Saturday, November 17, 2007

an amazing trip trick: the carabiner

I'm taking a quick break from my regularly-scheduled parental self-pitying complaint session, to tell you about a little gadget I never leave the house without.

Whenever we step foot out the door, I always make sure that I have several carabiner clips in my pocket. I use them to tether lovey's to children (if they are insistent on bringing it with them), Henry's pacifier to his outfit (or my shirt or Bjorn for easy access), a blanket to a carriage, toys to a carseat, keys to my diaper bag, a water bottle to my purse, safety harnesses to my belt. If an object doesn't have a hole in it (i.e. bunny), I'll punch a little hole in the tag (or object) so it can be secured.

The list of uses for the carabiner are endless.

I love these things. They are light-weight. They are durable. They don't pinch little fingers. They are inexpensive. They are the reason we don't lose two bunnies every time we go outside and the reason that I can quickly grab my car keys without searching through my entire backpack.

Without carabiners, I would be hard pressed to successfully push a baby stroller, walk a dog, and have three children stay with me. They can be used interchangeably for rapeling down the side of a mountain - or taking a stroll around the neighborhood.


Here's a link where you can buy one. Or fifty.

They are a great stocking stuffer, if I don't say so myself.

6 comments:

  1. We triplet Moms think alike. I think they're fabulous, and had MILLIONS of them left over from my ski days. I thought they looked sooooo useful and useful enough that I held onto buckets of them. The kids now use them for EVEYRTHING. They are the adult version of link-a-doos in my opinion!! Thanks for opening everyone elses eyes to this amazing invention!!

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  2. Ooh, I love carabiners! These are great tips that I'll try to remember when I have kids myself. I'm going to hang on to any I have laying around. Such a simple looking tool and it has so many great uses!

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  3. I didn't even know what those were called. I missed that chapter completely in our manuel!!! My microchip must be malfunctioning. Call a paramedic! I better go clean some floors.

    You sound extremely organized to me. That would have saved me a frantic turnaround in the van and a mad dash back to the playground the other day to get Amanda's "cooney" who was "scared" and "crying" because someone was going to STEAL HIM the kids told me.

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  4. Kieran loves carabiners. They are reallly cheap at Wal-Mart!

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  5. I am so excited! Do you know I loose a binky practically everytime we leave the house?? I cannot wait to buy a few of those things. Thanks for the tip! Keep them coming.

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  6. I love carabiners too! Thanks for the link - I have had trouble finidng them lately, and I am in desperate need of a few more!

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