DH and I are thinking of joining. But we aren't sure we want huge packages of everything we buy, due to space and need. So tell me, what do you like or not like about Costco? What do you buy there? Do you have tons of storage or an extra fridge at home to store everything?
We have a Costco membership and love it. We mostly get: detergent, Huggies wipes, napkins, paper towels, Kleenex, paper plates/cups, meat, fruit, yogurt, eggs. bread, peanut butter. I would get diapers there, but we're a Pampers family, and they don't sell them. We live in a house, so we have space in the basement for this stuff, as well as a deep freezer for the meat and bread.
When we lived in an apartment, we had a BJ's membership and we used it for all paper products, detergent, chips and drinks (we has a small second fridge at the time).
Post by nattybumppo on Mar 2, 2015 15:19:46 GMT -5
We've been Costco members for years - even pre babies! (It helped that we used to live less than 5 miles from Costco....now it's a 20-25 minute drive so we go less ...)
It varies at what time of year, but they often have good prices on strawberries/blueberries/raspberries/blackberries (sometimes even organic). They also have a big bag of (happens to be organic) frozen cherries that we get a lot. Big containers of Fage yogurt. Good price on a granola we like (can't think of name). If not obvious, we have a lot of yogurt fruit and granola for breakfast.
Nuts! Great prices on big bags of walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios.
Olive oil and avocado oil. Sea Salt and pepper in grinders. Big thing of cinnamon (we use a lot!).
I get wipes there - both Kirkland and Huggies. With DD1 we got diapers there, too, (Kirkland or huggies) but this LO seems to be more sensitive to those diapers.
We get most paper products there (tissues (Kirkland or Kleenex), paper towels (usually bounty or brawny), TP (Charmin or Kirkland)). Really like the Kirkland envio-friendly laundry detergent. We get jet dry there. Razors. Floss. Body wash.
We get electronics - DSLR camera, cell phones, printer ink
Costco photo is great - we get our holiday photo card done at Costco and did DD2's birth announcement with Costco
I'm sure there's more....I love Costco. The only thing I don't love - especially now that we are further away and only seem to go when everyone else goes - is that the parking lot and check out can be crowded. And sometimes I get tempted to buy something that is in a giant package and I don't eat it before it goes bad. But there is enough stuff that we buy there on a regular basis that we have no problem using. But there are lots of things there that you don't need that just end up in your cart! (Or that's what happens to me....)
Oh....and FWIW, we only have one fridge so anything fresh has to fit in it. We have a decent sized pantry - not huge (not a walk in), but a dedicated door with floor to ceiling shelves. We still manage to fit all the paper products in the house, but sometimes it is tight, esp the paper towels. TP and tissues usually get stored in both bathrooms so that helps.
We love Costco!! We really go for toilet paper, paper towel, and meat!! We have A stand up deep freeze so that helps a lot for the price of membership it's worth it in my opinion!
Post by bennieangel on Mar 2, 2015 16:02:31 GMT -5
We don't have a ton of storage, but we love our costco membership.
We buy formula (Kirkland Brand), we used to buy diapers & wipes, but LO is sensitive now.
Organic spinach, apples, other fruits & veggies. Meat when it's onsale. Onsale items in the freezer section, oatmeal, skinny pop, etc, etc, etc. LOVE it. Well worth the membership
I also like the photo, and we did our christmas cards there too.
I didn't know there was so much food at Costco and at what sounds like good prices. The two near us have very crowded parking lots on weekends, but since I SAH I'm hoping it will be less busy during the week. Thanks everyone!
Post by northernlghts on Mar 2, 2015 16:45:30 GMT -5
This thread is giving me more ideas of things to look for when I go warehouse shopping. I have a different one that I use but I buy our 5 gallon water jugs, tp, paper towels, DH's seltzer and occasionally snacks.
I forgot to mention, we did our whole wedding buffet from Costco, bought all the food, and all the silver platters to put the food on, all cutlery etc, and it only cost about £80, if I'd paid a professional caterer, for the amount of food we got, it would've been about £500, so it really does show how much it's worth it
I thought of more: toothpaste, lotion, razors, replacement heads for electric toothbrush, Advil for us, Tylenol and Motrin for kids, and the one near us has a small selection of Carters clothes for the kids.
Post by bennieangel on Mar 2, 2015 17:13:12 GMT -5
Oh, my cami-tanks that I wear under all my clothes come from there too. And sometimes books, or other clothes.
Ours is always a zoo too, my trick is to get there right when it opens on the weekends - me & the old people waiting for it to open, but then as I'm pulling out of the parking lot all the others are turning in & I'm so happy I went early.
Post by maganonymous on Mar 2, 2015 17:19:55 GMT -5
I don't have a Costco membership, but I have Sam's Club. We buy most of our electronics from there. I've also bought some nice pillows from there and some clothes for SD. Usually I go there to buy frozen items (we have a chest freezer) and meats that I can freeze. But like someone else said, I've gotten a lot more ideas of what to buy there now that I've seen this thread!!
We live in the city and we don't have a ton of storage! We buy almost all of our groceries at Costco! We pretty much only don't buy LO's yogurt there (bc they don't have the brand I like) and fruit, bc we go through fruit like there will be no tomorrow, so we end up having to buy extra between times we go to Costco.
We also go in on a mission and RARELY spend more than 40 minutes in the store and almost NEVER buy things that are not on our list of "need to buy".
We're in a somewhat tight space as well- around 1600sqft, and don't use our basement for storage of food or anything. Storing my costco stuff requires a bit of planning, but nothing major.
We have a membership and love it. We buy chicken breasts and salmon filets. I portion them out and freeze them- salad and one portion of those is the easiest meal. Shampoo, conditioner, frozen fruit, garbage bags, cleaning products, cooking oils, nuts, deodorant, wipes.. I have a lot of costco items. Costco in Quebec has really good prices on beer. I also buy movie and ski passes on their website, that alone pays for my membership.
katka512 We don't have Costco here but we have Sam's club. In addition to what other people have said already we get condiments and canned crushed tomatoes that are the base for MH's pasta sauce.
Before you commit you could always ask to see if they offer a one day trial membership. I know Sam's does.
We belong to BJs primarily because it is closer to us than Costco. However, a great thing about BJs is that they have their own monthly coupons AND they accept manufacturers coupons (Costco does not do this).
We have average storage and we buy the following: kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, sponges, dishwasher detergent, razors, body wash, swiffer refills, diapers, wipes, cereal, granola bars, strawberries.
I bought a car in December through Costco! I was shopping around and negotiating when I went through Costco's car service just to see. I ended up getting my car for $1,000 under dealer invoice with no negotiating! Well worth the membership right there in addition to the other stuff.
Then Comes Family, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.