Before we get started...

  ...a little about me.  I am far from a perfectionist.  If you are experienced in both of these areas, this blog will likely be little help to you.  I rarely coupon, most coupons are for either stuff I won't put in my body or brands I am opposed to buying.  That being said, a search will result in some organic coupon sources (there are more, but most repeat what's given in these 3, even these repeat).  I compromise on food with my husband.  I am the tree hugging, vegan, hippie in the house; not him.  He fights me when he really wants something or he really wants the boy to experience something food wise.  Sometimes we compromise, sometimes one of us caves.  It's not always him who caves.  Oreos have graced my shelves far more times than I would like to admit.  As have brownie mixes, white rice, ConAgra white flour, and other things.  My son loves Aunt Jemima's pancake mix - I cut it with a home made version 1:5 before he notices.  I haven't tested whole wheat flour in this yet, and I'm pretty sure it will fail his pancake test.  I don't make everything from scratch.  I love baking, I enjoy cooking.  I hate cleaning with a fiery passion that knows no bounds.  Dishes are the worst, especially baking dishes - all those dang corners.  In my house, cleaning supplies are part of the grocery budget.  A lot of budgeters separate them (or maybe they're all Molly Weasly and magic filth away), but my mom always included them so that's what I learned.  If you do not, I'd say that I spend about $25 monthly on cleaning supplies at most.  Since I include cleaning supplies in my groceries though, I'll include telling you what I use and how.  Mostly, I'm still learning.  Every day I find something else to omit from my diet, or add to my diet, or change in my diet, or some other cause that leads me to have to find a new brand.

DH and I in Trier, I believe.

 
  ...a little about you.  You need to decide where your values are and what potential compromises (if any) you are willing to make.  Do you care about the LGBTQ community?  If a brand, including it's parent company, had donated against GMO labeling at any point?  Are you looking for cruelty free?  Buycott is a great source and it's even a app for your smart phone.  Just scan the barcode and if it's in their resources it will let you know if the product conflicts with any of your chosen campaigns.  It will list what campaigns the product conflicts with or supports (you may find that a particular brand does both).  If it conflicts with something that is very important to you, how will you respond?  Will you drive across town to buy a different brand?  Take the time to think about these things and work them in.  It doesn't have to be all or nothing, and it certainly doesn't have to happen all at once.

  The most important thing I want you to take away is that this is your life, your body, your food (well, and your family).  Outside opinions do not need to be your own, they do not need to influence your choices.  Your morals and values and willingness to compromise are your own and no one on this blog will look down upon you for that.  That's why I'll try to stay away from most political issues on this page.  Buycott includes some, but mostly it's about food issues.  Food issues I will attack and research and try to make you as knowledgeable as possible on them (you will find there are times where food issues and politics go hand in hand, that is the only time I will discuss politics).

  You may wonder where I get my information.  I will always do my best to link back to a source, even if it means I'm giving you an Amazon link to a book.  I have done a lot of reading in the past few years and sometimes I forget where I read something.  When that happens I generally back track and pull that information, but sometimes I may not realize I've put out information that I should have sourced (because it's become such common knowledge in my world); please, feel free to make me aware!  You'll also notice this blog is short on pictures.  I'll get there as we go along, promise.  Pictures of dinners, cleaners, before and afters of things I've cleaned.  We're just not there yet.