The old saying goes that “good things come in small packages.” But when you are like me, and are best friends with the UPS delivery man; good things can come in all size packages. As someone who is chronically ill, living with lupus, fibromyalgia and a collage of other chronic illnesses; I have learned to use online shopping like it is my personal assistant. Most people maybe shop on Amazon at Holiday time or Ebay for that hard to find collectible. I on the other hand have learned to food shop (why carry heavy groceries, leave the house in bad weather, or use gas in my car), I can buy many over the counter medications, vitamins, or other health aides that I have grown to really need in my daily life. I can go on and on about my crazy online shopping habit, but this post isn’t so much about the shopping, or even what comes in the box.. It is about getting that damn box open!

We all have all come close to to stabbing ourselves in our quest to open everything from boxes, children’s toys, snack bags and even padded envelopes. From the boxes we are rushing to open because maybe they are presents and we can’t wait to see what is inside, to the dreaded medical bills that we try are hardest to rip open or slice with the hands of a surgeon so as not to damage the bill inside. Either way the one thing in common, is that it is 2016 and we are still resorting to barbaric practices of slitting things with wide open sissors, or sharp knives that end up turning our knuckles white.. hey sometimes we are even lucky, if you want to call it luck and some of the tape is have way ripped off. Then we can “try” puncturing the tape with a pen, your house keys, or some other hard device you come into contact with.  Sometimes, it works, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes you do some funky chicken dance as you try not to curse in front of your kids and try some kind of mixture of all the methods listed above. Whew! I am shocked that no one has come up with a better way to open packages until now.

This is where this new product I was given the chance to try comes into the picture. It is called a nimble from the great team at Version22 You need to buy one and use it, and trust me, you need one of these in your life!  But be prepared to have one of those “why didn’t I think of this?” moments. It seems so simple.

“This is a sponsored post. I was provided the product in exchange for an honest review, I have been compensated for my time through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. All opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.” If you know me personally or have been reading my blog or social media you know I have a super big mouth. When I love something, you will know everything about it, I will tell you where to buy it and probably include it in my daily life, if I don’t like something I will mention how either the product can improve or how you can use the product differently to have a better experience. If I really hate something, you probably wont know it, because why would I waste my energy and “spoons” on something that will not help either of us?

A nimble is a one finger opener that looks kinda like a rubber thimble. It is very flexible, so it fit the biggest fingers I could find to the smallest being my 8 year old child.  The ridges seem to give it room to stretch, while helping it grab to your finger to keep it from sliding and falling off. On the very tip of the nimble is a tiny blade close to the top pad of your finger or maybe even where your finger nail would go. For the sake of “science”, or maybe just to say that I actually tested it to my dedicated readers… yes I did run the blade across all sorts of stuff. I tried boxes large and small, thick scrapbooking paper for the crafters out there, I opened snack boxes and bags, padded envelopes and just to be safe before handing it off to my daughter I lightly toughed the blade against my skin.  ** do not do this my silly #spoonies, let me take the risk for you; that is what these reviews are for! I have to tell you there was NO cut! There was more of a mark just from me pushing down and from the rubber going against my skin. Once I showed my daughter how to carefully use the nimble I actually felt safer as a mom letting her use a nimble for school projects, crafts and even helping me cut coupons then I do letting her use a sissor.  I don’t know how the fabulous people at version22.com did this kind of safety magic while still making it strong enough to tackle the hard projects, but it did. (OK, After reading the pamphlet they talk about how the blade is made of ulytra-hard zirconia ceramic which is a sharper edge than steel and will not rust. So not exactly magic.. but still pretty cool.)

#nimble cutting envelope

Do not take my word for it. Get one of these for yourself. I actually wish I had more, to leave in the kitchen drawer, by my desk etc. They are so handy, they make a great gift for yourself, a great stocking stuffer, small housewarming gift, college gift and they ship around the world.  So here are some details about the nimble and how you get one:

• The nimble are in their second launch and are doing a major KickStarter campaign beginning April 18. (I tried the original nimble for this review. The updated version will not be very different (it’s mainly a difference in manufacturer).
• If you do not know how Kickstarter works it is quite simple and a great way for new inventers and entreuprenuers to get a product made and out to the public without a HUGE budget, angel investors or corporate budget. (you pledge x amount in return for the product, you are only charged if the campaign meets its goal, once the campaign closes it usually takes some time for you to receive your product as they have to have the product produced with the goal monies collected and crowdsourced by you, its future shoppers.). To make it sound much simpler, you are really just pre- ordering a product at a discounted rate. In exchange for your support of early payment (which helps them make the product) The give you a signficant discount, or bulk deals etc. I have participated in many kickstarters and have always felt safe, comfortable and even felt proud to be helping out “the little guy”. Here is a link on the version 22 Nimble site about their kickstarter campaign that I really have to give them credit for. It is very transparent, easy to understand and I learned so much about the company and the whole kickstarter process. 2pts guys!
• The only downside to a kickstarter is that you will have to wait for them to meet their goal in order for them to start producing this next batch. Then once produced they will ship out, so it will take a bit more time then our instant gratification type selves enjoy. This is certainly only made worse with how much I happen to love these silly little yellow rubber things that act like little nimble ninjas against bad packaging everywhere. So wanting them sooner, then later is a hard one, but if we all order some then we are all doing our own little part to just help them reach their goal even quicker!

I am sure we all have funny, interesting, or disaster stories about opening stuff, toy packaging is the worst, cd cases… the list goes on. Share your in the comments! Come back and let us know if you buy a nimble, what you thought of it.

Written by Christine Miserandino, ButYouDontLookSick.com

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#nimble #version22 #spoonie #dailyaide #cutter #crafts #packaging #smallthings #productreview #spooniemom