Questions about Thirty-One products

[acmom]

A friend is having a online Thirty-One party and I wanted to order one or two things to support her. Couple questions as I have never ordered their products before...

1) what utility tote do you like the best? Seems likes there are several different sizes/styles. I was thinking it might be useful for keeping extra stuff (clothes, umbrella, blanket, etc.) in the car.

2) how is the wristlet? I can't tell from the pic online if it has a lot of spots for cards and if it is big enough to easily hold an iPhone 5. I was considering a Vera Bradley wristlet that someone had recommended in another thread but thought maybe this would work?

3) any favorite patterns/colors that are fairly neutral? It's hard to pick a pattern from just the little square they show online!

Thanks!

[belovedgandp]

I have really liked their utility totes. The mid-sized one works well for me for an outing. Lots of outside pockets for water bottles and stuff. I can fit wipes, couple diapers, snacks, and my camera in there. I think it is called the "organizing utility tote" - strap is long enough to go on my shoulder easily. It is wider at the base then several other bags I had so I use it a ton with my bulky camera bag and snack containers.

I'm tempted by the Super Organizing Tote, but it is a tone bigger. Having it zip would be nice though.

I have a keep it caddy in my van and it works great for smaller things. Wouldn't be big enough for an umbrella, but I keep a few extra toys and snacks in there. It's about 1/3 full in my van all the time. Then I can toss my book and wristlet and maybe another toy into it and take it inside while we wait at gymnastics, swim, TKD with other kids.

I had one of their wristlets for a year and I was disappointed. The strap broke after 10 months. I had a Vera Bradley one for two years before that and replaced it again with another Very Bradley that I like better.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Oh man I had typed a long reply and it got deleted right before I hit send. Arggghhh. Anyway I cannot recommend the large utility tote enough. I have three of them and they get all get used several times each week. Dh uses one everyday to take kids stuff (lunches, nap mats, etc) to and from daycare. Another one we use to hold all the kids swim gear (towels, wet bags, swimsuits, etc) for when they have swim class. W have another spare one I use to hold folded laundry for putting away, or for taking meals to other moms or to parties. Also when we do raodtrips we use all three of them and use them instead of suitcases. The large utility tote rocks!

I also have organizing utility tote and the super version of it and they are great too. I used them as diaper bags. But if I could only keep one thing it would be large utility tote.

[jam224]

1) what utility tote do you like the best? Seems likes there are several different sizes/styles. I was thinking it might be useful for keeping extra stuff (clothes, umbrella, blanket, etc.) in the car.
I think it depends on how much stuff you want to store and/or how much room you have in your car. The Organizing Utility Tote (http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/Catalog/Product/27/index.html) is pretty big for that purpose, but the outside pockets are nice for organization. Inside the car, it would probably take up the entire floor space in front of a seat. In the trunk, it probably wouldn't take up much room. On the smaller side is the Keep It Caddy (http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/Catalog/Product/236/index.html). I have the older version of it, which was called the "All-In-One Organizer." This is the one I grab for when I need to bring some extra things for an outing with DD (in addition to her diaper bag). I can fit 6-8 cloth diapers, a wet bag, and a spare change of clothes easily. I really like the small size because I think it makes it more portable. Everything I put in it is lightweight, so I can carry it in the crook of my arm, no problem. It hardly takes up any room on the floor of my SUV. The one bag that I have in my SUV all the time though, is the Mini Utility Bin (http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/Catalog/Product/176/index.html). It's actually the perfect size to rest on the middle console in the 2nd row. There's never more than a few things in there at a time though, so I don't mind it all being dumped in one bin. I always have a spare blanket for DD in there, sometimes a spare jacket for her too, and occasionally I'll toss in a few extra road trip toys.

2) how is the wristlet? I can't tell from the pic online if it has a lot of spots for cards and if it is big enough to easily hold an iPhone 5. I was considering a Vera Bradley wristlet that someone had recommended in another thread but thought maybe this would work?
I found a video showing the features of the Timeless Wallet (it only has 4 card slots): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3octhr9huA

3) any favorite patterns/colors that are fairly neutral? It's hard to pick a pattern from just the little square they show online!
I also try to pick mostly neutral patterns. I have an Organizing Utility Tote in the Black Tailored Stripe and that looks nice (mine has green handles). I think Pin Dots looks safe, if you like brown. I love, love, love the Lotsa Dots pattern. That's what my Mini Utility Bin is in. It's sort of a taupe/grey color with small white dots and brown handles. If you're curious about a pattern, I would either Google it or search eBay to see if you can find a "real life" photo.