Comments on: Bulk food buying may lead to a more cluttered lifestyle

By: Robin

Robin — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:02:05 +0000

Oh no! You’re talking about *me! I bought that gallon of Frank’s Red Hot–and have been living with its hardly-used self ever since!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:07:27 +0000

Eric and Brian, I second your comments – the savings on formula for twins recouped our membership cost in three weeks. Even if you get good coupons from Similac, you have to wait for a sale at a retailer in order to beat the warehouse price.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:45:07 +0000

Our BJ’s membership paid for itself when we bought four giant cans of Isomil. The discount on bulk diapers is just a bonus above that. If you get pregnant, get a membership.

We’ve had good luck buying bulk toiletries, soaps, detergents, coffee, cereal, and lunch foods (Lean cuisine, Kashi), paper goods (tp, paper towels, garbage bags, lunch bags). Meat is almost always a deal, and of great quality (1″ thick chops are my favorite.)

We’ve also wasted our share of luncheon meat, and frozen some things far far too long…. And electronics never a deal.

By: Eric S.

Eric S. — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:55:39 +0000

Bulk shopping club memberships make COMPLETE sense when you have a baby. We have a 6 month old, and found that it only took two trips just for diapers and formula to break even on the cost of the membership (we usually make one trip a month). The key is to use them for what they do well – non-perishable items, things you use at a frighteningly rapid rate (see the above formula and diapers), and things that have a readily-usable discount (gas, tires).

By: riona

riona — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:07:14 +0000

I agree 100% that warehouse stores lead to clutter. However, I think buying in bulk is smart – IF you can do it online. It’s the impulse buys that will kill ya. I buy staples online at Amazon Grocery, and because I have Prime, shipping is free.

By: Serene and Not Herd

Serene and Not Herd — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:31:48 +0000

Buying food in bulk from stores may have problems, but my wife and I quickly found the ordering food in bulk really saves us a lot in shipping.

She has a severe allergy to gluten (the protein in wheat, barley and rye) which is in a great deal more products than just bread.

In a small town, ordering specialty foods manufactured with exacting standards to be completely gluten-free is a necessity. But the constant online shopping was hurting in the shipping costs. So we bought a cubic freezer, and started ordering in bulk. Sometimes even direct from manufacturers. And we froze all but one package at a time.

The freezer is the bulk-food-buyers friend. Last time we went to Costco, we bought 10 packs of Hormel’s Microwave bacon, 5 for the in-laws. It’s great stuff!

By: STL Mom

STL Mom — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:57:12 +0000

I cancelled my Sam’s Club membership when I realized that I never stuck to my list – on every trip I picked up a DVD or an item from the housewares or office supply aisles “because it was such a good deal”. My savings were cancelled out my my extra shopping.
What I really miss are the giant bags of Craisins – my kids can go through a little bag from the grocery store in a few days. What I don’t miss are those double-sized cereal boxes that take up too much room in the cupboard.

By: Jacki Hollywood Brown

Jacki Hollywood Brown — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:10:40 +0000

It is interesting that you mentioned mayonnaise.
Did you know that once opened a jar of mayonnaise only lasts about 6 weeks? (http://www.foodsafetyline.org/.....afety.html)

Yup, so if you don’t have that gallon jug of mayo finished in 6 weeks it is probably growing some bad bacteria and you’d better toss it.

Not only is bulk buying cluttering our houses but cluttering our landfills!

By: Jasi

Jasi — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:41:43 +0000

I share a membership with my grandmother. We only buy household items like TP and Dish Soap. Also we hit up Costco for parties and holidays. Otherwise, I only keep enough food in my fridge for up to 3 days of meals. Anything more seems like clutter. A small emergency pantry is kept in the laundry room for just in case. How much food do we all really need?

By: Ruckus

Ruckus — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 02:28:16 +0000

Ditto on Helix’s comment. I am in the process of trying to declutter, simplify, go green, etc. to a greater degree than I already have. Buying bulk from open bulk bins from health food stores is not only good for the environment and makes economic sense, but it is good for you too since most of the food will be whole grains, dried beans, etc.

By: helix

helix — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:48:16 +0000

“Bulk food” can actually mean two different things. The Sam’s club stuff is one of them.

The other meaning of “bulk food” refers buying food that is unpackaged (you have to bring your own container, or use a Polyethylene bag). Whole foods has a section devoted to this but the idea came from hippy co-op grocery stores.

The latter sense of “bulk food” actually makes a lot of sense to people that are frugal and against clutter– you only buy what you need and you avoid all the unnecessary packaging.

By: Twitchy

Twitchy — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:43:43 +0000

As J. Lynne already said – buy in bulk to split it later. Sharing a purchase amongst a small group lessens the financial impact without ending up with 50kg bags of salt hiding under ones sofa. Another advantage is that one needs to repack goods, which gives you the advantage that you can neatly stack and stow your stuff.

By: J. Lynne

J. Lynne — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:17:14 +0000

I made great use of my membership when I had roommates or regularly shopped with other single friends. We would buy in bulk, split the bill and split the loot. Since I moved up North where I don’t know many people, I let my membership lapse.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:04:39 +0000

Unless you’re like a guy I worked for with 12 kids! They needed barns of food. Mostly boys.

By: Kelsey

Kelsey — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:31:47 +0000

Our Costco purchases are limited to: toilet paper, paper towels, chicken breasts and ground beef (much cheaper!), vitamins, frozen salmon filets, shampoo, and apples. We freeze the chicken and beef we’re not going to consume right away. My husband and I can eat all the apples before they go bad! For certain items buying in bulk is great, you just have to be smart about it.

By: Illiya

Illiya — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:32:13 +0000

For a family of 2 (just me and hubby), we have have a membership to Costco. We typically buy the same thing — paper products, cat litter, cans of soup/tomato/beans, cereals, chicken(6 packets of chicken breast, 2 breast a packet — easy to cook and defrost!). For us who both work, it’s convenient taht we don’t have to run out to get these essentials. So, yes to Costco with moderation

By: Andamom

Andamom — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:22:42 +0000

I agree that people should purchase only what they are going to eat. However, I think that sometimes there are great values to be had at places like Costco. We’ve bought our mattress, clothes for the baby, diaper wipes, shampoo, and things like juice and berries there. It is amazing that I can purchase a huge tub of blueberries or cherries at Costco for nearly the same price I pay for a small container at the regular grocery store… And our bed/mattress was only a few hundred dollars — and that’s reason enough in terms of savings for a membership.

By: mango

mango — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:12:58 +0000

Amen

By: justelise

justelise — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:53:33 +0000

Though it has the possibility of causing clutter, shopping for larger quantity of staple items once in a while is much greener than going back and forth to another store multiple times. Less gas consumed, and bigger products come with less packaging which means less waste.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:53:00 +0000

Then there’s my roommate in law school, who bought, like, a gross of condoms. Unfortunately for him, there’s no more to that story.