CALLING ALL CHERRY PICKERS!!!

Growing up, my mom only bought certain brands of household items. She bought Cascade, Tide, Bounce, Windex, Crest, Zest and Dove to name a few. So when I got married and began buying my own household items, I naturally went for the things my mom bought. I can remember thinking that, "If my mom bought it, then it must be the best."

So, are you loyal to all your favorite brands? I would certainly call myself a "cherry picker" or brand loyalist when it comes to certain products (like chicken stock or OJ), but for the most part a have shifted my brand loyalties to coupons and sale loyalties! And, because I am willing to try new products (when they are the best value) I have come across some gems that I would have never tried if they weren't on sale (and stacked with a coupon of course)! Plus, since I have started couponing and have branched out to buy a variety of products... I've learned that they are just as good, if not better, than what I previously believed were the best.

Here are a few of the gems that I have found, tried and LOVED since I started couponing:

ELECTRASOL - I love Electrasol and the $2.50 COUPON from the 7/12 Smart Source makes me like it even more. It works great and is easy to use. At first, I thought it would be such a pain to have to open each individual package every time I needed to run my dishwasher. BUT it has not been a problem for me.

AQUAFRESH EXTREME CLEAN - My husband has found that he loves the new Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste. He has never been a big fan of Aquafresh, but when I got 4 tubes for free, he was forced to try it at least once. It has replaced the Colgate that he used for years, and he is now worried that we only have 2 tubes left.

SCRUBBING BUBBLES - Oh my Goodness!!! I love anything that Scrubbing Bubbles makes. But there foaming spray is my FAV. It makes my cleaning life so much easier. When I first tried this product, I wondered where it had been all my life. Scrubbing Bubbles is definitely on my TOP 5 Cleaning Product list these days.

I guess old habits die hard sometimes, but if you want to start shopping smart, you have to be willing to branch out from what you like and try something new. You never know, you just might find something you like even better!