diabetes. This system is so healthy that your need for insulin if you do have type 2 diabetes may even decrease over time while using Nutrisystem.

For an entire breakdown of Nutrisystem, their diet plan and diet foods as well as some of their success stories, be sure to check out the Nutrisystem reviews.