Product review: Raqpak Travel Laundry Set with Adjustable Bungee Clothesline, Clothes Pins, Sink Stopper

In my efforts to travel light I like doing laundry on the road. This kit has everything I need - a stopper to turn the sink into a wash basin and a clothesline with clips to dry things out. This listing contains two lengths options 1.3 m and 1.8 m. Because the length are specified in metric measures I made a bit of the mistake ordering the short one, it is only 41 inches, where is the long one is 71 inches. However, even a short one works because I can attach it on angle between two adjacent walls.

The weak point of the set are the suction cups. They can hold very light items, but something like heavy hiking socks (one of the things I like washing on the road) are too heavy for the suction cups. The good news is that this clothesline also has hooks under the cups and using the hooks it can support more weight. The challenge with hooks it to find to places to hook them, but usually I can figure something out.

Bottom line here is that if you are planning to dry light items you can take advantage the suction cups, if you are planning to dry heavy things you need to use hooks.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: BirdRock Home 55" Extendable Snow MOOver

Several weeks ago I purchased the "BirdRock Home 55" Extendable Snow MOOver".  I own a Honda CRV, which is a pretty tall car and in the past I always found the squeegee part of the snow brush worked more effectively for snow removal especially from the roof. When I saw this snow mover I thought it has a potential to be a really good match for me. I am writing this review after the first snow (and ice) event with the BirdRock snow mover and it worked very well, better than my old brush scraper.

In the past I owned brushes with two different extension mechanisms - the twist and the button release like BirdRock. The buttons work much better when the weather is cold and wet. The twisting mechanism often froze on me just when I needed it. I also like the foam handle, they don't chill my hands. 55" length is a very good length is long enough to push the snow off the roof the car on the other side. I am fairly short and the car is fairly tall, 55" just enough to reach accross. The width of the head 14". 55" length is the length of the moover when it is fully extended, when it is collapsed it length is 36".

The orange head the moover is made out of stiff synthetic rubber type material which has some give it to it. I can flex it a little bit with my fingers, but it is stiff enough that it does not bend pushing the wet snow. The scraper on the other end is made out of hard stiff plastic and has a good shape - small enough to get it into crevices next to the side mirrors.

Overall, I am quite pleased with my new snow and ice tool.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: BB Prevent Outdoor Faucet Cover

These covers are made out of nylon fabric with 1/4" insulation material between the two layers.  The insulation layer feels like plastic packing sheets.  It provides light protection, it is probably not sufficient for a deep deep freeze we occasionally get in New England. So it is always best to turn off the water and drain the the pipe for winter and these covers provide some extra insurance.

These covers are easy to install - I just slipped them over the faucet and tightened the Velcro around the pipe.  The package included two covers.  Their size is 7" by 5.5".  The Velcro strip is 6".


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Lemome Bullet Journal - dotted design

I really like this notebook.

(1) I like the dotted design, it allows me to write straight no matter what orientation I use the notebook in
(2) The notebook lays flat no matter where I open it, I do not need to "train" it
(3) I like that it has both the bookmark ribbon and the elastic that keeps the notebook closed
(4) The notebook's cover has a nice texture, it has slight give to it 
(5) The bookmark has an elastic loop to hold a pen
(6) There is a pocket on back cover to keep small notes. It arrived with a sheet of colorful sheet of page dividers tucked away in the pocket.
(7) The pages have a perforation so pages can be ripped out neatly if needed

The size of the notebook is 8.4" by 5.7". It has 180 pages.

This is the first time I bought a notebook with a dotted design and I really like it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Pro Line 15 Watt Soldering Iron with Ceramic Heating Element & Ergonomic Cool Grip Handle

This a nice soldering iron. It comes in a 12" x 4" x 2" case. The soldering iron has an ergonomically shaped handle which is 6.5" long. It stays cool while you use it, and its texture is grippy. The package includes a 2" x 2" safety stand. The soldering iron has ceramic heating element and heats up quickly. Maximum temperature is 824°F (440°C). The tip is iron-clad chrome-plated and replaceable. The soldering iron has a 8-foot power cord.

In attached video you see my husband working on the banana plugs for the audio cables. He thought the soldering iron worked well. The soldering iron has been in use since 2014, he uses it for a couple of projects every year.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Cartman Windshield Sun/Snow Shade

The windshield shade is made out of light weight nylon. Its size is 59" x 27.5", in attached photos you can see it on Honda CRV SUV. The windshield is covered fully side to side but not all the way from the top to the bottom as you see in the photo on the left.

 The silver side up is used as a sun shade, and the black side up is used as a snow shade.

The windshield shade has flaps on the sides to hold the shade in place.  The suction cups held well when I tried them in the warmth of the house, but they do not stay attached to the metal or glass in the cold weather.  However I am able to tuck the flaps into the doors and that holds the shield in place.  The flaps are in the middle of the shield and as you see in attached photos the top and bottom edges flap in the wind.  I thinking of adding additional straps at the top of the shield to hold the top from folding over.

Overall, it does makes snow removal easier after a snow fall, even though I think how it attaches to the car can be improved.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Cartman 3-in-1 Collapsible Car Snow Brush- Ice Scraper

This three in one tool include 35.5" shovel, 30.5" show brush, and 27.5" ice scraper.  The tools feel fairly sturdy, compact and light weight.  Especially handy for our smaller car.

The workmanship is a pretty rough, the metal edges are not well polished and I scraped my hand on a sharp edge when putting the shovel together so be careful.

Changing heads is fairly easy if you use something other than you fingers to press the button and then the handle to keep the button depressed by the sides and then with the button depressed pull or push the handle as needed.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