I Heart ALDI - Please Don't Judge Me

I decided before I had Fletch that I would definitely be a disposable nappy user. But it was going to be Huggies. And only Huggies. Every week when I was pregnant, I would add a packet to my groceries in preparation for his birth. The cashiers at Coles would whisper to me 'you should buy the ALDI nappies'. As if! I would never, ever, ever put anything from ALDI on my precious newborn's bottom and besides, I had never set foot in an ALDI store anyway.

At our first (and only as it turns out, but maybe a story for another time) prenatal class, the nurse recommended ALDI nappies. Um, no.

The sister at the baby clinic recommended ALDI nappies. Um, no again.
The girls at Mothers Group recommended ALDI nappies. What is wrong with everyone?
My girlfriends recommended ALDI nappies. (Blocking ears) la la la
I learnt to drown everyone out when the talk turned to ALDI nappies, and I spent most of my husband's pay that first year on Huggies. And I was happy. And Fletch's bottom was happy.
Shortly after Fletch's first birthday, with Jarvy's birth mere months away, I was faced with the financial implications of buying two boxes of Huggies every week and it made me very nervous. I decided to give ALDI one chance. I was sure they'd fail me but that would give Husband time to look for a second job.
I'll never pretend the ALDI nappies are as quilted and soft as Huggies but they are very, very, very good. And we have never looked back. Jarvy even wore them as a newborn - hopefully he never finds out that I favoured Fletch's bottom. Given that they are half the price, I would venture to say they are better than Huggies. And the ALDI wipes? Heaven.

Anyway, to get to the point, for the longest time I only ever bought nappies and wipes there and didn't even glance at anything else. Then one day I really needed peanut butter and didn't really want to go to Coles when I was already in ALDI so I tried the ALDI brand, and it changed my life. Gradually, I added little bits and pieces and I can honestly say, every single ALDI product we have tried has become my family's favourite. I now do almost half my weekly shop there. I must admit I don't often buy their meat or fresh produce, but I am more of a butcher/greengrocer shopper. They look okay though, and cheap, cheap, cheap.

Here's the list of ALDI items we can't live without :

Mamia wipes - we might be out of nappies, but I still use a ton of wipes for some reason?
peanut butter
raspberry Jam
Scotch Finger biscuits (my boys won't eat the Arnott's ones)
Cavallo biscuits (trust me, eat them)
chocolate (European chocolate for $3 a block!)
chicken crackers (waaaay less salty than others)
pasta sauce
brekky juice
paper towels (the best ever)
yoghurt
cheese slices
frozen strudel
pizza bases (in the bread aisle, you may never order pizza again)
baking staples (sugar, flour etc)
school snacks - tiny teddies, muesli bars etc
juice poppers

I do pick up other things from time to time but these are the things I can't live without. And neither can you. It's not about money, it's about filling your cupboards with great stuff. Did I mention Cavallo biscuits?