Here are a few of my favorite things for the month of June… and as always, be sure to check out some of my favorite things from past months.
DISCLOSURE: None of these products are sponsored in any way; however, some of the links below are affiliate links — which means I may get a VERY small percentage of the sale if you make a purchase through my links. However, I hope you know that I’m only promoting the products below because I use them EVERY SINGLE DAY in my own home and life! Read my full disclosure policy for more information.
My Slow Cookers
I’ll be honest, I have FOUR different slow cookers — but they are all different sizes and work well for different foods. Plus, I use my slow cookers ALL the time, and I have plenty of space to store them in my kitchen, so it really is worth it for me to have so many (how’s that for justifying my slow-cooker clutter!)
I have a bunch of slow cooker recipes on my blog already — but most of my other recipes could be tweaked in some way to work in the slow cooker (believe me, I’ve made most of them in the slow cooker at one time or another).
I am not brand-loyal for slow cookers, but 2 of my 4 are Hamilton Beach brand and I have nothing bad to say about them. In fact, I’ve found that brand to be less expensive than some of the others. The two feature I always look for are a “warm” setting and a lid that can be secured down some how (this makes traveling with it really easy). Here’s the link to my favorite (and largest) slow cooker.
If I did ever get another slow cooker (which probably won’t happen unless one of mine dies) I’ll probably look for a programable one — but since I’m basically home all day long, it’s not a big deal to turn it on or off at various times.
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OxiClean
The other day, I was scanning through all my previous months’ favorite things to make sure I wasn’t repeating myself — and I was downright shocked that I’ve never included OxiClean in my list of favorite things.
This powder is practically a miracle-worker when it comes to almost any type of stain in almost any type of fabric. I’ve saved many clothes, car mats, couch cushions, pillows, and more with this amazing product — especially since you all know how much I LOVE white.
I simply dump a scoop or two of OxiClean in almost every load of laundry (along with my regular detergent) and press “start”. No need to pre-treat, spot-treat, soak, or scrub anything. The ONLY thing that OxiClean didn’t totally remove for me was a bunch of pine sap on Nora’s clothing — which I totally forgot about and never did any pre-treating.
If you’ve never used OxiClean before, let me encourage you to give it a try — I don’t think you’ll be sorry! It can be a little pricey (but totally worth it for the laundry time it saves me). I’ve also found that Amazon.com has pretty reasonable prices for OxiClean.
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Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack
Since Nora never took a bottle, we didn’t need to worry about washing or drying bottles. However, Simon is drinking his bottles like a champ so I knew we had to come up with a better system for washing and drying them. I was tired of them laying all over the counter every day, and I wanted them to remain as sanitary as possible.
Thankfully, I remembered seeing the Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack on a friend’s baby registry last year, so I thought I’d check it out.
I used some extra store credit to Buy Buy Baby and purchased the drying rack, the Twig Accessory and the Stem Accessory — and have been using them daily for the past couple of months.
I can not tell you how much I love this thing!
Not only does it allow the water to drain off the bottles really easily (which is great for fast drying), it saves TONS of counter space, prevents them from constantly tipping over, provides ample space for all the tiny bottle parts and pieces… and it looks really cute too 🙂
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My T-Shirt Quilt
I’ve blogged about my t-shirt quilt before — but since it’s definitely one of MY favorite things, I thought it deserved an official spot on my list.
I had this t-shirt quilt made for me 2 years ago (by Jane from Maiden Jane), and have LOVED using it ever since. I love that it decluttered my t-shirt drawer and that it preserved all those fun t-shirts from my high school and college athletics, musicals, and other special / memorable events.
My quilt is the perfect size for snuggling up on the couch, spreading out on the lawn with the kids, or even to use as an extra blanket for our twin bed.
Not only is my quilt a great conversation piece, it’s also extremely functional and practical (win, win, win).
Dave’s t-shirt drawer is starting to get quite full now, so we’re thinking of having a quilt made with all his school t-shirts (coaching basketball, coaching tennis, leading student council, etc. etc.) We’ll see what we come up with — and I’ll definitely share the finished product on the blog if/when we ever get around to having Jane make us another one 🙂
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Old Navy Flip Flops
First of all, I definitely realize that flip flops are not the most supportive footwear choice (especially not the cheapy Old Navy ones) but that probably won’t stop me from buying a couple new pairs every summer 🙂
Since they are almost always 2 for $5, I don’t even wait for the $1 flip flop sale anymore (because I hate dealing with the massive crowd). I buy a new black and white pair every year — and sometimes brown or navy. I’m also planning to get a pair for Nora this year (that girl LOVES flip flops!)
I wear these flip flops everywhere — and I don’t care if they get ruined because I just trash them in the fall and get a new pair the next spring.
