Frugal Vs Easy

[Yppej]

There are supersized containers of laundry detergent (1.64 gallons) that give you the best price per ounce but are heavy and bulky to use. (My father actually asked me how to get the detergent out - you have to press on a rubbery red knob while holding it on its side.)

I don't like these and have been thinking of going to a conventional size. Are there other examples where you debate frugal vs easy?

[razz]

I agree about the laundry detergent sizing being too heavy, awkward to use and bulky to store. The weight and awkwardness of my last purchase made me switch to my homemade version but that is not as convenient for everyone.

Mayonnaise is one for me and other items like ketchup, olive oil. I buy them in smaller amounts as the large containers are too heavy, too bulky to store or use up in time.

[Yppej]

Agree on those big olive oil containers.

[Tybee]

This week I realized I want to stop buying in bulk and large sizes and scale back to buying only what I need, when I need it. Maybe one backup item for things like dish detergent. But I will not buy the large sizes anymore.

[ToomuchStuff]

Detergent in large bottles is fine for me. Lasts a year or more for the amount of laundry I do, and in the old days, I would buy a large bottle (actually work bought it for all the picking up of stuff I did) and transfer it into a smaller bottle. Both my boss and I did this, until his house (I am in now), that had the spot for the larger ones, right over the washing machine.

But there are other things now, that I am having to adapt to. We used to split meat and bread packages from Sam's club, etc. I can repackage and freeze meat, but not so much with bread or a few other things. In the old days, my parents were on the drive to work, so I could split up stuff with them as well. Now they are the opposite direction (moved closer to my two siblings, with the idea that would give me more time for myself, before this all happened).
Now I am having to recalculate, as bulk cents price is inaccurate, if I have more to pitch from waste and disposal.

[Rogar]

I dropped my membership to the big discount warehouse box store years ago. Managing storage for all of the big bulk items wasn't worth the savings, plus it always seemed like sort of a bizarre shopping experience.

[happystuff]

With regards to laundry soap, since I just started making mine, storage takes up way less room. Switching to bar soaps for other things has also made storage easier and less plastic bottles in closets,recycle bin, etc. And these changes have still remained frugal!

[JaneV2.0]

At this point, I opt for easy.

I never shopped at Costco because of its bulk items--unless you want to consider two jars of artichoke hearts "bulk." I like the quality of their products and their prices, and since they deliver--even some groceries--it's all good.

[ApatheticNoMore]

This one would seem to have an easy fix. Buy the small bottle and the large bottle. Use the small bottle up and then fill it up from large bottles from now on. Ok a little less easy, but much easier than making your own detergent. I've never seen the detergents where you have to press something though.

I generally opt for easy, I can't actually take on more chores. It's enough to work full time, exercise, cook most meals from scratch (though usually have at least one restaurant meal a week), and do the other chores (some better than others). I can't do more and more.

[SteveinMN]

I tend to debate frugal versus easy more in terms of services than goods. I'll take my car to the tech to have the oil changed. There's almost always some other maintenance needed by then anyway (scheduled maintenance, winter tires, whatever). I know how to change the oil and I can buy it cheaper than the tech charges me. But I have this thing, at 60+ years old, about spending money on an extractor and ramps I actually can get the car up (bumper scrapes a lot of them) and undoing about 18 bolts for the skidplate that protects the engine on my car from road debris and such -- for a task I have to do once a year for each vehicle. At least for once a year, I won't get stuck doing the job when it's freezing in our garage. But I'll opt for easy on this one.