Have you noticed a change in Charmin toilet paper lately?

For ages I have bought the package with the red label. It had been the same for a long time. And then something changed - sizes. Double roll, triple roll, gigantic roll, you had to be really careful to make sure that you bought a size roll that actually fit on the toilet paper roller thingy.

Now, if the arrival of sizes wasn’t bad enough, suddenly the Charmin in the red package is thicker. Being the busy parent that I am, it took me a few clogged toilet bowls to figure out something was up. But Kathy at the Junk Drawer whose humorous posts always make me smile, quickly cleared up the mystery - and I quote:

2. If I worked for Charmin, I could tell them that their Ultra Strong version of toilet paper doesn’t stand a chance in hell of being flushed down the toilet on the first try. It’s the consistency and thickness of paper towels, and no one with half a brain would try to flush paper towels. Stick with the Ultra Soft brand if you want to save a thousand gallons of water.

Thank you Kathy for my “Aha!” moment. You see, the red label Charmin has now been reborn as Ultra Strong (perhaps stronger than necessary) and the new blue label Charmin is called Ultra Soft (which is more similar to the “old” Charmin). I would take Kathy’s advice and stick with the blue Ultra Soft. If you are determined to buy the red label Charmin make sure you purchase a bathroom plunger to go with!

WooHoo! I won MomGadget’s Valentine’s Giveaway Spectacular!

For those of you that stop by NeenMachine.com regularly to fill up on my parenting tips, you know that I usually post a Friday Giveaway Roundup. This is just a list of links to sites that are giving away free stuff.  And the stuff they are giving away is pretty awesome. So, obviously, I am not only writing about it but am entering the contests as well. Well, here is proof positive that real people actually do win and it is definitely worth the effort to enter.

This Valentine’s Day will be extra sweet for me!

And if you are not familiar with the MomGadget site, take the time to head over and discover all the wonderful things that Gayla writes about. In addition to hosting fabulous Giveaways, Gayla introduces her readers t0 new products, websites, and services, and of course gadgets that moms will love. A successful, work at home mom herself, Gayla provides guidance and inspiration to the rest of us.

Just thought I would give all of you parents a heads up - there is a lot of stuff in Overstocks at Lands End right now. While quantities are limited, the inventory seems to be high. I am sure that this will only last a few days.

I picked up a winter jacket for my daughter for next year and a bunch of other clothes for her. I did not find as much for the boys but they get a lot of hand me downs so I don’t need as much.

Just a little FYI.

Perfectionism has been on my mind for awhile. Are moms and women born perfectionists?
How many of you are perfectionists? Everything has to be just right before you can say “I’m finished.”. Do you find that it helps you or hurts you? While dotting all you i’s and crossing your t’s is admirable, is the effort worth the result?

Lately, I have been examining how I approach my writing. Usually, I research everything, cover all angles, and grapple with whether the topic is really noteworthy. In the end, I am left with an excellent article but the investment of my time and effort has been huge. Also, for every idea that I actually write about, there are probably a bunch that I scrapped.

What if I had just let the ideas flow? Perhaps the quality of the articles would not have been as good. Definitely, not as well researched and authoritative. But I would have expressed my opinion, encouraged discussion, and maybe a new idea would have grown out of the old.

Meanwhile, other bloggers are downright prolific. Everyday, several times a day, even, they write well thought out and meaningful posts. Where do they find the time and ideas? What I am learning is that sometimes you just have to barrel ahead. Some things will flop but other concepts will take off. You won’t know until you try. And if you wait until everything is absolutely perfect. Well, it probably just won’t happen.

As to the question that I first posed - are moms and women more likely to strive for perfectionism? In my opinion, the answer is yes. Maybe it is just in the nature, or maybe it is just the people that I know. But it seems to me that women are held back by perfectionism more than men.

And no, I don’t think that perfectionism is a curse. In the end, it serves us well. If we can develop a better product, write a better article, or be the best at whatever we set out do, we will have more success. However, if we strive for perfection before we even get started, then we may never even give ourselves the chance to be perfect.

Here’s another version of the Friday Giveaway Roundup for parents.

• GoodyBlog is giving away a Dazzle Stroller.
• Musings of A Housewife is giving away a gently used copy of The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears.
• mod*mom is offering a chance to win a whimsical sheet set by kideko
• Momsational’s contest is a complete Day Runner Organizational System , and
• MomGadget has a romantic Valentine’s Day Giveaway Spectacular that includes chocolate, perfume, and PRADA.

Good luck to all!