Unilever Products and Family are #BetterTogether - Reduce, Reuse and Be Proud!

This time of year I start thinking about holiday food, shopping lists and what community service project our family will participate in. Last year we collected toys, but this year I am pregnant and finding it harder to tackle big projects on my own.

So I am really excited to share a little secret with you.

Okay, it's not a secret, but it is a great way to give back just by supporting your family's favorite products. Unilever is a company that promotes and participates in many amazing projects promoting sustainable living such as the Cross Off Hunger Campaign. It is all in an effort to be #BetterTogether.

Which Unilever products does your family use?

I was amazed at how many of their products my family already uses in our daily lives. In the bathroom I use Noxzema, love the Suave shampoo and conditioners, use Dove bar soap and deodorant, and we prefer Q-tips brand for our cotton swabs. In the kitchen we use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spread, Bertolli pasta sauces, Lipton teas, Popsicles and many other products. All of these are part of the Unilever family. While shopping I discovered Dove even has a dry shampoo as well. I can't wait to tell you what I thought of that product and how it will relate to my family's new project for the holiday season.

So, you might be wondering, what does Unilever have to do with sustainable living? Well, each brand is hoping to inspire all of us to make small changes that add up to big results. For example, Dove is championing a Self Esteem movement for young girls, Suave brand wants to encourage us all to "Turn off the Tap", and many of their brands have redesigned packaging to reduce waste, among other projects. Unilever is a company, I believe, Making Life Better.

There are 3 parts to Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan:

1.  Improving Health and Well Being (Health, Hygiene and Improved Nutrition)

2. Reducing Environmental Impact (Greenhouse Gases, Water, Waste & Sustainable Sourcing)

3. Enhancing Livelihoods  (Sustainable Sourcing and Better Livelihoods)

Small actions do make a BIG impact.

One Unilever project that really hits home around the holidays and beyond is Cross Off Hunger involved in Feeding America:

Unilever is committed to donating more than two million meals to families in need with Feeding America and every item on your shopping list counts.  Show your support by adding Unilever brands to your cart next time you shop.  Together we can help to Cross Off Hunger.

You can learn more about why this project can make such a difference on Unilever's website, MakingLifeBetter.com. Test your hunger IQ, learn what items your pantry needs, take a virtual food bank tour and even locate a Feeding America food bank near you right on the site. See how your family can get involved and see just how easy it really can be.

Yes, I am excited to get started with my family on our own sustainable living project. My children, ages 3 and 5, are eager and excited to take on more responsibility around the house. Goodness knows, with a new baby on the way I am going to need the help. I plan to create a chore chart and chore jar with recycled Unilever products to not only get my kids excited about helping out around the house, but also have them start thinking about reducing their own waste and water consumption.

I hope this project will help instill in them a greater awareness of their own actions and also greater self esteem for helping out and actively participating in the family. I can't wait to share the second half of this project with you. It is going to be a lot of fun!

Learn more by connecting with Unilever on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, join in on the Unilever Twitter Party

Follow: @MakeLifeBetter

Hashtag: #BetterTogether

When: Nov 15, 12-1 EST

*Disclaimer - I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and  Unilever  #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Let SitterScout Schedule You A Break

I am a Mom of two, and I rarely have a night off. This year my husband and I want to set aside more time for date nights and adult conversation. As busy Moms don't we all deserve a bit of time off?

Some times I just need a bit of uninterrupted adult conversation to leave me feeling refreshed and ready to face play-doh again the next day. My husband and I used to talk for hours before the kids were born, now we have gleaned communication down to only the necessities that can be hurtled over my talkative children. In order to strengthen our bond, and make us better parents, time together is essential. And bonding in a nice restaurant with other adults is always a bonus!

I schedule our doctors visits, play dates and family trips but I do not look forward to scheduling a night out. Why? Scheduling a babysitter can be frustrating. Even with a short list of potential sitters to work with the time spent playing phone tag, leaving messages and waiting to hear back can put a damper on scheduling the fun side of the outing. Well, SitterScout can help schedule your babysitters.

I set up an account with SitterScout. It is fast, easy and free! This online/mobile tool is a little like having a personal assistant in charge of my sitters. This isn't a service for recruiting sitters, instead it uses my current and trusted network of contacts and allows me to put out requests and be notified as soon as someone takes the job.

I can schedule when I need a sitter, then set up who I would like to request to babysit for me. I can put down just one person, but adding many possible sitters is more efficient. A text or email is sent out to my possible sitters and I am texted when the job is accepted.

I love that I can organize my contacts by prioritizing my top choices. My second round will be contacted 4 hours later if no one from the first round accepted. I also love that by entering the information in once on the SitterScout site, I am done. No need to make multiple calls because this service does all the work for me. And if my sitter backs out? I can use the waiting list and my other sitters will automatically be contacted. I love the simplicity. Both the scheduler and sitter are also sent a reminder email 48 hours before the appointment.

This seems like a great way for me and my sitters to manage requests and appointments, don't you? If you had a convenient way to schedule your sitters, how would you spend your break?

*Disclaimer - This is a Splash Creative Media campaign on behalf of SitterScout.com. I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own.