Rocks In My Dryer: Works For Me: The Brand-Loyal Edition

Wfmwheader I am a marketer's nightmare. I generally operate under the assumption that generic is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch, and if generic isn't available, I just reach for whichever brand name is cheapest that day.

BUT, as I am getting older and turning the act of grocery shopping into a fine art, I am learning that there a few brands that are worth the extra pennies. Here's my list, and I'd love to hear yours.

Charmin Ultra toilet paper. Because y'all, my family's bottoms deserve the best. I have even been known to pack Charmin on trips if we're staying at the sort of place that seems likely to have sandpaper-ish stuff in the bathroom.

Oxi-Clean Laundry Stain Remover. We take stains to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL in this household, and I continue to be amazed at the messes this stuff can clean up.

Bounty Paper Towels. I must have an issue with paper products. But I cannot stand crinkly, stiff paper towels that don't work.

Tide laundry detergent. I'm a latecomer in joining the Tide groupies. For years, I have held out and bought the cheapest detergent I could find. And it all worked perfectly fine for me. But then, on a whim, I ~~took out a second mortgage and~~ bought some Tide...and OH MY WORD. It was the SMELL that did me in. For the first couple of weeks I nearly hyperventilated every time I did laundry, I was doing so much sniffing. It's heavenly. So I've kept buying it in hopes that Hubs will not figure out how much we're spending on detergent.

Would you believe that's it? Nearly everything else I buy generic, or cheapest available. But there are a few non-grocery brands that I will drive out of the way for:

Honda. We bought our first Honda about a year and a half ago, and it's been the most solid car we've ever owned. No wonder people love them so much. So when it was time to replace my van this spring, we bought another Honda. I'll never go back.

Sonic. I don't know what they put in their Diet Cokes to make them taste so much better than everyone else's, but I keep going back. I think it's the styrofoam cups that keep the ice fresh ALL day. My six-year-old son has told me that his dream is to work at Sonic when he grows up, because, he says, "I"ll give you Route 44 Diet Cokes whenever you want." Sweet boy.

Burger King. Best fast food burgers. Period.

Sherwin Williams paint. In the last five years, we have painted nearly every surface in our entire house, including cabinets and trim. We've tried nearly every brand of paint (we started with the cheap stuff), and let me TELL you it makes a different. I only use Sherwin Williams now, and it goes on much more smoothly and thickly than anything else.

Also, their Color Visualizer on their website is so helpful.

Okay, girls--share your list of must-use brands below. Works-For-Me Wednesday guidelines can be found here.

And y'all? I am SO not trying to be a meanie about this, but I'm going to delete any WFMW links that go directly to the front page of a blog instead of to the WFMW post. People browse through WFMW all week long, so if your link doesn't go straight to your post, it can be frustrating for readers to find it. Please, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS on how to link directly to your WFMW post.

Thanks, as always, for playing along. You make this so much fun.