Shout Stain Remover and Color Catcher {Review} Go Play Initiative and Sweepstakes

Before I had children of my own, the images that came to mind when I thought of outdoor play were always calm, yet fun: picnics, relaxing on a bench watching ducks, sitting outside in a hammock with a glass of lemonade, barbecues with family, etc.

Now that I have kids, I do still think of those things... however, my thoughts also include grass stains, splattered mud, sticky hands and chalky fingerprints. Even when my daughters and I are only outside for a short time, it's like they are magnets for all dirt within a 20-mile radius.

However, I don't let that stop us from heading out in the fresh air to enjoy all of the benefits that being outdoors can bring. My girls love playing and discovering with their sand and water table, running around in the yard or running and hopping up and down the block. Who am I to deny their joy simply because the idea of a stain makes my heart race a little bit (it does. It really does)?

Plus, there is even less of a reason to avoid going outdoors now that I have an arsenal of Shout stain-fighting tools at my disposal.

Unless they start doing the spraying and scrubbing on their own (which, now that I think about it, might be sort of nice), using Shout's products couldn't get much easier.

The Shout Trigger Laundry Stain Remover is formulated with powerful stain-fighting ingredients and enzymes to quickly penetrate, break up and remove tough stains. There's no reason not to have a versatile spray like this one in your laundry room, particularly with kids. Spray it on, let the item sit anywhere from a few minutes to overnight and then wash like normal. Voilà!

I have also used the Shout Advanced Ultra Gel (or its predecessor) for quite a few years as well. Cover tough stains with the gel and use the convenient stain-lifting brush for through pre-treating and you'll be amazed at the results. You can even let treated stains sit for up to a week and still have the clothing wash clean, which is great for busy moms.

Recently we went to my husband's annual work picnic and, having left Daddy in charge of keeping track of the girls not making a huge mess while eating lunch, Little Sister B walked away from the table with this:

Ketchup. A big red glob of it right on the front of her cute summer dress. I wiped as much off as I could with a napkin and then knew there wasn't much I could do until I got it home. Fortunately I had my Shout Advanced Ultra Gel there waiting and, after a scrub and a wash, I crossed my fingers as I pulled the dress out of the dryer:

Now that is what I want a stain remover to do.

Lastly, I love the idea of the Shout Color Catcher sheets. Instead of having to wait for a full load of whites or colors, you can mix them all together without worrying about the colors running together. By trapping the loose dyes and dirt, the sheets come out dirty or tinted while your clothes are left clean and intact. No more pink undershirts if a red sock goes into the washing machine with them!

Growing Tree Toys (for a refresher on this great site, visit my Growing Tree Toys giveaway from last month) has teamed up with SC Johnson's Shout to promote their new Go Play Initiative and Sweepstakes.

The Go Play Initiative is all about encouraging kids and parents to get outside and play. A fundamental aspect of positive cognitive development, play is how kids solve problems, develop coping skills and master the art of conflict resolution. In short, it is how they become happy, healthy adults.

Together, Growing Tree Toys and Shout are currently running the incredible Go Play Sweepstakes in which each week (for four weeks) a winner will be awarded a $200 Growing Tree Toys gift card just for entering. Ending on September 14, 2010, one grand prize winner will also take home an amazing brand new play set from Rainbow Play Systems Inc. No complicated entry for this great contest, simply head over to Shout's Facebook page, Like them and sign up!

To tackle your tough stains, Shout has the products to treat them whenever and wherever they happen. There is even a great Stain Solver right on their website that has tips and solutions to removing a huge list of common stains. And if that doesn't help you, the phone number to call the Shout Stain Professionals is right there as well. There's no reason to hold back - it's time to Go Play!

(Other than the stain-fighting products I was provided from Shout in conjunction with my membership at Growing Tree Toys, I was not compensated or enticed or to do this review in any way. This review is solely my honest opinion of these products and their uses and benefits.)