The Beauty of Bulk Buying

I was really proud of my grocery purchases from Whole Foods last week.  I planned to make white chili in the crock pot so I needed Great Northern Beans.  I have never shopped the bulk food section section of Whole Foods as they have only recently opened near my house.  Now I’m completely hooked for two reasons.  One, I was able to buy exactly the amount I need for the recipe, so no waste.  Second, I put the ingredients in a paper bag, and then recycled the bag, so no waste again!  The prices were very reasonable, and the organic northern beans I choose for the chili tasted fresh and made my first white chili a success.

We also got some granola from the 12 buckets of choices.  I picked one on sale, and it was good. We typically make it ourself, but we went away for Mother’s Day and didn’t get stocked up for the week.  I did use a plastic tub for the granola, but I will probably reuse it for leftovers or it can be recycled. Maybe they’ll let me put the granola in a paper bag…

My journey into bulk buying made me think about other bulk buying opportunities. I am not a member of a Costco or Sam’s, but I do like the idea of buying in bulk to help reduce the amount of packaging/plastic I buy.  Plus, the cost per pound also decreases when buying in bulk.  With only one child, our grocery bills have already started creeping up there.  I’m sure larger families are facing the same challenges.  When asked, most readers are buying bulk diapers, wipes, and snacks.  I agree diaper wipes are a great bulk item, (which I get from Babies R Us) and I only buy refills and keep reusing the original plastic dispenser.  We have to use disposable diapers at daycare, so we could benefit from buying these in bulk too. I’m not sure if the bulk stores will have all the natural and organic products we like, but I’m willing to bet their assortment is growing each quarter.

If I start buying in bulk, I need to increase my storage options.  My new favorites are the Glasslock containers.  I switched to glass once all the BPA issues came to light.  Maybe I can find some cool glass jar with air tight lids at the many yard sales going on this weekend…

For a great post about organic vegan bulk food buying, check out Green & Crunchy’s post. It has given me great idea of items to buy in bulk.

For a basic guideline to bulk buying, visit E-How.