I cannot tell you how relieved I am that at least 97% of you didn’t know that you were supposed to run bleach through your washing machine. My deep laundry insecurities made me feel like I was the only one and that everyone might laugh and point at me in the comments. For the sake of information and knowledge, I feel like I need to let y’all know that Hugo said to just dump the cup of bleach directly in the tub of the washer and not in the soap dispenser, otherwise you may end up with some residual bleach in the dispenser that could wreak havoc and destruction on your next load of laundry causing untold sorrow.
In a delightful turn of events it has been cold and rainy here for the last two days. Well, at least it’s been Texas cold which means that the thermometer has hovered around a chilly 68 degrees. I know some of you Northerners may call that summer, but it’s been enough to make me break out my flannel pajama bottoms and the ingredients to make a pot of chili. P is super excited because he waits all year for the moment he gets to see me walk around the house in my blue fuzzy robe with socks pulled up to my knees. I think it goes without saying that it’s my most attractive look.
Due to the rain, P was home most of the afternoon yesterday and when I walked in the door from picking Caroline up from school I caught him looking at something on the internet, a ten pound case of dark chocolate covered cherries. He tried to tell me that he wasn’t about to order them, but given his love of ordering things in bulk I’m not sure I believe him. He is a firm believer that if one is good, then sixty-five are better.
I believe that philosophy applies to certain things like shoes or tubes of lipstick in various shades, but not to chocolate-covered cherries. Personally, I don’t need fruit messing up my chocolate.
But it made me think about buying things in bulk and wonder if I’m missing out because I’m just not a fan of the bulk purchase. Obviously I am in the minority or Sam’s and Costco would cease to exist. The only things I buy in bulk are paper towels, toilet paper, and Gummie LifeSavers. In other words, the essentials.
So my question is what do you buy in bulk and why is it better to buy it that way? I may need to rethink my philosophy. I mean it was just two days ago that I didn’t know to put bleach in the washing machine. Clearly, I have a lot to learn.
But I know enough to know that a family of three doesn’t need ten pounds of chocolate-covered cherries.
Melanie-
I must tell you this…and please tell all of your readers! When you do the bleach thing…after running the washer with the bleach in it…you must then run your washer one more time with nothing in it. Some of the bleach tends to stay in the washer and if you put a load of clothes in the washer immediately after the bleach run…there tends to be “left-over” (residual) bleach in the washer and will in turn create bleach spots on the clothes that are washed in the first run afterwards. I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE! I would hate for there to be a BLEACH FIASCO OF 2009 and the whole internet ends up blaming you! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! So, beware of the residual bleach!
You cannot go wrong with an industrial sized tub of laundry detergent or pub mix- the pub mix is an essential at all family camp-outs. Other winners- toothpaste and the giant olive oil.
I have 5 kids so you would think we should buy bulk everything.
But, I noticed my kids asking the same questions over and over every morning while packing their lunches… “Mom are these rotten? Are you sure these are still good? Are these stale?”
My daughter even told a guest walking into our pantry once, “just make sure to check everything you pull out of there for mold.”
Yeah… so I stopped buying in bulk.
Now about the bleach thing…
I am clueless. I am deathly afraid of bleach because it refuses to give grace of any sort. Seriously, once bleached… forever bleached- a fact which has sent my heart into a tizzy more than once.
Here’s another tip…make the first load you do after the bleachfest a load of whites. Much less heartache that way.
Buying in bulk always sounds great but it doesn’t work at my house….there’s the whole storage issue for one thing. I do buy paper towels and toilet paper in bulk but then I stash them all around the house and forget about it. Just the other day I bought tp in the supermarket thinking I must have used all I bought in bulk only to discover a stash in my utility closet. Maybe its just me and my feeble brain.
When my kids were at home they loved certain snack foods so I’d sometimes buy in bulk but after your 68th container of pot noodles you’re so over them so what do I do with the reamaining 32 pots?
I’m an empty-nester, so there are just the two of us at home. I still buy toilet paper and paper towels (tp and pt!) in bulk, but our eating habits have changed too. Now I buy granola bars, oatmeal and walnuts in bulk.
Oh, and vitamins. And Motrin.
And does that not sound like the grocery list of someone who is OLD????
As I have a 15-yr. old son and a 12-yr. old daughter, I buy cereal in bulk (when it goes on sale). My son can eat a box of cereal in two sittings, so whenever it is $2 a box or less, I buy at least five boxes. I also buy meat and put it in my freezer, and also shredded cheese for the freezer.
My daughter is 20 months old so, diapers & wipes are purchased in bulk!
My girls drink apple juice like their lives depend on it, so I stock up on it just to prevent me from having to run to Wal-Mart every few days to get more.
I tend to cook and freeze meals to save time on days when we have dance or gymnastics class. I usually spend one day cooking enough food to stash a month’s worth of meals in the deep freeze.
In order to make this happen I buy some of the ingredients, like ground beef, onions, pasta sauce, chicken breasts, and shredded cheese in large quantities when I find them on sale.
I also buy diapers and baby wipes in bulk simply because I’d rather not go to the closet in need of either of these and discover there are none to be had.
My husband changes the oil in our cars at home so he always buys oil in bulk because it truly is cheaper to do so.
We buy pecans, tomato sauce and dog food in bulk. Because it’s cheaper.
Lunch items: granola bars, chips, string cheese and cereal are bought in bulk. We could open our own concession stand.
I only know about the bleach dealio because we recently bought a new washer and dryer and my hubs reviewed the owner’s manual ~ what a nifty idea!
We don’t have any kids yet, but we do buy Tide, paper towels, toilet tissue, Dawn, Cascade, and Pine Sol in bulk. Those are the items you just gotta have and the ones I’m convinced must be name brand.
I love Costco!! I buy tp and paper towels in bulk like you. I also buy dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent and coffee in bulk. You know, things that you always need and require a special trip to the store when you run out (e.g., otherwise I might have to wash the dishes by hand *GASP*).
I think buying detergent (laundry and dish detergent) in bulk is good and you don’t have to worry about it going bad or stale! However, you do have a large box to make room for. I also buy frozen brocoli at Sam’s, but my family eats a lot of brocoli so it makes sense.
we don’t have storage, so the only things i buy in bulk is toilet paper and diapers. they get used up so fast
I buy meat from Sam’s in bulk, a little cheaper than HEB and I only need to buy it once a month. We buy the whole pork loin and cut it into chops, ground beef and chicken. The deep freeze is our friend and my weekly grocery bills are down to about 70 bucks a week for my family of three.
The bulk essentials -
TP, honey, baby formula, paper plates (so I don’t have to do as many dishes), bottled water and a huge tub of Nonni’s biscotti that lasts all month!
(I’ve also found that Sam’s has better produce and meats than its cousin, Wally.)
Thanks for the bleach information. I will run that through my washing machine this weekend before the white load.
I am LOVING this TX “cold” weather. I actually wore a sweater the whole day yesterday!
I use to buy in bulk when I had a lot of kids in and out of the house. Snacks in bulk were wonderful. If I buy in bulk now, it is toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex and the occasional tub of vitamins.
