What do you buy from Costco?

[greenpjs]

I've been about 3-4 times since I got my membership last year, and everytime I go I end up getting overwhelmed and not knowing what to buy. I want to make the most of my next trip soon, what do I need? I usually buy the crates water, the tray of sandwiches and other random stuff I fancy at the time.

I'm thinking I should buy some household essentials next. How do people rate their own brand washing detergent/tablets etc? I'm sure it probably works out cheaper in the long run to buy those in bulk.

What do others buy when they go?

Toilet roll

I buy the Kirkland toilet tissue and kitchen roll often splitting a pack with DD and DS. Their Kirkland washing pods and diswasher pods work well and are well priced.

DD buys salmon or other fish and then freezes it in smaller portions.

I double check prices but baked beans and tinned tomatoes can be well priced. Again I have the option of sharing a tray of tins.

Cat litter is cheaper than the supermarkets and suits our cat.

We buy a lot of fruit and veg
Chicken/mince/lamb etc to divide up and freeze
sourdough baguettes (including part bakes)
milk/yoghurt/butter/margarine.500g butter for baking
tinned tomatoes/sweetcorn/tuna
bulk bags of rice/pasta last ages
toilet rolls/ washing powder/ floor cleaner
butter chicken
frozen fish
Problems with Costco imo - not many low sugar/ low fat options; way too much packaging. We’ve noticed that the fruit and veg isn’t as good as it used to be and you need a bit of space to store things.
Fuel is always the cheapest - often long queues as a result

I would love to have access to Costco but they arent here , just to get hold of their Kirkland washing liquid, its excellent

Whatever washing powder / liquid you use.
Dishwasher tablets, rinse aid and salt if required.
They often have multi-packs of washing machine cleaner / dishwasher cleaner
Toilet rolls
Food bags
Contact solution
Shampoo and conditioner

Just make sure you have the space - I have a kitchen cabinet in my utility room for most of it.

I have a chest freezer so stock up on meat, and portion it all out when I get home into food bags.
The mince is good quality and goes far if portioned well.
Similarly the chicken thighs.
I often get the pork shoulder.
Sometimes I will get a big loin and cut it into joints.
The lamb shanks are good - 1 of them will serve 2 if its slow cooked and pulled off the bone.
The big bag of frozen breaded chicken fillets.

Pasta and rice
Crates of chopped tomatoes
Wraps, which go into the freezer
Sauces, Worcestershire, mayo, nandos.
Spices - only the really used ones like italian herbs, and salt.
I've got the chopped garlic before, and I swear that tub lasts forever compared to the lazy garlic.
Soft drinks

Very cautious with the fresh stuff, mostly as I just won't go through it quick enough. But I like the tenderstem broccoli - it keeps well and its not a MASSIVE bag. Onions and Peppers. Most of the fruit, especially berries I avoid.

Finally a hot dog on the way out!

Doesn't everyone go there to buy a 14-person black forest gateaux?

Pj's
Bamboo socks
Loo roll
Water
Kirkland 400 wash washing powder
Fabric conditioner
Kirkland signature 1litre shampoo and conditioner
Grapes
Bon mamone (sp) jam
Much more but they're a must.

I get spectacles and eye tests! Both much cheaper than my local independent optician and better exam than Specsavers.

Laundry liquid, kitchen roll, coffee beans, Malbec, Special K, cat litter.

Toilet roll
Dishwasher tabs
Chopped tomatoes
Toothpaste
Olive oil
Rice
Socks and hoodies for the DCs

Not sure if they are bargains but I always get a pack of French madeleines- delicious!

Big bottles of double concentrate robinsons squash.

Chicken satay skewers for packed lunches.

Kids yoghurts- petit filous and mueller crunch.

Milk- we get through a lot but check dates.

Batteries when needed.

Own brand detergents are great but often they have specials on brand names too- just check on the day

Coffee, peanut butter, big jars of bon mamman.

Household items such as towels, bath mats etc are good quality. I also got my sofa there a few years back and it's fab!

Kids calpol and nurofem

Always get a hot dog on way out!

Hot pizza slice from the cafe! Omg so good

Garlic powder
Meat for the freezer (steaks & burgers especially)
Condiments
Parmesan in a huge chunk

I'm going tomorrow! Petrol is the first thing I'm getting as they are always around 15p a litre cheaper than anywhere else.

