We’re less than a month two weeks away from a couple thousand bloggers descending on New York City for BlogHer ’10 and I thought to myself, well, it’d probably be good to reflect on BlogHer ’09. The only problem with that thought is that everyone is doing that in the form of advice posts for newbies to BlogHer ’10. Anyone who knows me knows I’m more than willing to give often unsolicited advice any day so why pretend like it’s related in any way to BlogHer?

Instead, I thought I’d address another common theme in pre- and post-BlogHer posts: SWAG. “Why are we inundated with all this stuff?” some people complained. “[sigh] I had to bring a separate bag just for the swag,” others moaned (as they stuffed those very same bags full of the stuff they were given).

Look, people are given free samples (which is, in essence,what the BlogHer-type swag mostly is) in order to increase brand recognition or introduce new products. Marketers do it because it works.

After BlogHer ’09, someone (I cannot at all recall who) sent out a tweet saying that those of us who received anything for free should thank the people who gave it to us. Now, at my day job I represent companies like the ones who sponsor BlogHer. I know they appreciate a hat-tip for their generosity. BUT, as a consumer, I also know I’m not going to throw out an endorsement of something just because someone gave it to me for free. Frankly, free crap is still crap.

HOWEVER, there were a handful of items that I was introduced to at BlogHer ’09 that a year later I’m still using. Not only that, but these companies, for no reason other than their donating items for various swag bags at BlogHer ’09, have earned a paying customer. I have no problem recognizing those products. So, without further ado, here is the BlogHer swag I’m still using:

Bounce Dryer Bar

I got this from the Expo Hall last year. It’s really simple in concept but it’s just about the greatest thing to happen to a laundry room since, well I don’t know, if you spend any time at my house know I don’t do laundry. That’s Scoot’s job. But even Scoot loved this product. First things first, though. Bop has ridiculous allergies and reacts to everything so I was concerned about using a “normal” fabric softener bar since we use all that no fragrance, dye-free detergent and dryer sheets. I talked to the Bounce representative who humored me, even if they answered zero of my questions. But I brought it home and handed it to Scoot and said, “Let me know what you think.” He loved it. First of all, it works. That matters. Secondly, it didn’t affect Bop at all. We still use the fragrance- and dye-free detergent but apparently this bar is a-ok for his sensitive skin. Thirdly, it saves money. We’re slightly obsessive about our laundry so used 2 sheets of fabric softener in our dryer. We’ve replaced this bar (which says it lasts 2 months) maybe 3 times since last July. And we do A LOT of laundry. Do the math…we spent less than $20 on fabric softener in a year whereas we were spending somewhere between $30 – $60 per year on fabric softener sheets before. Fourthly, we don’t have to think about adding fabric softener. Once you install the bar – which is easy to do – you just load your laundry and forget it. I am a HUGE fan.

Intak Hydration Bottle

I think I got this in my swag bag from the BlogHer 5K. This is a BPA-free water bottle made by Thermos. It has a nice wide opening for drinking with a tight seal. Just below the push button is a dial to track the number of bottles you’ve consumed throughout the day. This is perfect for those of us who are mathematically challenged! My kids love this bottle. We had to fight over it so much that I bought DJ one of his own (in green because mommy’s pink bottle was apparently a girl color). Which he promptly left at basketball. So he was back to stealing mine…which he then lost on his first day of soccer camp. Yesterday I bought him a new (red) one. (Mine was recovered today.) For those of you who fill up your bottle at work, another convenient feature is that in addition to its screw top that opens up nice and wide, the spout through which you drink is wide enough that you can use the water cooler at work to refill it without unscrewing anything. I’m fully expecting to purchase yet another one for Bop in the very near future.

Scotch-Brite Greener Clean Products

I’d never go so far as to call myself a tree hugger, but if given the option between buying something bad for the environment vs. something better than bad for the environment with all else (including price) being equal, well I’m not a total asshole. That’s why I appreciated Scotch-Brite supplying their entire line of Greener Clean products in the Room 704 party swag bags (I’m pretty sure that’s where these were.) I’m sensitive to accusations of green-washing and Scotch-Brite isn’t free from such accusation with this line of products. However, unlike many “green” products, the Greener Clean line of products from Scotch Brite cost the same (at least at Walmart) as their regular line and I normally purchase Scotch-Brite sponges for my dishwashing needs. Though using them may not have made me an uber-environmentalist, I’d like to think I’m doing something better by using this line. Again, these products work. I’ve used them on my granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, ceramic tiles, bathtubs, and dishes. Nothing has been scratched.

eos Lip Balm

OK, so I really did ask, “What is that?” when I first saw this weird orb-shaped thing. For some reason I was envisioning it holding something like a charm or a tooth from my childhood or something. But no, even more bizarre, it was lip balm. I was skeptical if for no reason other than it’s shape. But come on…go take a look at a picture of me. I don’t exactly have Angelina Jolie lips. In fact, when I was in high school an ex-boyfriend called me a “no-lipped bitch.” In a note. Which I can almost recite by memory. But I digress. This orb-shaped lip balm works even on my non-existent lips. What I really like about it is that, unlike a number of tubular lip balms, this version didn’t seem to have that addictive quality to it. I put it on in the morning and, while it’s not greasy or heavy feeling, I don’t really need to put it on again until the next morning. And the flavor doesn’t make you feel like your lips have turned into mints or strawberry candies, rather it’s a very subtle mint flavor. In addition to the lip balm, I was also given some eos (it stands for evolution of smooth, by the way) shaving cream which I love love love. I rarely use shaving cream so I haven’t finished the bottle I got last year yet but when I do, I’ll definitely purchase eos again.

Honorable Mentions

There were a few pieces of swag that deserve a nod even if they didn’t exactly convert me to a paying customer yet. The folks who had the Disney NetPal set up were great. Honestly before BlogHer last year I had no idea what a netbook was. They walked me through the product and got me thinking about what kind of security and accessibility features I needed as my boys became interested in our computer (which they’ve really done in the past 12 months). I loved the Disney NetPal and immediately went home and told Scoot all about it. The problem is that they don’t sell it at Best Buy and I’m ridiculously loyal to them (mostly because I their 0% interest offers to buy all of my electronics). Though I didn’t end up buying the Disney NetPal, I did end up buying an Asus Eee PC which SURPRISE! is the same non-Disney branded netbook. I admit, I missed out on some really cool features but at least Asus made out.

I really loved bringing home a Mr. Potato Head for my boys. It’s a classic toy and they love the character in Toy Story movie but I really never considered buying one.

I got a couple of reusable shopping bags from Blue Avocado at BlogHer last year. These bags are really nice, not like the crappy ones they have at Safeway or Walmart. I use them for everything. Shopping, lunches, bringing dog bowls and food to my parents’ house, cleaning out the car, transporting towels and swimsuits to and from camp. And they’re totally washable! I haven’t actually spent more money on reusable bags since I got these but I have been better about reusing the numerous reusable bags that I had.

Dishonorable Mention

I really hate to say this but I just have to. The Strawberry Shortcake-sponsored room at BlogHer drove me nuts. They put bags down on every chair full of stuff that I doubt any parents of two boys need. And they included in that a printed press release about their DVD? Not interested. Not only that, but they restocked the chairs between panels even though the panels were all within the mommyblogging track. So not only did I have one girly bag to get rid of, I had to get rid of multiples. I appreciate everything that the sponsoring companies do to keep the cost of BlogHer down for attendees but if I were consulting with a client, there is no way I’d ever recommend they drop swag on every chair of a room for multiple sessions of the same track. *steps off my soap box*