Over the years, we have had either a Costco or Sam’s Club membership, until our youngest graduated from high school and stopped playing team sports 5 years ago. Wish I knew how many cases of Gatorade and assorted snacks we’ve purchased over the years for soccer, football and baseball teams!
Anyhoo, I went to work part-time last year for a friend who signed me up on her business Costco account. My husband and I now shop once a month for things like garbage bags, paper towels, bar soap, Windex and toilet bowl cleaner, but NO food because it most definitely would rot or grow stale or mold before we got around to eating all of it.
I definitely save money over what I would pay at the grocery store for those items, and I like that my weekly grocery bill is less because I only have food in my cart. I can also grocery shop faster because my list is shorter.
My husband, who hates anything shopping related, lives for trips to Costco so that he can purchase in bulk. The man who would whine about going into Target to pick up an item or two, will happily buy a case of whatever it is at Costco or Sam’s.
I’ve finally convinced him that we really don’t need a case of pinto beans or tomato paste or mustard. We have an empty nest. But he continues to buy paper products in bulk and we have them stashed all over our house.
I think his paper collection will be part of our daughter’s inheritence. She’ll never need to buy paper products again for her family once we’re gone.
On most of the high efficiency washers, there is a place for only bleach and I put it there like the manual says BUT I always do a bleach load afterwards.
I buy dog food, Tide, Downy, toilet paper, paper towels, Lysol 3 pk. air spray, pens, mechanical pencils and other office supplies (some of those are for our restaurant), toilet bowl cleaner and Clorox wipes in bulk or large sizes.
I sometimes buy grapes in bulk too which is why they are multiplying in my fridge as we speak.
Sam’s has nice bows and ribbon and paper in bulk at Christmas time. And Christmas cards. And gum. And deodorant.And vitamins.
Ok, I am done.
I have a family of 6 which includes 3 teenagers and one bottomless-pit 9 yr. old boy. Amazingly, I do not buy in bulk. I have figured out it actually cost more! I do have a Sam’s card though but I usually only get a couple of things. My best bargain is to buy a pork tenderloin for $15, have them slice it and I can feed the natives 6 meals.
On the washer topic, if you have a front loader, you can add the bleach to the bleach dispenser section and then run the ‘cleaning’ cycle. Make sure you leave the door open after you’re done with the laundry each time to let it dry out. I would point out that all of this is clearly printed in your owner’s manual, but that would probably be mean, so I won’t!
My husband and I love Sam’s Club. We end up going about every three months. Stuff we buy: canned and dry cat food, cat litter, milk(not to store but because it’s relatively cheap), eggs, paper goods, zip loc bags, chicken. We have a large freezer so most of this is used up by the time we head out on our next trip. We also shop there when we have large parties planned, usually around every holiday.
I buy a lot of non-perishable items. TP,paper towels, bleach, detergents, M&M’s, wine, beer, toothbrushes, deodorant, pop-tarts, gold fish crackers, ketchup, cereals, etc. We just bought (as in, yesterday) an storage fridge for our garage, so I think a lot more could be coming in bulk.
No room for bulk at my house, and we are so fickle about snacks and food, we would just throw most of it out.
However, I do stock up on Caffeine free Pepsi for my hubby. Maybe that is not so much buying in bulk as it is safeguarding our marriage, because the man loves his Pepsi.
I am a Diet Dr. Pepper fan myself.
I did not know about the bleach either and I will have to run it through my machine today.
As for Costco, we live there.
LOL!
I don’t buy a lot of fresh fruit or vegetables there though because those will go bad if we don’t eat them fast enough…but there frozen brocoli is amazing!!
I buy almost everything there and grocery shop for little fillers. We buy bulk our paper products, dish washer soap, dish soap, tooth paste, vitamins, cereal, garbage bags, computer paper, the list goes on. We even buy our milk at costco and buy 7-8 gallons at once. We have 4 little kids and they love milk. We go to costco twice a month to stock up.
I can’t buy things in bulk. There is just no where to store it and honestly, Sam’s and Costco freaks me out a little. Why does anyone need a case of Cheerio’s?
Because time would stand still if we ever ran out of these things, here are my 4 essential bulk items from Sammy’s:
KETCHUP – CHOCOLATE CHIPS – GUM – FROZEN WAFFLES
I’m with you on the TP – definitely can never have too much of that! I also look for deals on cleaning wipes (Lysol) when they’re in bulk since I use those pretty regularly. Other than that – I’m a little leery of the whole bulk philosophy. I think it’s because I actually enjoy shopping and buying new products and if you’ve got 10 more items waiting at home, it kind of takes the fun out of it!
ps – that may change as soon as we have this baby. I have a feeling that bulk items may become our friends.
How often are you supposed to do the bleach thing? I’ve had my washer for a year and a half but figure I still need to do that.
I buy toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, and feminine stuff. I live 90 miles from a Sam’s or Walmart, and those are things we definitely don’t want to run out of. But for now it’s just the hubby and I. No kids to have to supply… Yet!
I second your “I don’t need fruit messing up my chocolate.” It’s just wrong. I mean, nuts are perfectly welcome to hang out with my chocolate on occasion. But NO FRUIT!
I, too, like to stick to the essentials when buying bulk. Namely, toilet paper. Every now and then I dare to buy more than just a 3 pack of Dial soap. It’s not like my older girls would dare to pick up a bar of soap anyway. Their soap must come in bottles to be squeezed in massive amounts. Perhaps I should buy body wash in bulk.
I hate clutter. Too many cans of soup or boxes of mac n cheese lurking around make me nervous. Toilet paper, however, is something I don’t mind at all crowding my cabinets. I’m sure we can all agree no explanation is needed.
And Diet Coke. I don’t usually buy it in bulk but I wish I did. Perhaps I have a fear of buying in bulk because almost daily running to the store to make sure we have Diet Coke is getting ridiculous. You’d think by now I’d at least buy a two day supply. I guess I’m like the smoker who never buys a carton of cigarettes. Don’t know where that analogy came. HATE cigarettes.
LOVE Diet Coke. UH OH! I need to go now. I just realized we’re out of Diet Coke. Seriously. *insert mood change here*
There are only three of us, just like you…so often buying in bulk is pointless. BUT there are some things that we love at the good ol’ Sam’s club:
TP, Paper towels, water, fresh chicken breasts, some spices, bacon bits, nutri grain bars, body wash and Tom’s toothpaste, dog food, laundry soap, most other cleaning supplies, some veggies and fruits, some snacks, and then they have lots of really cheap goodies – clothes, shoes, seasonal decor, christmas presents, books, movies…it’s totally worth the $40!
I don’t buy in bulk. It’s the law of supply and demand. If there’s too much of something, no one wants it.
I buy bagged salad because it is so much cheaper and I don’t feel bad if it goes bad. I also buy the big tubs of hummus and we will snack on that while cooking dinner.
I actually did a post sometime ago listing what we buy. Oh look! I found it!
http://baileysleaf.blogspot.com/2009/02/we-need-to-be-more-mindful-of-our.html
Long and short of it is that you need to watch what you buy at Sam’s or another bulk food place. Some things are really great prices. Some are not. (Kraft Mac & Cheese not so good.)
