Off-brands vs. name brands

Trying to figure out where to spend money and where to save it is difficult sometimes. I feel like a lot of times, we get tricked into thinking that the name brand thing is the best and everything else is crap. And while that is true in some cases, it’s not true in all. Marketing is deceitful, and mostly I’ve just done this by trial and error. Figuring out what brands work best for us, which ones to spend the money for the name-brand and where to save money with the off-brand. It’s a journey I’m still on, so I thought I’d share what products we’ve used off brand that we like, and the items to go name brand on. 


This could potentially be a very long list, so I'll probably need to do this in several posts.


I'll start with the off-brand first. Most of the time, we don't feel as secure about off-brands as we do about name brands. I am guilty of this myself. But when you're on a tight budget, you learn to cut corners where you can, and sometimes that means going with a less than popular brand.


Off-brand products to try:
Feminine Products: Those name brands are costly, people, and to be honest, the off-brands are just as good.


Contact solution: I've used the off-brand for so long. Ross and I tried the name brand Renu stuff recently (that is crazy expensive), and while I like it, I'm not sure I can even tell much of a difference. So, back to the off-brand we go!


Medicines: We use the off-brand for the kids' medicines and for ours. The only type of medicine we stay away from is medicine from the Dollar Tree, because I read that most of their stuff isn't FDA approved, which freaks me out a little.


Certain foods, like milk, oats, cheese, coffee creamer, yogurt, (*this list is noncomprehensive)


Baby formula: Some people can't do this due to their sensitive little one's tummies, or for many other reasons, but we were able to use the Target brand formula with Ezra and he was just fine.


Things to buy name brand:


Cereal: Have you ever tried off-brand Cheerios? Or Cinnamon Toast Crunch? So gross. No matter what, Great Value nor Kroger brand can get it right.


Deodarant: I've tried off-brand deodorant and it just doesn't work as well. Enough said.


Camera equipment: I'm a Canon girl, and nothing else will do. Love my Canon camera and lenses!


Razors: I personally use the off-brand, and while they are fine, they really don't work as well. Those name brand razors cost a pretty penny though!


Peanut butter: I am utterly in love with Jif Natural Peanut Butter and nothing else will even compare. I've even tried other "better" brands and the off-brands too. Nothing beats Jif Natural!


More later! What about you? What off-brands do you use?

The sadness that is my hair

I am sad as I write this. It’s the end of an era....for me. But things can’t last forever, right? Not all things, anyway.

Months ago, I started this awesome new hair care regimen, the baking soda wash/apple cider vinegar rinse, done twice a week. I wanted to rid myself of chemicals and having to spend a lot of money on hair care products. At first, it took awhile for my hair to get used to it. My head was overly oily and I ached for wash days. But after a few weeks, my hair adjusted and it did just fine. I could even go close to a week without washing. I loved it! The only thing I didn’t like about it was that it took me a lot longer to wash my hair in the shower, and I did start to miss the shampoo smell.

After several months of doing this, I started to dislike the apple cider vinegar rinse. It’s supposedly really good for your hair (and face, and your tummy, and a lot of other things), but I didn’t like the way it made my hair feel--which resembled the texture of hay almost exactly. I missed the slick softness that conditioner provided. So, I thought, I will do the baking soda wash and just barely put conditioner on the ends of my hair. That will work, right? I thought so, and my hair seemed to do just fine. But I was wrong.  

I did that for about 6+ weeks. The baking soda wash and the regular conditioner (no ACV rinse). Then I started noticing my hair breaking and splitting....very badly. It looked horrible. It started to look like I had fried it with one too many hair dyes (and, for the record, I’m not against dying your hair, but I have never ever done it...not even once. So, the fact my hair looked like this frustrated me to no end).

