I tried two new things this week. Both involve shopping . . . oh no! First, there is a new website http://www.alice.com/ that sells basic toiletry items and cleaning goods and will ship them to you for free. Lots of other places have tried this concept without much luck, but Alice promises that they are better and cheaper than other online retailers! For starters, shipping is always FREE! You only have to purchase six items for checkout, and that will probably be around $15 in most cases since lots of things are under $2. They have manufacturers' coupons which are applied automatically and listed next to the price. They have a wonderful selection, and I only saw a handful of things that I buy regularly which weren't listed. Everything is divided by "rooms" such as laundry, bath, kitchen, cleaning closet, pets, etc. Then, you can also search by product name or brand. You can specify how often you usually buy a product, and Alice will email you reminders to reorder. I pretty much have Wal-mart prices memorized, and I was pretty impressed with Alice's bottom line -- I'm not sure where they are making their money! A few items (ie: sunscreen) were significantly higher than Wal-mart at $9 per spray can when I paid $7.50 for it last week. However, diapers were the same price for a small pack of Pampers Cruisers after getting a credit for -$2.00 from Alice, so the pack was $8.50. I ordered 11 items of things I really did need to get this next week, and my bill was $35. Alice charged state tax but FREE shipping. My order is supposed to come in two business days. I feel that my order was within $2 of what I would have paid at Wal-mart for those exact items. However, I would avoid the OTC medications at Alice since they are expensive. I usually buy Equate brand (store brands) of all Tylenol, Motrin, Excedrin, etc. Alice only sells the name brands, so that will cost more. However, if you normally buy a name brand product (like Tide, Cheer, Charmin, Colgate, Pledge, Windex, Pampers, etc.), then Alice's prices are pretty competitive.
Now, if you live down the street from Wal-mart (or get a discount as an employee), and you don't work and your kids are in school all day, this is probably not a convenience to you. However, if you are a working mom who wants to avoid one more trip to Wal-mart after work on your way home in order to pick up toilet paper or laundry detergent, then Alice would be great! Also, I can see how people who live in a large city with no vehicle or who have to take a metro to the store would love to order toiletries online, as I can see how someone in the country might find it a big savings over a 20 minute drive one-way to get into "town." Since it is free to set up an account, and you are not bound to future shipments, Alice would be a great service after having a baby or having surgery, when you just couldn't get to Wal-mart or Target for a month or two without a lot of effort. So, I hope this website succeeds! Time (and their ongoing prices) will tell if I continue to use it. For the summer, it is nice because having my Pledge, shampoo, Tide, and toilet paper delivered will be one less trip to Wal-mart in 100 degree weather with three kids begging for candy in the check-out lane!
The next item I newly love does involve going to Wal-mart (or at least that is where I found it in the refrigerated area of the produce). It is prepacked guacomole that is actually wonderful! I am pretty picky about my guacomole, and I thought it might taste fake. This brand called Wholly Guacomole is all-natural with only lime juice and garlic salt added. If you add a diced tomato, no one would know it wasn't homemade. So, there's my tip on what to bring to the next party you have to go to when you sign up to bring a snack! It is better than what I ate at a restaurant recently! Seriously. If you like guacomole, this is sold year-round, so you don't have to pay as much for a fresh avocado, nor do you have to worry that you'll get home with a bagful of buised avocados that end up making brown dip! It comes in a single tub or a package with six individual serving "snack packs" (perfect for me since I can't eat the whole tub in one day, and no one else in my family will touch the stuff!). It is around $3.85 at Wal-mart and worth every penny!
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