Works For Me Wednesday #1 - Brand Loyal Edition

This is my first time participating in Works for Me Wednesday - I've seen a lot of great tips around in past weeks and thought I'd join in!

This week is all about brands that you can't live without and pay extra for instead of buying generic. I tend to buy brands. I didn't start out that way - I had very good intentions of saving as much money as possible, but I've found many things where the brand either is better or works better for us. Not to mention that Ron's gotten pickier about brands as well and my kids are very particular and will only eat one certain kind of macaroni and cheese, for example.

Here are some of the brands that we buy...

Huggies diapers - All 3 of our kids have been Huggies babies. They control the leaks well, fit comfortably and we've never had any problems with allergic reactions. They aren't as cheap as some of the generics out there, but we collect coupons when we can, buy in bulk usually, and I think that it generally ends up working out evenly since the generics I'm familiar with don't hold as much and you tend to go through many more diapers in a day. (as I noticed with the baby I watched the summer after Becca was born, who only wore generic diapers - two different kinds. I'm not saying all generics hold less, but this has been my experience with them so far)

Unfortunately there seem to be manufacturing delays right now and Huggies diapers are hard to find (at least in West Michigan). We may have to try something else if I can't find them soon.

Crest toothpaste - I've used Crest all my life and my mom swears that it's why my brother and I never had many cavities (never mind all of the fluoride treatments we got at school growing up). I don't know if it's due to the toothpaste or what, but I can't argue with success.

JIF peanut butter - This is one of Ron's must-haves since I don't generally eat much peanut butter. When I do though, I like how creamy this one is and less greasy-feeling than others I've had in the past.

Cheer laundry detergent - Another one that I've always had good luck with so I'm afraid to try anything else. We use the 'Free & Gentle' since I tend to have sensitive skin and past issues with allergic reactions to some of the more perfumed detergents out there. We are currently trying the Tide free version though since they were out of Cheer when we last went to the store and I had to pick something else due to the mountain of dirty laundry in my house and empty Cheer bottle... We'll see how it works!

Gerber baby food - I started buying Gerber at first because it was the name I knew, and they're located in Michigan so I know I'm supporting local farmers by buying it. My friend Cheryl worked at Gerber up until last year, so I wanted to support them for her as well. I also should mention that the only onesies I kept after Becca outgrew them were my Gerber ones - that I got at a garage sale before Abby was born - they've lasted through my 3 babies where the cheaper, generic ones I'd bought new all fell apart by the time we had Becca. I bought new Gerber ones to replace them. :)

Cereal - I don't eat much cereal, but Ron and the kids do and unfortunately none of them will eat generic cereals (believe me, I've tried various methods to get them to!). So we pay the mega bucks for the 'real thing'. Sigh...

Those are the ones I can think of for now! For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks In My Dryer!