So, I went to get it trimmed last week. I was ashamed when she could tell, without me even telling her, how much my hair was damaged, how bad it had been breaking. In fact, she had to cut off a good 2 ½ inches to cut just the dead ends off, and that still didn’t get them all. I didn’t have the guts to tell her I’d been killing my hair with baking soda for the past few months. She suggested I get a good damage control shampoo/conditioner, stop using bobbie pins, and stop putting my hair up so tightly. And she added that it would take a long time for my broken hair to grow out and be strong and thick again. I almost cried when I left, but my hair does look tons better after the cut.

After I left the salon, I went right over to the store and got some replenishing and repairing shampoo & conditioner. While it wasn’t anything expensive, I am hoping that after awhile of washing it the normal way, my hair will be back to what it was before.

I feel that as I tell this story, I should add the reason that this didn’t work for me. I’ve read about many people who have been doing this regimen for years and have had great results. But I did it all wrong. I should never have stopped the ACV rinse. I read that when you wash your hair with baking soda, you strip your hair of everything, but apple cider vinegar helps restore the PH balance back to your hair and scalp and all is right in the world again. Without the ACV rinse, I was just stripping and stripping my hair and never restoring. Duh. My bad. I wish I had a picture of how fried and damaged it looked. Or maybe I don’t, that’s something I think I  want to forget.

In conclusion, do more research before trying anything new, especially on your hair! Maybe someday, I can go back to doing the baking soda/ACV wash at some point, but I need to get my hair back to healthy status before attempting to try it again.

Duties to Delights Challenge #1 (post edit, added picture)

For my very first DtD Challenge, I wanted to post something I've recently tried and was super excited about. I recently found the crunchiness that is the Crunchy Betty website,  and while I haven't gone 100% natural (heck, not even 50% natural), I think there is some merit to reducing the use of chemicals in your life, if you can save money in the process.

So, I started washing my face with food.

Yes, you heard me right. Food. As weird as it sounds, its really, really good for your face. It just depends on what type of food. Let me tell you how to do it.

Grab some ground beef, mix it with water into a paste, rub it all over your face and leave it to dry.

Just kidding. Don't ever do that. Unless you like the smell of meat, and like to be dry heaving while washing your face.

On the real, I've been using CB's No-Nonsense Daily Scrub for any skin type in the morning and doing a honey wash at night. (I took the Crunchy Betty Honey Challenge!) Let me say this. I love the daily scrub. Like love, love. It has seriously changed my life. If you ever want your face feeling ridiculously smooth and healthy, then you should do it too. I didn't have any almonds on hand, so I had to buy some, but all it contains is almond meal, oatmeal and water (or witch hazel for oily skin, milk for dry skin, oils for other types of skin). I cover my face and neck with that almond-oatmealy paste and let it dry. When I wash it off, my skin feels so healthy, silky smooth, and not soooo dry that its going to crack into a billion pieces. I don't even have to put moisturizer on afterward. And the ingredients are things that you probably already have in your cabinets...so, its a really frugal (and healthy, non-toxic, chemical-free) way to take care of your skin. That's my other favorite part.

I do like the honey wash also (especially the honey wash to take make-up off), but I love the daily scrub better. And using apple cider vinegar as a toner doesn't smell too good, but it works better than any toner I've ever used from a cosmetic store.

I am still having some breakouts, but I think its because my skin is extremely oily. I have oily, acne-prone skin. I've struggled since I was a kid. I think I'm going to try to get some witch hazel and see if that helps with my breakouts. Other than that, I am sold on this skin care regimen. And who has the money to spend on a bunch of face products that aren't good for your face anyway? So, I wash my face with this in the morning and let it dry. Then I rinse it off. Very simple. ....Except your 3 year old might laugh at you. Or call you oatmeal face. Or try to put his breakfast on his own face. Just a warning! :)

You should try it too!


Next week: A friend of mine gave me a small portion of her stash of Castile Soap, and I'm only just now hearing/learning about this soapy goodness. I'm thinking about either using it to wash my hair or make my own laundry detergent. What do you think? Either way, my goal for this next week is to use Castile soap in some way, form or fashion. Come back to see what happens!