I buy Kirkland toilet roll
Dishwasher/ washing machine tabs
Dettol liquid [ used to buy Flash liquid but they don't seem to do it anymore ]

Salmon
Chicken
Coffee
Water

A tip is to make sure you are actually getting things cheaper than anywhere else. It's always tempting to buy far more than you actually need.
I find getting any signal on my phone is non existent -- I'm sure Costco do this deliberately, so check before you go on prices

Part baked baguettes

From the Kirkland range:
Toilet Roll
Kitchen roll
Laundry liquid
Dishwasher tabs

Pork chops
Steak
Salmon fillets
Chicken wings and breast
Smoked salmon
Halloumi cheese
Nuts
Cereals
Bonne Maman jam
Organic eggs
Tinned tomatoes
Tea bags
Tin foil
Clingfilm

Vitamins

Chicken breast and minced beef to split and freeze. Flank steak and pork are good too.

Clothes - lined leggings for dog walks, they often have nice DKNY pj’s that my DD likes.

Books are usually a good price and they have some lovely children’s books too.

Bottled water, rotisserie chicken and ribs, muffins, Victoria sponge cakes - basically everything from the bakery!

Plus one for toilet roll, and the black forest gateaux.

Also, the bread rolls (can be frozen)
Dog stuff:- poo bags, dental sticks, beef sticks
Coffee (both instant and beans, the rainforest blend is lovely)
Tea bags
Fruit and veg
Water
Pastries
Coke (the boxes are better value than the slabs)
Electric toothbrush refill thingies (about a quarter the price of Tesco)
Socks every so often
Crocs when there's a deal

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of offhand.

Tubs of Nocarella olives
Coastal cheese

Everything else I check the per kg/litre price. I don't have a lot of storage space, so if it's not saving much it's not worth it to me.

my friend had a fabulous basement, with good shelving, so her & her DH buy lots bulk for convenience, more than cost saving reasons.

Other things I like to buy are
biscotti
supersized bags of kettle chips
jacobs crackers in the Orange tubs

their bagels are always 2 for 1 and are the nicest bagels I've found here.

their bakery section is good value, I don't have much freezer space so I tend to take a few things out for me & pass the rest on to a friend/neighbour. I do not need 6 huge muffins.

i just bought some of their leggings, thermal, they have 'fleece lined' on the packet, but they're not the ones with visible thick fleece. They're so soft they're lovely to wear & very warm.

if you like walnuts, the bags of halves in the baking section are great value.

you just need to check the per kg/litre price to your usual supermarket if you're trying to save money. As it's not always cheaper. It's a cash & carry, not a discount store.

I go but it's always for the exact same things - I get overwhelmed looking at the sheer quantity of the packs and just can't imagine using up that much food!

My list

• 2x Gourmet Perle cat food (180 packs, keeps us going for 45 days with 2 cats)
• Halloumi (contains 4 packs, we use at least 1 a week)
• Kirkland loo roll
• No drain tuna (5 tins, use 1 a week maybe)
• Slab of San Pellegrino tins
• Huge boxes of Balance cereal, come in double pack (DS can eat his own bodyweight in cereal)
• Big tub of queen olives for kids snacking

That's pretty much it. I avoid taking DH, because his eyes light up like its a sweet shop and we end up bringing home a leaf blower or something!

It's worth costing up beforehand to what is cheaper it's not always!

We buy large chunks of cheese (split and freeze), lurpak butter is definitely cheaper, yogurts, chicken, chopped tomatoes (these are really high quality ones so work out cheaper), coffee beans, dried mushrooms, quinoa, toilet roll, chorizo and nuts.

If we are hosting a party then I get their dips and tortilla chips and olives.
We go every 2 months or so it's also a really cheap lunch with the kids!

Did you see the recent documentary on bbc about Costco . Toilet roll worked out to be cheaper in lidl. I honestly don't see the savings for small households. Maybe if you have a big family or if you are entertaining a lot and also if you have somewhere to store all the stuff it's worth it but otherwise I don't see the attraction?

Bit late now but their mince pies are the best ever🥰

Their big trays of pastries which I portion up and freeze.
Kitchen roll
Bottles of water
Their pasta carbonara in their ready meals section
Cookies

It depends what it is to if it works out cheaper but some things definitely are!

1kg of lurpak is £5 or less, quinoa is £7 for 1kg (a bag is usually £4 from the supermarket for 150g), large cheese blocks are £5 for 1.5kg+ and the olive tubs are £6ish for nearly a kg a small 100g would cost £3.

You just have to be smart about it!

Like I say good for a larger family but it would
Take me a year to chomp that much quinoa lol. If I had a basement I mite be tempted

The lurpak would be gone off by the time I used it

Coffee is much cheaper at Costco. Both instant and coffee grounds (I use Lavazza).