Comments on: Items to buy in bulk

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:27:45 +0000

One point I’d like to make about stockpiling frozen foods-I used to do this, filling my freezer in the fall so I didnt have to shop for fish or chicken (mostly all we eat) all winter. Well, I had just done so two years ago when we got a bad storm & the power was off for 2-3 days! Well, the freezer was full, we dont have a generator (and have no safe place to put one. We cooked & ate as much as we could, and when the power came back on, it came on at my mother’s first, so I transferred all my food to her freezer, again cooking up a ton of it.I still lost some due to thawing, and I have been very hesitant to fill the freezer again because of this!

By: Twitchy

Twitchy — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:07:52 +0000

I’d just like to re-iterate that buying in bulk is not limited to one household. If the package is too much for one, thenshare the love – have a chat to some of your mates/family and split proucts amongst you. We did this with olives – less than half the price in a large container, and now we have a little plastic tub of olives in the fridge.

By: consumer_q

consumer_q — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:03:25 +0000

@Melissa,

I do not recall exactly where it was that I bought the items, because it was a couple years ago, but coincidentally the utensils were just on DIGG (of all places):
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/.....-potatoes/

cheers!

By: george

george — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:50:54 +0000

It’s a balance with frozen food – if you have a freezer it owrks more efficiently when it is full than when it is empty, and is therefore also “greener” to use. It’s better to have a freezer you can fill but also small enough to kkep using the food you stock up on, or to fill it with food you’ve cooked in batches.

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:48:43 +0000

Microfiber cloths and Trader Joe’s Amazing Kitchen cloths can cut down on paper towels. Some of the things you mentioned are in the category of “it would be better if people didn’t buy disposable”. Even for those not concerned about the eco-impact, the savings from reusable products really adds up. When I see someone wheeling home a flat of paper towels, I just feel sad.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:18:57 +0000

Consumer Q -
Where did you find potato starch utensils and compostable plates? I’d love to get some.

By: consumer_q

consumer_q — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:03:09 +0000

Kirkland Organic Soy Milk. It stores well with a decent shelf life.
Couple that with my stash of TP, bottled water, canned green beans, canned corn, cream of mushroom soup, and dry pasta, and I am well prepared for the invasion of the Robot Overlords or the Apocalypse, which ever comes first.

Partyware: I have utensils that are made from potato starch, and plates made from some other plant material. Both are *compostable* (versus biodegradable) , which means they go into my compost pile (yes, they actually do breakd down too!). The utensils can go through about 3 washes before they start to become flimsy.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:45:39 +0000

I generally like Sam’s Club, but be very careful with expiration dates. Check the dates on all food carefully. I have never found anything out of date – but, lot’s that is very close to being out of date. If you’re stocking up that could be a problem. Also I will no longer buy gasoline there. My mechanic, my car, and I are pretty sure we got water in with a recent fillup.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:44:27 +0000

Lars said: “I can finally suppress memories of realizing I’m all out of toilet paper when I need it acutely.”

When you run out of TP, the shower curtain can work in a pinch. j/k

By: Lars Wirzenius

Lars Wirzenius — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:22:46 +0000

I live in a small apartment and don’t have a lot of storage space, so what I do is stock up one unopened package of each kind of thing. When I open the package, I put the thing on my shopping list. The packages are big enough that there’s ample time to do the shopping when I have the time, instead of having to rush. (I can finally suppress memories of realizing I’m all out of toilet paper when I need it acutely.)

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 02:11:26 +0000

We use bandanas as napkins instead of paper napkins. The space in the wash is negligible and each person has their own ‘color’ so if they don’t dirty it, it’s saved for the next meal. We use organic cotton washclothes as rags in the kitchen instead of papertowels and, again, the space in the wash is negligible.

I’ve used cloth diapers and disposable and I vote for the organic disposable diapers. Cloth, in my experience, uses too much water and soap to take care of. The biodegradible disposable diapers are the best of both worlds.

By: Kelsey

Kelsey — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:32:13 +0000

Cloth diapers and wipes save you even more money and you never have to worry about running to the store!

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:15:39 +0000

Agreed on everything but frozen food, which does not have an unlimited shelf life. My mother used to buy huge amounts of frozen junk that was on sale — pork chops, peas, etc. By the time we would get along to eating something from the archives, it was frequently dry and discolored. Bleh.

By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:34:20 +0000

@EWF, I like that idea. You can also stock up on plastic plates when they go on clearance at the end of the season. I got some picnic-themed ones that I really like.

I have made mistakes stocking up on things like those listed above. I bought a whole bunch of tissue boxes right before I decided to switch to tissues made from recycled materials. I’ve stocked up on toilet paper forgetting to check how many squares were on a roll. (I really like the “double” and “triple” rolls to save on materials and storage space and to minimize how often we have to change rolls.) I’ve stocked up on foods that have ingredients I’ve later decided I never want to buy again.

I stock up on sneakers. There’s one kind I always get, so when I see a good price, I get several pair. Same with undergarments, although last time I did this, I found some better ones almost right away (apparently female undies that both cover one’s butt and don’t stick out the top of one’s pants are finally “in” again, after over a decade of being nearly impossible to find).

I also stock up on specific canned goods we love that are hard to find, like lowfat Wolf chili with beef but no beans (the turkey version tastes too sweet).

By: Sandra Emerson

Sandra Emerson — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:43:03 +0000

Other things to buy at bulk warehouses that never expire are toiletries like shampoo, soap, razor blades, toothbrushes, etc. They sell giant bottles of head&shoulders which are a godsend for me. I have one small bottle I transfer into so that I don’t constantly have to deal with the giant bottle from Costco.

It’s also a great place for vitamins and medicines if you actually use enough to warrant it, like if you have a large family.

By: hilarie

hilarie — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:57:25 +0000

Cloth diapers are a great way to never worry about running to the store, finding a place to stick an unsightly box, or trying to budget for diaper costs every month.
We just bought enough (BumGenius One Size Diapers) to fill our sons top drawer, and it works out perfectly. One thing we do buy in bulk is detergent.

By: erin

erin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:42:43 +0000

Bidets are actually not hygienic, especially for women. I’ve heard that using your hand and some water is actually the best way to “wipe” but that’s something our culture is not going to embrace any time soon, I’m sure.

By: Jessi

Jessi — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:49:55 +0000

There are alternatives to both paper towels and toilet paper.

I haven’t used one, but the bidet is supposed to be more hygienic than toilet paper. I’d like to try one!

Instead of paper towels, I use rags, which are just pieces of old clothes I’ve cut up. After using them I can either choose to launder and re-use, or I can just toss them. Great way to use up old t-shirts that aren’t even good enough for charity.

As for laundry detergent, I bought a gallon of concentrated biodegradable laundry soap from a local natural store – more than 5 years ago! Not that I do a lot of laundry, since I’m single, but still, it’s been pretty darn economical, clutter-free, and I never have to put it on my shopping list.

By: Andamom

Andamom — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:03:12 +0000

As I posted before, these stores also do sell individual items — like books, clothing, mattresses, etc. at great prices. We’ve saved significantly buying these items from Costco — although they are technically known as a bulk warehouse store.

By: CF

CF — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:29:33 +0000

If the item is small and a continuous-use item, I always look on eBay (e.g. razor blades, Brita filters, batteries) – I’ve saved TONS (time and money) doing this and usually only have to buy once a year, if that. Obviously with larger items, shipping can kill you.