I realize some of you might be thinking, “why does she need to go to Old Navy for the flip flops?” and my honest answer is because I feel like I really do like their flip flops better than any other cheapy flip flop. I’m not sure if it’s just in my imagination or if they really are more comfortable? Either way, you can’t really beat the price!
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That’s all for me this month.
Make sure you check out my previous months’ favorite things — and feel free to share some of YOUR favorite things in the comments below!
Suzanne says
I bought some Oxiclean after reading this to add to my washer for each load. I see on it, however, to not add with the regular detergent in a front loader. Do you have a front loader and what do you do? Thanks!
Andrea says
Hi Suzanne, I do actually have a front loader and I use OxiClean with regular detergent ALL the time. I guess I never took the time to read the real instructions — but I haven’t had any issues 🙂
Jill says
I have four crockpots too and I just got a programmable one. I live them all so much. The hubby thinks I’m nuts but I have different sizes and ones that I use for certain recipes especially if I’m cooking in bulk. 🙂
Bev @ The Make Your Own Zone says
My daughter has the Boon Grass drying rack on her baby registry and I was kind of curious but was not really sure what it was! Now that it’s made an appearance on your Favorite Things List, I think I’ll be heading out to buy it for her for the next shower. It was nice to hear somebody’s first hand experience with it as it’s a totally new product to me!
Andrea says
I’d highly recommend it — plus it’s cute! Enjoy the new grand baby Bev 🙂
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says
I have that same crock pot and my 2 favorite functions are the travel-friendly design, as well as the warm setting. Sometimes a girl just needs flip flops to match each outfit. At least that won’t send you to the poor house! 🙂
Amy says
I’ve never used OxiClean, but with 2 boys, it sounds like something to try. Question: Do you have good success using it in an HE machine with cold water, or will it only dissolve with warm or hot water?
Andrea says
Amy, I almost always use warm or hot water to do all my laundry — something about cold water just makes me feel like the stuff isn’t getting clean 🙂
I’m not sure about using the OxiClean in cold water (I’ve personally never done it) but you might try googling it??
Raquel says
I guess I am going to try the Old Navy flip flops. I love there flats!
Beth says
Love these posts! Simple products/items that most homes can use with REAL endorsements, not paid for in some way. Keep them coming!
Jen says
These are all great items! I love Oxiclean as well. I add it as an ingredient to my homemade laundry detergent and then add a little extra to an especially dirty load if necessary. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m heading off to Old Navy to grab some flip-flops! 🙂
Amy says
Totally agree on the Old Navy flip flops!! There is just something about them. I always get the black and brown and try to get a fun color each summer. This year is lime.
Sara says
I love your favorite things posts! We had the drying rack and loved it too. And I LOVE Old Navy flip flops, I wear them non stop in the summer and they are so comfortable. My feet never hurt even after quite a bit of walking. Crazy for how cheap they are!
Andrea says
Thanks Sara, I’m always amazed that my feet don’t hurt after spending a fully day in those flip flops either!
Amanda says
My best friend made me a t-shirt quilt a few years ago for Christmas. She asked me about 6weeks before for my old college t-shirts (I seriously had TONS between freebies and ones I bought), it turned out great, and she even used another one that has one of my favorite phrases to make a small toddler sized blanket for my son, whom I was pregnant with at the time. Both are perfect and get used all the time!
I also spent about 12 years as a competitive swimmer. I’ve considered taking all of my old swimming t’s and having one made from those too. It would be great since some of them are super old, and are starting to wear out. That way I can keep them forever, and clean out my t-shirt drawer.
Andrea says
wow — what a great gift! I LOVE my t-shirt quilt!
Michelle says
I love your blog and read it all the time! I share your love for the Old Navy flip flops so I just had to comment. My family thinks that I’m crazy, but I’m the same way. Every spring I get at least 2 pair and I’ll pay full price. I don’t live by an Old Navy, but I get to travel through Grandville for soccer this weekend so I can’t wait to stop at the mall to get some new flip flops!!!
Andrea says
haha — thanks Michelle! You know how “cheap” I am — and even still, I think it’s totally worth the full price for those flip flops.
P.S. Grandville Old Navy is where I get my flip flops too 🙂
Sandy says
Just a suggestion to make your current crockpots programmable…..with a timer that you’d use for turning a lamp on/off, you can also use it to ‘auto start’ your crockpot. Plug the timer in your outlet, the crockpot into the timer at the temperature you want it to cook at with the timer set at the time it’s supposed to turn on. You now have a programmable crockpot ready to start cooking in your absence or in the wee hours of the morning if you’re cooking something for breakfast the next day. If you need it to stop cooking, you can also set the time for the timer to kick off as well.
Andrea says
hmmm… I never thought of that before! i might have to give this a try some time. Thanks for the idea 😉
Evie says
Brilliant idea! Thank you!
Paulette Smith says
Andrea, I LOVE your”Favorite Things” posts(!) because I know I can depend on your honesty and that what you feature really is great…please keep these posts coming!