You’d love Sunday’s after church though! It is sample time! I’m embarrassed to admit that we generally go our once a month trip after church and eat so many samples that we are full by the time we leave! That alone is worth the price of admission!
As one who did not know about the amazing bleach trick, I have a question – are you supposed to do it for front-loaders (HE) too? So many of the tips and tricks it seems you cannot do for front loaders so that scares me and I never try any of them.
As for bulk… I may or may not have 7 BOXES (like the ones with 2 packages of jumbo diapers each) of diapers in my storage closet right now… my husband rolls his eyes but I am a sucker for a sale (got all of them at extremely good prices) and I would not be a happy Mama if we ran out of diapers.
Ironically, I am not as stocked up on the wipes – which now that I think about it could cause some problems…
Paper towels, paper plates, toilet paper, diapers, wipes, diet coke, Goldfish crackers, and bottled water.
Wow. After looking at that, I have just realized that how non-earth-friendly we are. Oops.
And “I don’t need fruit messing up my chocolate” might be my life verse. Amen, girl. Amen.
two words:
diapers, dr. pepper
(okay, three words!)
Hmmm, what do I get at Sams?
Well to tell you the truth, half the time I go to Sams I go just to look or get the samples
But some of the stuff I get isn’t necessarily something I need a lot of, it is just cheaper to buy it that way, like Dove Body Wash. It’s a lot cheaper than Walmart and now I don’t have to buy it for a while!
However some of my favorite things to buy in bulk are artichoke hearts, banana peppers, pepperoncini, and olives (kalamata and garlic stuffed). They’re pickled so you never run into the “is this good?” question, and you can never, ever have too many olives!
I think P and my husband are lost brothers. Builderman has been known to order red licorice by the case from candy manufactureres. We had to throw some away as he couldn’t eat that much licorice before it got old. But last week he was online looking to do it again. LOL
I don’t buy in bulk either- too much planning involved – bought grapes in bulk once- bad idea- just ended up with a lot of withered and molded grapes.
AND 68 degrees- isn’t heavenly? I’m ready for wool sweaters and fall leaves!
No bulk buying here.
I know bulk buying is supposed to “save money” but it seems like an oxymoron to me – when I do go to Sam’s I’m always looking for the finance manager!
That place is a money pit for me…
We have 9 (no, that’s not a typo – I did say NINE!) dogs, so obviously, we buy dog food in bulk. And not just bulk as in huge bags, but bulk as in an entire pallet of bags at a time… And at heart, I’m a cat person, so there’s something seriously wrong with this picture…
Adrienne
I knew we were twins, separated at birth! Except I’m old enough to be your mother. Maybe the National Enquirer can figure that one out. I too only buy paper towels and toilet paper in bulk. Even if I pay more per unit (whatever that is), I feel guilty throwing away stuff.
i, too, was unaware of the bleach thing..last week i got some weird urge to read my washer/dryer maintenance book (armed with a hightlighter) and also learned that i should be washing on permanent press…never used that cycle before.
isn’t this tx weather wonderful?? had to make butternut squash soup the other day and today feel the need to have the house completely halloween decorated with a pumpkiny fallish treat of some kind waiting for the kids when they get some from school. that was also my goal for yesterday…and the day before…didn’t happen, but today is the day! **oh, and i NEVER buy things in bulk. it scares me…reminds me of back in the day when i’d go to my mimi’s house and she’d have 59 rolls of paper towels, 30 jars of pickles, etc. i thought it was because she grew up in the depression…i seriously thing she was a closet hoarder.
We have 9 (no, that’s not a typo, I did say NINE) dogs, so of course, we buy dog food in bulk. And I’m not just talking bulk as in big bags; I’m talking bulk as in an entire pallet of bags at a time. And at heart, I’m a cat person, so there is something seriously wrong with this picture…
I’ll be bleaching my washer this weekend!
Adrienne
Bulk items: Pine Sol! I can’t get enough of that stuff, so I buy the janitor sized every few weeks! Also, garbage bags, tp, dishwasher tablets, paperplates, and snack items – because goodness knows, my poor 6 year old daughter can’t possibly be expected to make it til lunch time at school without some sort of snack! Oh, the sheer dread! And bottled water- which I realize any environmentalist probably hates all these things in bulk, but hey, we have to do what we have to do, right?!
I buy the essentials in bulk but nothing parishable really because I don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it to go bad!
Hello! I am gonna have to do the bleach thing too! I had NO idea!
As for buying in bulk… we buy toilet paper, paper towels, meat (which I repackage in ziploc freezer bags because it is much cheaper that way than going to Wal-mart and buying by the pound), bananas- they come in 3 pound packages- about 8 bananas, medicine (tylenol, advil, vitamins, etc.), olive oil, milk (it only comes one gallon at a time!), butter, cream cheese, frozen foods like corn dogs, socks, undies (Costco has the best underclothes), some clothing we purchase at Sams or Costco (especially the Carter’s clothes- about 30% cheaper than the outlet), books (for kids and adults), movies and we use their pharmacy (our prescription yesterday for Amoxicillan- sp?? was free just like at Publix), oh yeah, almost forgot, CLEANING supplies! The little things you drop in your dishwasher that are so expensive are a little less so at Sam’s as are some of the other luxuries.
Does having a side of beef & half a side of deer in the freezer count as buying in bulk?!
I also buy the standard tp & pt in bulk. We also buy trashbags, laundry detergent, dog food, household cleaners, powerade< & bottled water in bulk. Soon we will start back on the diapers & baby wipes train after a 7 year absence, this will take some getting used to.
I buy toilet paper, paper towels,cereal, juic boxes, laundry detergent and some cleaning supplies.
I just joined Sam’s and I buy chicken breasts, ground beef, toilet paper, trash bags, laundry detergent, dish detergent, canola oil, powerade, brownie mix, pnut butter, ziplock freezer bags for the meat I buy, tin foil, saran wrap, and sun screen for my red headed husband during the summer! Anytime I feed the quarterbacks I stock up there too! I basically believe that when you shop their you either need to feed a football team…which I do, or you need to be buying the things that you use everyday or at least multiple time a week.
We are a family of 4, but do have a membership to Costco. We just buy TP, papertowels, Kleenex, Eggo waffles, brownie mix, and sometimes a meal or two from their meat area. Then when don’t have to buy the paper goods for a few months…
While 10 lbs. of chocolate covered cherries is probably a bit excessive, I will say that Cherry Republic is wonderful!! I discovered them at the Houston Nutcracker Market a couple years ago and have been ordering gifts and goodies from them ever since. SO GOOD!
I buy chicken breasts and feta cheese in bulk. When I get home I take the chicken breaste out of the HUGE bag and repackage them 2 per bag.
When my parents first got married they went on their honeymoon. My dad found chocolte covereed cherries on sale and since he CANNOT pass up a sale, he bought a ton of them with instentions of bringing the back home for family. The problem is that when you get married in May and your honeymoon is in South Padre, your trunk is about 350 degrees. So they had boxes and boxes and boxes of melted chocolate covered cherries.
To this day, every member of my family laughs at the site of chocolate covered cherries.
