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Subscription Fun

Like most mum's, I found the run up to going back to work after maternity leave with my little girl a huge wrench on my heart. The bittersweet mix of wanting to get back to a job I love tinged with the guilt of having to leave my baby for several hours a week. There was also the dread of having to juggle everything (although my husband keeps reminding me I really shouldn't be juggling the kids ;-)) getting everybody out of the house on time in the morning and tea on the table of an evening, tackling the ever growing washing pile, making sure we were all clean and well turned out.  The list seemed endless and I was mindful that I needed to remember to take time for myself and part of this was to reward myself for all I was achieving.

I heard about subscription boxes a while ago but had never really looked into them properly as they seemed a bit frivolous - paying a chunk of money every month for something just for me. However, they seemed a great idea a this point in my life, an extra little surprise and reward each month so help me to take a moment out from the hectic whirlwind that is being a working mum!

After making the decision to subscribe I found one of the hardest things, other than getting over the guilt of spending money on myself (where does that come from?!) was choosing which box to go for! After having a look around I decided my first foray would be with a little box called Treatbox.  This lifestyle type box bases itself around a set theme each month and incorporates items from smaller businesses centred around health and well being.  It includes little bits for the home, candles and smellies, small jewellery items, usually something to eat/drink and motivational prints.  It sounds daft, but one of the biggest things that drew me to this box was the card calendar monthly printout which I thought would look great in my bullet diary (and which in subsequent months they changed to a paper printout which I didn't like so much!).

A post shared by Amy Dickman (@binksuk) on

After a few months of having a Treatbox (which you can read about here) I decided that perhaps I'd like to explore other boxes to see if they worked for me a bit better.  My next stop was Birchbox.  This is a subscription centred around beauty and make-up.  I decided that perhaps it might be nice to have a few new make-up items to play with and this seemed like a cost effective way to get them! The draw to Birchbox, instead of the other boxes of this kind, was its points system.  Every time you reviewed items in your box you would get points to use in its shop - the equivalent of £5 back each box - and also points for people signing up using your code.  Seemed like a no-brainer as I also had a code to get my first box half-price and the full size make-up item that month was something I was planning to buy (albeit not a high end version like they were offering, I can't see myself ever spending £20+ on a single item of make-up!)  Unfortunately after signing up for this box though the lovely people that run it decided to cancel the points system and to be honest, I wasn't impressed enough to continue at full price.  I think perhaps I'm not as into make-up as people who would appreciate this box are!  I'll write a full review for this soon!

So, onto my next subscription which I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of.  I've decided to give a little known box, Artemis and Xena, a try this month.  This box appeals to me as it's all about well being and empowering women and frankly you can never get enough of that can you?!  I like that it seems to be centred around mindfulness and taking a bit of time out of your day just for you.  I think this box is exactly what I need right now.  The owner has also made the decision to change the box from a monthly subscription to a quarterly purchase (although you can purchase a years subscription if you wish to which is nice) which means on other months I can dabble with other boxes, perfect!

Watch this space for further box reviews (including one on a Toucan box we've just purchased for the six year old :-)) and have a look around the blog for reviews of the ones I've had so far.

axx


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