Last Friday night I finally took the dive, and purchased my first "club membership". Now I'm not talking club, as in health club, or even country club (I wish). I'm talking warehouse club - specifically Costco. They just built the biggest one in the state about 10 minutes from my house, and it opened late last year. I figure I might need some diapers come fall, so it would be a good investment - yeah right - I'm sure I will spend way more than I save in diapers! Plus, we always had a Costco in the town I grew up in, and I miss it.
So... here I sit with a membership to Costco, and no clue what to buy there, besides boring old toilet paper! What's a girl to do? Of course, there that blog thing... I could ask my readers to help.
So.... Tell me, what do you love to buy at Costco? I want the specifics please - brands, where to find the item (freezer, by the cereal, deli, etc.), etc. Help a girl out here. Pretty please!
Thanks in advance... and I'll promise to recap our first shopping trip there hopefully this weekend!
I think anything non-perishable it's nice to buy things in bulk! I love warehouse stores. I could spend a whole afternoon at Costco with my mom :)
ReplyDeleteI let my Costco membership lag because I never really used it. However I remember finding the meat to be great quality - I would repackage into small portions before putting in the freezer. Could get great deals on big tubs of field greens and fresh spinach. Their birthday cakes are very delish, great prices and quality of fresh flowers, and you can get unexpected items cheap like patio furniture, printers, cameras, and deodorant (used to get like 8-packs of Dove there for a good deal)
ReplyDeleteThe fresh produce is wonderful if you're going through a lot of it. The peppers, mini cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes...all good and for good prices. The hanburger is wonderful for grilling, but it has a higher fat content so I don't use it for frying. The cheese is really a good deal also.
ReplyDeleteEvery so often they will mail you coupons for things like TP, laundry soap, deoderant, shave gel...use them! They're a pretty good deal and the more you use the coupons the more they send them out.
i wish i had one in town! my parents live right by one in Cinci and they are always getting the roasted red pepper hummus there. i'm not sure if it's in the deli area or in a tub (not Sabra), but whatever it was, it was awesome. And I agree with the others on the produce. Great quality. You can also find a lot more all-natural and organic stuff there than you can at Sam's Club, so I'd take advantage!
ReplyDeleteThe things we regularly purchase:
ReplyDelete~fresh produce -- the quality is really good as long as you can get through it all (bring a friend or family member to split stuff with too!)
~they have packages of chicken breasts that are divided into packages of two breasts each. you can easily tear a set of two off because it has perforated edges.
~vitamins
~coffee
~soda
~wine
~toiletries
~granola bars
~paper products
~cleaning products
~good prices on electronics
~I've also heard their pizza at the little cafe is pretty good. Baby might like that!
Don't go on a Saturday! It's a madhouse!
-bag of frozen Wild Salmon filets
ReplyDelete-bag of dried cherries and/or dried blueberries (to put in my homemade granola)
-those little blue sponges for washing dishes
Organic Z-bars (made by Clif) are awesome for my son but I love the chocolate brownie ones
ReplyDeleteFrozen Chicken breasts - we buy the garlic and herb the breast are huge, great on the BBQ
Huge jar of sundried tomatoes in oil
Veggie chips great for kid's lunches and only 3 points if you're doing WW
Diane
I have a Sam's membership, and I go there 2x/month for work, but once in a while, Jay and I will go. Be prepared to spend $$$$. Buying in bulk is SO expensive. Sometimes we buy fruit - but only if we get one kind. Sometimes granola bars, or oatmeal - easy low-calorie snacks we know we'll eat. I also love their veggies. Of course, paper products. It's also a great place for toiletries, like shampoo, soap, etc. And cleaning supplies - clorox wipes, etc. Keep us posted on what you get!! :) Have fun, and DON'T GO ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY. Word to the wise.
ReplyDeleteWell, wine of course . . . coffee, frozen chicken breasts, cheese (I can get a large size for the price of small in the regular grocery store). Their produce is soo reasonable, pesto, artisan bread. Andrew would tell you the Jamaican Jerk Sauce, with a bag of meatballs. He also likes the salmon (in the deli area . . .I personally like the meatloaf and mashed potatoes). Oh, and if you have allergies, their deal on Kirkland's version of Zyrtec is a steal! Have fun!!
ReplyDeleteYou should check out amazon.com and sign up for the moms club. It is free and if you do subscribe and save the diapers are cheaper than a warehouse club and they get delivered to your door for free. Plus you automatically get signed up for amazon prime, free two day shipping in most items. I think it signs you up for 2 or 3 months but they keep extending mine every month because I spend over $25 a month. I don't know what kind of diaper you use but there are a lot of brands so compare to costco prices. I use the pampers cruisers.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a Costco membership, I have a bj's one but I imagine they have the same stuff. I generally get wipes, bagels from the bakery, snacks for the kiddos, individually packaged frozen chicken breasts, paper good, and a whole lot of stuff we don't need :). If you use formula the warehouse clubs are usually cheaper.
Lori L.
I LOVE Costco! We joined when that club opened also. I love the organic canned goods that they have. But mostly, I love their produce. If it's something that I don't think I will be able to use before it spoils, I Google how to freeze it. Then I throw it in whatever meal I'm preparing for dinner, simple enough!
ReplyDeleteRight now, I'm absolutely into making protein smoothies for breakfast and pre/post workout snacks. So, I buy the organice fresh spinach, frozen fruit (whatever they have at the time) and protein powder. Num!
I call it "clubbin'" when I make my Costco shopping trips. It makes me feel like I'm still a little cool as I pull in with my mini-van.
Canned chicken (for soups) & canned salmon (both much less expensive than grocery stores, Toilet Paper, paper plates, large contractor trash bags, generic Zyrtec, Brothers-All-Natural dried fruit snacks for my daughter, frozen chicken breasts, Electrosol Tabs...SO many great things there!
ReplyDeleteI love Costco. I usually buy most of my produce from there because we eat so much it's the best deal. I also love the fresh chicken breasts, rotisserie chickens, Chobani Greek yogurt, cheese, Jif peanut butter, K-cups for our Keurig machine, bread, cereal, frozen pizzas (not for me, for the family), and a whole host of other things. Of course we also buy TP, paper towels, trash bags, ziplic, vitamins, dog and cat food, and other staples. I also have found lots of great workout wear. It can get expensive, but I think it's well worth it if you plan well. We only have a family of three so some things are just too big for us, but we buy a lot of our main stock from costco.
ReplyDeleteCostco: The regular things I get are the organic eggs, organic butter, 2 lb. package of grilled chicken strips (by the cold cuts) to use on salads and in some recipes, or I use the strips in wraps.
ReplyDeleteWe also use the TP, and paper towels. Frozen tortilla crusted tallapia isn't bad calorie wise. The fresh ground turkey is delish and comes in 4 or 6 individual packs.
Everyone's suggestions were so great!