If that 10 pound box wasn’t $110, I’d totally get it for him.
I just recently became a homeowner, so now that I have room for storage, I may have to check into Sam’s…for things like toilet paper, paper towels, etc. + non-perishables.
I’m with you on keeping the fruit away from the chocolate, unless of course we are talking about chocolate covered strawberries. DEE-LISH!
i buy ziploc bags in bulk (although then you have the issue of where to store all of them…) and detergent of course. but i have the same problem with sam’s. we got a membership and then i feel like i HAVE to buy stuff there to get our money’s worth…but it’s almost more stressful to me trying to decide what we need 85 lbs of and what we don’t!
but p.s. i love cherry republic! you NEED to try their cherry salsa!!! not the mild, but i like the regular one. i know it sounds sketchy but it is soooo good. just the right amount of sweet. in fact, i ordered a case of the cherry salsa from there in january. then i got pregnant and decided i couldn’t stomach salsa, but as soon as i deliver i’m hoping i can get back in the game! b/c i’m from san antonio as well and not liking salsa is borderline wrong. not as bad as disliking queso though…
1. As it has approached 70 degrees here in Houston, I’ve been wearing fuzzy socks while making chili for dinner and bundling up in my leopard print snuggie. (By the way, if you haven’t gotten the Snuggie yet, DO IT)
2. I agree. Stop adding things to my chocolate. Chocolate is amazing enough by itself, people!!
3. Since we are a family of 2, we rarely buy things in Bulk. Also because our home has no room for such large packages!
Mother to an only child here: We buy nothing in bulk. Except for my husbands olives and pickles. He goes to Sam’s Club for those ginormous jars and finishes them off like a champ! Odd.
Formula and Diapers! We are all about Costco brand!!!
I think you have to be careful about buying things in bulk. First, is it going to ruin before you can use it? Secondly sometimes it’s really not that much cheaper. You just have to compare. I do however love buying bags of chicken at Sam’s because it is so much cheaper and they last for a bit since they are frozen. But Caprisuns for my son are just as cheap at Wal-Mart. Another thing to consider is storage. My house is fairly small so I don’t have a lot of room to store too much extra.
I just read your previous post and do not feel bad. That’s the first I heard of running bleach through your washing machine. We’ve had our machine for 12 1/2 years, since we got married, and I never knew to do that. Off to find the bleach now.
Pull ups, Advil, Wine, Trash Bags, Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Grapes, Pot Roast, Water, Cokes, Milk, Juice Boxes, Fruit Snacks
Buy in bulk? Oh, yes. Just about everything. Usually my Sam’s list is longer than my regular grocery list.
One thing I have found particularly nice is when I have to bring food to a party or a mom’s group thing. Sam’s has great party foods that you can heat up. Those petite quiches are always a hit.
I was about to experience the untold sorrow of dumping the bleach into the soap dispenser, so I’m really glad you shared that!
Buying in bulk (when you have calculated that the price/unit is going to actually save you money!) is great for items that you’re definitely going to need and use and won’t go bad: TP, tissues, paper towels, feminine products, trash bags (altho right now we’re suffering thru a 2nd-rate box of Target-brand kitchen trash bags, which I will never buy again, but refuse to waste the $$ by throwing them out).
I also use coupons for diapers and buy them at Babies R Us/Toys R Us, because after the 10th box, you get one free. Between the free box and the coupons, you can get brand name diapers cheaper there than at Sams/BJs. . . Plus with a 2-1/2 yo, 15-mo-old and another on the way, I go through way more diapers than anyone should ever have to think about. . .
I will also buy some pantry foods like Campbells soup, cream of soups (for cooking), jars/cans of tomatoes/pasta sauce or boxes of pasta when they’re on 1/2 price, because I know we’ll use them and they won’t go bad in the next few months. I just have to remember how many I have on hand, so I don’t go out and buy 10 more boxes of pasta when it goes on 1/2 price again, before we’ve used up our supply.
Unfortunately, we just have our small freezer (attached to the refrigerator), so I can’t really buy in bulk anything that needs to be refrigerator/frozen . . .
If you shop carefully, you can save $$, and for us that’s essential since we’re on one income, trying to spend between $200-$300/month on groceries . . .
We buy in bulk strictly for:
Paper towels
Toilet paper
Baby formula
chewing gum
cheaper per roll/pound/pack that way.
I’m a bulk buyer of certain things. Like you, I buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk. I also do laundry detergent (I guess bleach now since I have to clean my washing machine! Who knew!) and meats. We have a chest freezer and about once every couple months I make a Costco meat run. It actually has saved us about $720 a year doing it that way. It just takes awhile to remember to take the meat out of deep freeze a couple days before you want to use it. My family got a bit tired of last minute french toast for dinner!
Instead of Gummi LifeSavers, we buy popcorn in bulk. It’s our vice.
I cancelled my Sam’s membership. Last time I went there I bought a measly 10 items and spent almost $180. I don’t care if it does work out cheaper in the long run, I absolutely cannot stomach coming home with only a few itmes and my wallet a few hundred dollars lighter. I am a firm believer in spreading it all out. Makes me feel better at least
My husband the engineer continually points out to me that little thing below the bar codes that show how much it cost per ounce to purchase things and how bulk is so much better – however, until he decided to fight the grocery store on a weekly basis as I do, then no bulk shopping for me!
I normally don’t like to buy in bulk either, but I do think buying tomato paste and possibly canned diced or stewed tomatoes are good to buy in bulk.
My kids are still quite young (I have a 3yo and a 4mo) so we use Sam’s for formula, diapers, and other baby-related things. Sam’s is also great for books, DVD’s, towels, etc. We buy our milk & eggs there, too – they’re much cheaper, and you don’t have to buy huge quantities.
I do buy some things in bulk. We don’t have Costco here in Oklahoma, but we do have Sam’s, and I have a membership solely for the following items:
1. Meat. If you have a FoodSaver or anything similar, it is WELL worth it. And the meat is quality
2. Paper goods – TP, paper towels, and all the picnicware you could want. This is great when you have a big family and they tend to descend like locusts at holidays.
3. Cleaning goods – detergents, trash sacks, wipes, etc.
4. Cat food/litter. I have six cats. ‘Nuff said. I make my membership $$ back on these two items alone.
I buy hamburger in bulk at Costco and repackage it into 1 pound quart size ziploc packages. I also buy my detergent and toilet paper at Costco. The other things I buy at Costco are primarily because I like the quality better than the grocery store (IQF chicken breasts, trail mix and frozen salmon). You do definitely have to watch price on cereals, crackers and that kind of stuff. My grocery store is cheaper on a lot of things than Costco. Have a super day!
I live in Texas as well … I miss the warmer weather… sorry! haha
My family is also a family of three.. but I have a almost 18 yr old to take that into account.
We go to Costco.
TP
PT – I only use bounty though so I look for the best deal not always costco. (my son had to do a science project and belive it or not bounty was the best)
Chicken breast – Boneless skinless
chips – lunch size (he sometimes eats them outside of school lunches)
Chexmix lunch size – This is also nice to have if you have not had time to eat all day and have a game right after work.
