Growing Up Baby (Products)

When I attended BlogHer earlier this year, I dropped a lot of business cards into fish bowls. Julie won a Wild Planet gift set and a $500 Bill Me Later gift card, but my one and only prize came from Johnson & Johnson. This shopping cart full of baby supplies arrived a few weeks ago. Now, my baby is almost 4 (and heavily planning her very own marshmallow birthday party—don’t ask!) but I am very excited about this gift.

Not only is the “basket” absolutely perfect for me (it makes me want to redecorate my kitchen!), but we have a few uses for baby toiletries even without infants. My original thought was to use a few of the items for upcoming baby shower gifts, but included in the package was a list of even more grown up uses. Since double duty groceries provide an even greater value, I am all over this one!

Here are a few of my favorite ideas for continuing use:

Baby Oil:

• Polish your faucets with baby oil after cleaning so it will retain it’s shine. Water will bead right off for awhile. You mean I won’t have to clean as often? Sold!
• Stop the squeak! Spritzing a little oil on the hinges should do the same job as WD-40 without the horrible smell.
• The gel version of baby oil can double as shaving cream or be used as an eye makeup remover. I’m interested to try this one as it’s much less expensive than my current eye cream.

Baby Shampoo:

• Speaking of eye makeup remover, the no tears feature of baby shampoo allows it to be used in more delicate places. That makes it yet another inexpensive eye makeup remover.
• Wash delicate clothing with baby shampoo in the sink. (Interesting…)

Baby Powder:

• If your hair is as oily as mine between washes, you’ll be thrilled with this one! Sprinkle baby powder into your hair and work through as a dry shampoo. The powder absorbs some of the oil in your hair and even adds a little volume. It’s a great quick fix when you need to go just a little bit longer until the next shower (blush) and it provides a nice, fresh smell too.
• Sprinkle powder into your shoes to prevent sweat and minimize odors.

Huge thanks to J&J for the great prize as well as sharing their secrets of the baby aisle. So, fess up—who else uses baby lotion just to be reminded of the sweet infant years?