Anyone buy in bulk?

[NewGig]

How much time do you figure you’re buying for?

I'm scent sensitive. For years I’ve had someone make us an unscented block of soap, about 10 lbs, and I cut it up. The last person never got ahold of me when I told her we needed more. So... I started buying dr Bonner’s baby soap.

Works. Works fo DH for shaving soap too. I am contemplating getting 12 bars, roughly a years worth. What do you do?

Thanks.

[catherine]

I buy TP in bulk from a company called Who Gives A Crap. I get about 6 months' worth at a time. That's a crap-load of TP.

[Teacher Terry]

If you have the space to store it a years worth sounds fine.

[danna]

Year's worth sounds fine. I use to do a whole lot of stocking up but,
now that is only me I try to think like you are. And, only buy what I will
use up before it goes bad, loses quality,that I will continue to
what to use it or I know it usually goes on sale often enough to not
have to pay too high a price for more.
Someone posted one here years back a good saying that I still try to remember.
"Buy what you use and use what you buy"

[razz]

It depends.
Toilet paper won't spoil but dried beans will dry out, garlic salt may go hard, spices will lose flavour etc.
What do you use on a regular basis where buying in bulk will provide a benefit to you? = saves money, more convenient, easy to store and rotate.

I was buying some items like my toothpaste in bulk packages until one day I marked the date I opened a tube and discovered with time that I use one tube every 8 months. I now know to look for the toothpaste on special when it starts coming near the end. Pasta goes brittle with time falling apart when cooking so now I won't buy any more until the present container is almost empty or the lasagna noodles are less than eight.

But I am only cooking for one. A large family going through supplies of food and other needs may succeed in bulk buying. Your circumstances will guide you.
Have you marked every item with the date of it entering your home to see how quickly you use it up? I do that and all that I put in freezer or home can. I have a good sense of rotation in use now.

[rosarugosa]

I also take into account how difficult it is to source something. The more difficult it is, the less often I want to go through the process. I also sometimes work around free shipping deals. Sometimes I'll buy more of something to hit the free shipping threshold if the price is decent and it's not perishable.

[KayLR]

About the only thing we buy in bulk IS spices, because I refuse to pay up to $4 for a tiny bottle of something I can get bulk for under a dollar. I do use them before they become too old. It's only the two of us, so no need for a lot of bulk. I seem to be gifted enough soap (fancy or local goat milk soap) where I rarely have to buy any. Someone gave me a nice box with 2 bars of French milled soap some years ago and it took me forever to use them up. They just didn't go away even using them as hand soap.

[NewGig]

We buy some shelf-stable foods in bulk, but haven’t bought health products that way.

DH pointed out that he thought it was cheaper at our co-op, so I’ll check that out before I buy any online.

Thanks for the comments!

[SteveinMN]

Depends on what it is, of course. Some food ingredients have a definite lifetime (not to mention susceptibility to pests if they're not stored properly). For non-food items without a plausible expiration date, for me it depends on consumption rate and storage space required.

I am still working through a five year supply of (double-edged) razor blades because it's not easy to find the ones I like and I go through at least one a week. But even five years' worth is very small. Four months of toilet paper is as much as we can conveniently find room for in the house, so when the brand we like goes on sale (infrequently) I stock up. I would buy more because it seems to go on sale less often than every four months, but storing it away from the bathroom likely will result in us forgetting where we stored it (behind newer purchases).

Then there's the other aspect of buying bulk.We buy bulk spices at our co-op; rather than buy a large amount and let it age gracelessly in a cabinet, we buy the teaspoon or so that we need and keep things fresher. It's also possible to buy from bulk for grains, noodles, pulses, nuts, and candies, but we tend not to buy those in the first place.

[bicyclist]

I am trying to buy in bulk at my coop; oats, walnuts, almonds and other stuff-mostly grains. Our policy is to try to reduce the need for plastic packaging by asking people to bring their own containers to shop. We also provide canvas and multi use plastic bags. It won't solve the problem of plastic waste overnight but it is educating our members that there are alternatives to single use plastic bags, an issue in PA, where there is no state wide regulation of them! We sell other non-food items in bulk too!