Cheeseits lunch size –
Note: my son has made his own lunch for well I’m embarassed to say how long! Anyway now that he drives himself to school sometimes he gets up late and just grabs various kinds of the snack size items. Yes he has options at school that are good but he chooses not to eat at school. (it’s a private school so the lunches are from some mom that owen a catering service.)
WOW sorry for the long post!
My mother likes to buy things in bulk, the necessities, of course. Toilet Paper, detergent, Cascade and even spaghetti noodles and oatmeal.
Just the other day she sent me to Sam’s to buy ground chuck..in bulk. 80 lbs of meat that I have to divide and package into one pound bags..just so my freezer is stocked for winter.
When Mom is footing the bill you just can’t say no.
We usually have deer meat but ran out a couple months ago and are determined not to run out this year. At least when we add a deer or two we will have a packed freezer..
Since I use coupons, I don’t shop at Sam’s/Costco that much anymore (except for the roasted chicken) yum! Anyway .. I do however use my coupons to stockpile toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste, Dawn, Electrosol and deodarant. Never want to run out of these things.
I usually try to keep at 10 of each item on hand, so I stock up when they are on sale. I have not purchased diswashing liquid since January 2009.
There IS something to said about BULK!
So funny because I just went to Costco yesterday. I have a family of two. Just little me and my hubby, who is a tall and muscular man who likes to eat. I get nectarines, apples, peppers, almond butter, yogurt, string cheese, and milk at Costco. That’s just the food essentials. I get those in bulk because two gallons of milk are actually consumed in about a week and half at my house. And I have about a cup of it. I know!
Then there’s the non-food. Of course the paper towels, Kleenex, toilet paper. Those are easy to store. But my FAVORITE things are laundry detergent, fabric softener, dish soap, deoderant, dishwasher detergent, shower soap, and all other goods like this. They don’t go bad and they last forever and they’re just plain cheaper to buy in bulk. Love me some Costco!
I think you need that extra fridge/freezer to really maximize the benefits of buying in bulk, alas, we do not. Garbage bags, paper towels, laundry detergent, kleenex and WINE. Probably doesn’t warrant a membership but I like to handle my money with as little responsibility as possible. Thank you.
laundry detergent, tp, paper towels, dog food, milk, grapes,batteries, white vinegar (for cleaning and laundry), bagels.
can’t wait to try the bleach thing in my washer…it’s been smelling a little mildew-y and I’ve been trying not to notice that! Maybe this will help!
Totally with you on chocolate covered fruit. Gross. (With the exception of chocolate covered strawberries. Oh, and caramel and chocolate covered apples). Definitely think the whole chocolate covered dried fruit thing is disgusting. Even raisins. Bleh.
The only thing I buy in bulk is EasyMac. I have an 18 month old who has very particular taste, and if I don’t have EasyMac constantly on hand, chaos will ensue. So to keep my sanity, and hers, I buy it in bulk.
Ah, to be able to buy in bulk!
With a total of 2 closets (don’t be jealous!) in my tiny NYC apartment, there is absolutely no room for more than a couple extra rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
The upside, though, is that because we’re a half block from the corner store, when we run out we can just walk and pick some up.
Here’s my list.
)
Paper towels, toilet paper, kleenexes (actually, I prefer Puffs), laundry detergent.
Also, I like to get bacon bits in bulk (seriously, the bag still isn’t large enough, but it lasts longer and is cheaper than what’s offered at the grocery store) and olive oil. And I just got a huge bag of bread flour.
This time of year I buy tissues (with lotion) and Purell in bulk. I also bake a lot, so I buy flour and other baking essentials in bulk. Other than that it’s just the paper towels and toilet paper like everyone else.
I have to say that buy my beloved diet coke & diet dr. pepper in bulk is a gift. It’s tragic to the fridge & find it’s empty of the life giving liquid in my time of need.
I also buy everything I need to make a pot of sphaghetti in bulk, cause the ingredients keep forever & it’s my #1 go-to meal. The paper towels and tp are a given. Diapers and wipes for my 1 year old.
And I too am enjoying the cooler Texas weather- I walked around yesterday with my fluffy sweatshirt & was thrilled that I didn’t look (totally) out of place with it.
I lived overseas for 20 of our 33 years of marriage and have, by default (and the lack of suitable substitutes in said foreign countries) become a “hoarder” (no, wait, make that “Well Stocked” – STOCKED, not STACKED – just so there is no misunderstanding) of almost everything. If I don’t have at least 20 rolls of Charmin in the mud room closet, I feel vulnerable! Ditto for Viva paper towels and those beautiful half-fold napkins by Marathon you get at Sam’s for about $10 for a year’s supply. But face it, when getting the fancy dinner napkins at HEB costs $4.77 for 50, getting 500 for $10 is really our patriotic duty! And we DO use them! Things I do NOT buy in bulk are ANYTHING I like to consume in any quantity because “If it is there, it will be eaten”.
But it just makes sense that if you want tender filet mignons and they are $8.99/lb if you buy 6 of them vs. $29.99 at HEB butcher counter, I’m gonna buy the bulk ones and freeze what I want to use later! And those CFS bulbs are WAY cheaper in the 8 or 9 pack from Costco than the $4.99 each at Target (and I love Target – just don’t buy lightbulbs there).
Three things absolutely necessary to be able to buy in bulk:
1) Experience with the product (who wants to keep stale cereal forever because you can’t bring yourself to throw it out but you paid $14 for it!)
2) Be prepared to drop $200-500 in one go although that will see you through a LONG time saving in months ahead
3) Room to put it all when you get home. You’ll soon curse said store after tripping over the tower of paper goods stacked on your floor for the ‘nth” time.
Oh, and…
4) Discipline – it’s easy to get carried away especially at Christmas with all the ribbons and bows and toys and “specialty foods”.
But they really can save you a wad of dough. Vitamins are MUCH cheaper in the 200-300 ct bottles and Ibuprofen is about 20-25% the cost of brand name Advil.
You and your friend (Gulley?) could go halvsies on things if you don’t want as much on hand but want the savings. Having a friend with similar tastes can really help.
One more reason to get yourself to a Costco post-haste – they (especially around Christmas) will have designer handbags for 50% or less. That alone should be enough to pique your interest…
Oh, and for the record, I’m not a Sam’s Club fan. I’m Costco through and through – they have better quality in my opinion, better return policy and their warranty/return policies on electronics is not to be beaten! (where else can you get a 50″ plasma and after watching it awhile and don’t like it can return it?)
Call me a membership store snob…
I’m not a bulk purchaser. I get sick of whatever I’ve bought long before I can finish it. Except for the one time I bought a huge package of linen Febreeze spray. That stuff is good.
We don’t buy much in bulk, we have a freezer full of meat from hunting and frozen veggies from the garden so essentially we just buy the basics. My husband does have a stash of canned foods and bottled water you know for “emergencies” because he is always “ready” for any disaster!
Costco has 50 yards of wired Christmas ribbon for $6.50. I went in August and got 8 rolls for Christmas 2009.
I don’t need 10 pounds of chocolate covered cherries because I could eat that much.
I didn’t know about the bleach either.
I don’t by a whole lot in bulk like you, but also like you I buy toilet paper for sure because I have such a fear of running out when I need it the most. I also like to buy laundry detergent in bulk when I can because it seems like it last soooo much longer than buying smaller bottles more often.
We are a home of 2, and limited storage space, so the bulk purchased items need to be kept reasonable when we hit costco. We also live in a small town, so we end up paying a bit more at the market for some of these items, so getting them in bulk is better for us.
Here is what we buy in bulk (some are a bit odd, I have to admit…)
FOOD:
Meat–frozen chicken breasts, ground turkey, pork chops.
Staple food items–chicken stock, black beans, chick peas, diced tomatoes, tuna, spices, butter
Laughing Cow cheese wedges. I love this stuff and it’s cheaper at Costco (4 “disks” for $8, compared to $4.50 for one “disk”)
BBQ Sauce: This is Andy’s “Ketchup”. He puts it on EVERYTHING.
OTHER STUFF:
TP
Paper Towels
Dishwasher soap
Ziplock baggies
Good luck with the bulk shopping. I suggest going without P and with a list. : )
I just returned from Costco with about 20 pounds of ground beef so I can make a vat of chili for dinner. Oh, and I’m wearing Uggs. Clearly we are the same person living 10 miles apart.
I bulk buy: Ziploc bags, paper towels, toilet paper, plastic cutlery and plates and cups for all those church functions that require them, all sorts of meat because we are carnivores, and pesto. Yes, pesto. We are Italian carnivores.
I’m been burned buying some things in bulk. Chips and cookies tend to go stale or get weevils before we eat them all. Nuts get a little rancid toward the end. And once I bought a jumbo box of Kashi energy bars that turned out to be unfit for human consumption.
Like most everyone else, I stock up on the same host of essentials at Costco–dog food, toilet paper, paper towels, nutrigrain bars (my girls love ‘em), diet coke (’cause I’m a diet coke whore), baby wipes and pull-ups for my youngest, great toys and supplies for the holidays (gift tags, cards, tissue/wrapping paper), camera memory sticks, and DVDs, especially Disney ones. They usually retail for about 24.99 + in other stores, 18.99 tops in Costco. My husband has also gotten some lap tops for his work in the past as well as digital cameras, etc. We get a monthly coupon book from Costco so the already-low prices can go even lower, and each month the sale items change.
I also got my husband a Nascar race experience gift certificate from Costco, retail price $429…I paid $299. He’ll do 8 laps by himself come January, that is after some training and whatnot. I have, of course, made sure his life insurance is up-to-date
So, long story short, as you can see, I am a sucker for the Costco!
I only know about the bleach thing because we had a stinky water problem in the laundry room and the internet told Husband to use bleach to fix it.
And I am in total agreement regarding the mixing of fruit and chocolate. I don’t need one getting in the way of the other.
I buy some meat in bulk, applesauce, fruit cups, some frozen food items sometimes, and toothpaste. I usually don’t buy my paper goods in bulk because it actually usually more expensive!
I agree. No cherries in my chocolate. However…I would agree to let P purchase the ten pounds of chocolate-covered cherries as an emergency chocolate backup, you know, like if there is absolutely no other chocolate in the house and you are having a chocolate attack, just get a box of those P chocolates and spit out the cherries. Hey, you’ve got to do whatever works in dire times.
The main reason I go to Sam’s is for cheese dip and On The Border chips! My whole family likes it and we usually go through one a month. We also get zyrtec…who knew you could buy zyrtec in bulk, crazy, I know. Those are the necessities but we always end up with lots more
*sigh* My hubby & I went to Cherry Republic on our honeymoon is Traverse City. It was bliss…and yummy.
For me, the biggest reason to buy in bulk is the reduced prices. Hubby & I are on a very tight budget and shopping cheap but also attempting to be healthy has been my weekly challenge for the past year. Sam’s Club has great deal on things like peanut butter, Craisins (which are almost HALF the price of buying smaller bags at the regular grocery store), almonds, cereal, meat, etc. Because there is only two of us, I only buy in bulk what won’t go bad very fast, or that I can freeze or reseal.
So for us, it’s totally a money thing.
Lucky you! It’s 90 degrees here in south Georgia. I am dying to have some cooler weather.
And as for buying in bulk, the only thing I buy a lot of at one time is meat. It’s cheaper that way.
Triscuits. They are my “yogurt and granola.” I CANNOT run out of them.
Anything that won’t spoil. Toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher soap, dish soap, bath soap, cleaning stuff. I love Costco. My ding dong husband, however, will buy things in bulk that spoil. For instance, 5 lbs of apples, 3 lbs of grapes, 2 cantelopes and 2 sugar baby watermelons all in one trip and all for the two of us. In a week when he’s gone 3 days. Go figure.
we do the essentials of TP and PT’s as you do. We also buy the large boxes of things like pizza rolls and taquitos for the large freezer. They’re great last minute dinners, or light pre-dinner snacks if you have a sixteen year old boy!
Not a big fan of bulk either…toilet paper, paper towels, and ramen are my ‘large quantity’ purchases. Bulk for me is buying the big bag of frozen chicken strips. I feel like I’m goin’ all out.
I buy nothing in bulk. I am not a member of Costco or Sam’s Club.
Does that make me a bad American?
We frequent Sam’s about every 2 months. A few of the standards that always make the list:
Dog food
Diapers
24 packs of Gatorade bottles
24 packs of bottled water bottles
24 packs of Coke (cans)
Spaghetti
Paper towels
Toilet paper
Laundry detergent
Dishwashing detergent
I buy diapers and wipes in bulk. They are only a little bit cheaper in bulk, but since you go through them so quickly it’s more of a convenience thing to have a pack of 248 diapers as opposed to 20 diapers. Aside from that I do get some of the variety packs (chips, fruit snacks, 100 calorie packs, etc.) You still get a large qty but not a zillion of the same exact item.
Thanks for the bleach tip!
When I was in college, my roommate and I would buy bulk containers of those little red and white ‘after-dinner mints’ that melt in your mouth. We’d buy 3-4 containers at a time at Sam’s (they each have 500 mints, ha!). I don’t think I’ve eaten a single one of those mints since graduating.
I buy paper towels and toilet paper in bulk too…
But I also like to by my starbucks grounds in bulk from Sams too!
Can’t get too much starbucks!
It’s just me and my husband at our house, plus two dogs. We don’t have kids yet, so no diapers and wipes, but we do buy a lot at Sam’s Club (no Costco in town). Here’s what we buy only at Sam’s: TP, paper towels, napkins, ziploc bags, laundry detergent and softener, dishwasher soap, cleaners (409 or lysol), rice (I’m from Brazil, we eat a lot of rice), granola bars, oatmeal, sometimes cereal, olive oil, some frozen foods (they ahve the vest five cheese raviolis!), frozen veggie if they are out of season, cheese (most important item!), bread, eggs, margerine, yogurt, meats (ground beef, steaks and so on)body lotion and body soap. Sometimes we add on some yummy items like trail mix and goldfish crackers (you don’t have to have kids to have that in your pantry). We buy everything else at the frocery store. As far as fresh veggies and gruits, I buy at Sam’s and split the huge packages with a friend which works really well since the prices are lower. Very rarely something goes bad or gets old. I guess because we stay in and cook most nights. Then again, I don’t buy all this every single time I go to Sam’s. I hope this gives you a good idea…
I buy in bulk the stuff I have no plans to experiment with brand-wise or stuff I really don’t care about brand-wise.
All my detergent (except hand dish soap – love to try out new smells!) is bulk – there is nothing worse than running out of dishwasher detergent! Or laundry detergent. When we were in diapers, diapers were bought bulk. Still buy the wipes in bulk. All manner of plastic bags…trash bags, sandwich bags – you name it. Coke, juice boxes, toothpaste, paper products, feminine products, ground beef and pre-pkg’d chicken breasts I can freeze. Hard liquor. Pretty much nothing perishable. Although I have to say, this summer we blew the cherreis and grapes from Costco like crazy! But otherwise, no perishables.
Usually, the more of something you buy the cheaper it is. Stuff that I use a ton of, I buy in bulk. Stuff that I know I will use eventually and that won’t go bad in the meantime, I buy in bulk. It’s very helpful when stretching your grocery dollar. The key is to price compare. If it’s not cheaper, than I see no reason to have half a million of something. But if it is, I’ll store it in my dresser, if need be!
Wine.
I can never have enough in the house.
We buy bread in bulk. But only because we can go through 5 or 6 loaves in a week… and there are only 3 of us, and one is a 2 year old!
My husband is a firm believer of the “if one is good then certainly 50 is better” philosophy. I recently sent him to pick up a few things at Costco and he came back with a box of ShamWows. That box contained 16 of them. Seriously. Who needs 16 ShamWows unless you work at a car wash?!?!?! Needless to say I made him take them back.
But we shop at Costco a lot with two kids. I stock up on everything…toilet paper, trash bags, paper towels, toothbrushes, pasta sauce, cereal, meats, bread, chips, olive oil..etc, etc. Pretty much everything except veggies (unless frozen) and fresh fruits (although they do have rediculously good and cheap pineapples).
Trust me, it’s worth having large quantities on hand so that you don’t feel like you need to run to the store every day. Plus, it really does save you money.
We buy a lot in bulk. Of course there’s the tp,pt, and detergent that many have mentioned but we also buy lunch box items as well. I have two in school and one in MDO twice a week so we go through our fair share of chips, peanut butter, and, sadly Lunchables. We also buy canned goods, bodywash, diapers, wipes, juices, and….er…ummm…wine. Some days when my son comes home after ANOTHER trip to the principles office (he’s 5…I don’t know if that excuse makes it better or worse) you just need some wine.
The residual bleach is not a lie! I lost many a shirt to the residual bleach that lived in our washer for at least a month.
Paper towels, toilet paper, small bottles of water, the amazing Ecos liquid laundry soap at Costco, horse supplements and that’s it.
I can’t be trusted to buy anything else in bulk because Nona’s Biscotti just beg to be dipped in lattes and tea all day long.
paper towels, tuna, canned chicken, chicken breast tenders, seasoning mixes,rice, sugar, flour, olive oil, formula, corn dogs, hamburger meat, croissants
we live 30 miles from town and 55 miles from sams…when i make the trip in we stock up about once every other month
but i try to always have enough food in the deep freeze etc for at least 2 weeks just in case….year before last we got snowed in and it was 9 days before it was clear enough i could go into town…. i was glad of the supplies
steff
Here’s what I buy in bulk:
paper towels, soap, laundry detergent, fabric softener, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, paper plates, shampoo & conditioner.
I think that is it??? I try to buy the stuff in bulk that we use on an every day basis. I really don’t know if it is cheaper or not, I just like having a lot here so I don’t have to make a million trips.
Being a mama of 4 I buy LOTS in bulk. All paper products, many cleaning products, canned goods, food that do not expire quickly. I get better prices that way.
I love and hate bulk shopping. I like it because I need to go less, but I hate because I need to find someplace to put things. We let our warehouse membership expire and I don’t miss it a bit. If you happen to get those chocolate covered cherries, you can always share with us.
-FringeGirl
I end up buying meats in bulk. Ground beef, chicken breasts, pork chops…and then vacuum sealing them and putting them in my deep freeze. But if you don’t have a vacuum sealer or a deep freeze, it wouldn’t work out for you, due to the freezer burn and lack of space.
I am also not a fan of bulk buying. There are a lot of things wrong with it in my mind. Where do you put it all? I would come up with creative places to put it all and then forget it I had it. This would end with waste, which I do not like to do either. Then it is a BIG commitment. You have to REALLY like the stuff. What if you change your mind and then you are stuck with 65 or something you no longer care for? And then there is the issue of everything being bigger and heavier. I don’t want to lift a 20lb. bottle of laundry detergent. I will end up spilling it. This will cause me to cuss and then swear off laundry forever. This is not a good combination for anyone else in the house. So, my vote is no.
The ginormous bags of chocolate chips were a regular Sam’s Club staple when we lived in the U.S. And BIG old chunks of parmesan cheese because we like freshly grated, not that powdered stuff in a green can — and we eat cheese on just about everything. Except chocolate.
If the dark chocolate covered cherries are from the Cherry Republic then my advice is to buy TWO five pound boxes. They are scrumptious!!
I grew up in a family with 4 kids and it seemed like we were ALWAYS out of tp. I remember vowing to myself that that would never happen to my family.
And now that I have 4 kids, I don’t think there’s ever been a time when we were completely out of tp!
OCD, well maybe just about tp!
I usually buy cereal in bulk. I used to buy bread and chips but it goes bad before we can use it. I tend to buy books in bulk too! LOL! Way too many according to hubby!
I had no idea about the bleach. I had to scroll down and read your post to find out what the heck.
And I rarely buy in bulk. Sometimes if I find something organic, I might. Like I found organic spaghetti sauce in a pack of three. Lovely.
And frozen pizzas. It’s not organic, but it makes for a quick dinner.
And I like those big bags of frozen chicken breasts.
That’s about it.
Sandy
Toilet paper because who wants to run out of toilet paper????
Ground turkey (I never cook with ground beef), chicken, pork chops, soup, some canned goods, paper towels, laundry detergent, flour, rice, etc.
We bought a $19.99 food saver and use it on the meat and it freezes really well.
Sometimes the Winco near our home is cheaper (or comparable) to Costco, so I’ll buy there, and you don’t have to buy in bulk there.
Did your repairmen friend mentioning leaving the washer lid open to dry out the drum so it doesn’t rust?
I have no basis for that except that I do it (after washing something) and have never had a problem with rust in my washer or on the clothes.
There are a whole lotta comments up there, so this may have already been said BUT, the major appeal of Costco, for me, are the things that they just don’t sell other places. Like individual packs of hummus. And everything else escapes me, right at this moment, but there are a number of things that are Costco specific, and thus, worth the trip for me.
About the only think I buy religiously in bulk is my caramel for my coffee.
I’m forever spoiled and my morning coffee without caramel…let’s just say, nobody wants that.
I love that it was 68 and “cold” there today while it was 80 and hot here in Massachusetts today!
Great- now I need to buy bleach. Did you know that you are also suppose to put a couple of TBLS of bleach down this pipe for your a/c, or it gets clogged to- also known as why our son’s ceiling has water damage. And, our exterminator (we live in San Antonio,) told me this week that we should put a TBLS down each drain. That it would help with house flies and fruit flies.
People always assume we buy a lot of bulk, but I don’t. I do buy our tp from Costco and a couple of other odds and ends that are cheaper. Beer is cheaper at Costco too. What we use Costco for the most is electronics and other bigger stuff. They have a killer return policy. I had bought a Dyson from them, after 18 months it stopped working- I just took it back and they refunded the purchase. The best has to be the elliptical machine. My husband bought one because “we’ll use it every day!” After sitting practically unused for over a year in my family room, I made him take it back. We didn’t have the receipt, but they took it back no questions. The big items are actually a lot cheaper there- I’ve also gotten diamonds
Velveeta and Ro-tel b/c we live in the Midwest where a good queso is hard to come by.
Diet Coke and chocolate chips…’nough said.
Typical Costco trip:
Paper towels
Paper plates
Bottled Water
soft drinks
Razors
drugs
Zip lock bags
Books
We got our first Costco membership this year with a gift card from my brother. Definitely cost savings on diapers and all paper products. Overall I’m not completely sold as I always feel stressed during the experience. I haven’t gotten into the swing of have your card out here, your receipt out here, write a check or have cash (because I refuse to get another credit card, AmEx). The biggest stressor is my son who won’t sit still in the cart and the cart is so ginormous that it’s hard to push while holding him. If it’s out of your way to shop there, it’s probably not worth it either.
we are a family of 3 – so bulk isn’t really necessary, but we do dabble in it.
I am a fan of costco milk, eggs, butter, TP, paper towels, 50-pack of chips (lunches), peanuts, and fruit snacks.
As a mom who works 40 hours outside of the home, it makes my heart sing to have that 50-pack of lunch chips with me for over a month. We also buy the 3-pack of lunch meat, freeze 2 and call it a day.
Sometimes it’s cheaper, sometimes it’s not. It somehow reduces stress for me.
Things I’m always tempted to buy? The apple-sized grapes, spears of pineapple and those gargantuan vegetable trays. Two servings and the rest rots. Not worth it.
OH! And allergy pills. Last time we went, I almost wept at the generic zyrtec pills. 365 pills for $15.99. 24 of those non-generic bad boys cost that much.
i even blogged about it. a proud moment.
We have five kids, and I buy in bulk, but not a ton. I found I had to really be careful, as somone else said, because the “deal” may not be so great. I buy shredded cheese, sliced cheese(because my kids are cheese lovers!)laundry detergent(3 boys…need I say more?)pasta(noodle lovers too)bread flour, cereal,frozen chicken breast,pork loin(we have hogs too, but my dh thinks it’s a challenge to get it for under $2 a pound. It’s a game to him),spices,fruit cups,tomato sauce and extra strength tylenol(only it’s not tylenol brand). There are a few regular items I can’t think of too. I freeze EVERYTHING(well, not everything because I wouldn’t freeze laundry detergent etc..or my precious tylenol…how would I make it thru the day with 5 kids without it and Diet Coke?) so we don’t have spoilage etc… We go about every 2-3 months.
Thanks for the tip w/the bleach. I am hoping to get a new set when we move next year. I have a love/hate relationship with the washer. It MOVES as it washes. Hoping it will just move on out of the house thru the sliding doors it’s next to. Has yet to happen.
I do not care for cherries mucking with my chocolate either. But I will tolerate a Chunky bar with raisins and nuts. Because I am capricious.
Did anyone else notice that Bethany’s husband read the owner’s manual? I don’t even remember what this post was about – I’m in such shock – A man who reads a manual – before operating. I didn’t know one of those existed – AMAZING! Melanie, you crack me up every day. And today I definitely needed it!
I don’t know squat about buying in bulk b/c it’s just my husband, three dogs & me in our house, but have to tell you I am SO excited. I’ve been trying to find good dark choc covered cherries ever since Harry & David stopped making our favorite ones. No, we don’t need 10 lbs. of them, but one pound will certainly get us out of the withdrawals we’ve been having. Thanks!
I buy in bulk– things like 100% juice boxes, frozen chicken breasts, cheese, etc. I have a list of items that I buy monthly at Sam’s because we use them every week.
I save money by buying in bulk, but more important, I save my sanity. (I am a big coupon fan, and still, there are some things that are cheaper in bulk.) My kids are 6 and 3, and they do not like to shop. One trip to Sam’s saves me lots of little trips to the grocery store all month long, which is better for everyone.
Oh– and my thought on the bulk chocolate cherries? One afternoon with cute plastic containers, scrapbook paper, and a glue gun…. poof, all your teacher/ mailman/ etc. Christmas gifts are done! (I know, I know, not everyone’s idea of a good time.)
OH– forgot to mention, you’re also supposed to run bleach through your garbage disposal every month. We learned this from the RotoRooter guy who had to come out a couple of times a year at our old house due to some unfortunately-placed tree roots that kept messing with our pipes.
And I wonder if color-safe bleach would do the same trick for the laundry? Then there would be no worries about the next load.
Funny I should read this today, the very I took a Sam’s trip. We bought acetamenophin, paper products of all kinds, meats to be divided and frozen, individual packages of Chex Mix, a HUGE mum that has very little to do with buying in bulk except that it’s BIG and so are things in bulk, pretzel chips, blackberries, Soft Scrub and Pledge, and I ALWAYS shop there when hosting an extravaganza like the baby shower I will have next week. I didn’t buy the food for the shower yet, but I will be going back for that vegetable tray I saw for 10 bucks!!!!
With 5 kids, 3 of whom play soccer, we are at Sam’s Club at least twice a month. For us, it makes sense to buy in bulk. I am careful with the fruit… but the grape tomatoes, bananas and grapes don’t last more than 2 – 3 days in my house. To the person who commented ‘who needs a case of Cheerios?’ that would be my family that goes through at least 5 regular sized boxes of cereal a week. Don’t even ask about our milk consumption… it borders on scary! TP, PT, Gatorade, Propel, dog food, cat food, laundry detergent, fabric softener, cat litter, dishwasher detergent, napkins, chicken, frozen veggies, french fries, chicken nuggets, hamburger, pork, bread, milk, cheese… I could go on and on. Buying in bulk is my friend and cheaper than the regular grocery store (Kroger owned)and the WalMart around me.
Big Mama, you CANNOT go wrong (promise!) with anything from Cherry Republic! I visit them every year when we vacation in Northern Michigan (Glen Arbor, Traverse City, Leland…) and they are simply divine.
Let me know if he indulged!
PS. The wine from CR is even better
I like to buy cereal, TP, garbage bags, detergent, and toiletries in bulk. We DO NOT though go to a Sam’s or Cosco – usually those items are too much. I watch for sales and collect coupons. Most of the time, if things are on sale and I have some coupons, it is much cheaper to buy more of smaller sized items. Things liek cereal also stay fresher when it is smaller boxes because it is not a big huge box that can go stale.