Buying in Bulk - Day 27 of 30 - Things That Make My Life Easier

Jaren
Feb 18
2 min read

Updated: Mar 18

Each day I talk about one thing that makes my life easier as a neurodivergent mother raising neurodivergent kids while going back to school full time in my 40s.

https://youtube.com/shorts/qzxFavj0OIU?feature=share

Yes, I refer back to my book Talking Trash: My Year in Zero-Wasteland again...because today's thing that makes my life easier is buying in bulk.

Here are three reasons why buying in bulk makes my life easier:

1) Saves me money (in the long term)

2) Reduces the amount of packaging I have to clean up (if you have kids who eat things that come in wrappers, you know)

3) Knowing I have the extra quantity reduces my super weird worries about food insecurity

But Jaren, it's more expensive.

Yeah, the initial investment is, but over the long run, it's cheaper. Example: I can buy trail mix in a big ol' bag from Costco for $22, or buy the individually wrapped ones for $3/each. For the same quantity, that's a price difference between $22 and $32. I can divvy up the trail mix myself for that amount of savings.

But what if I don't have the money to spend more up front?

Then it's time to find yourself a store that specializes in zero-waste or bulk product offerings (Bulk Barn, Green Matters, Yupik etc. - depending on your country).

How to shop bulk with your own containers:

1) Weigh your own containers. When you enter the store, there's almost always a station with scales and markers where you can weigh your own containers. Mark down the weight on your container with a marker or crayon. This is your tare weight and will be deducted at checkout.

2) Fill your containers and be sure to write down the food's code on the container.

3) Checkout. The cashier will weigh everything at checkout and subtract the weight of your containers.

You'll spend less moolah (most of the time) than if you bought the product with a bunch of packaging.

Important to note:

There's no sense buying something in bulk if you don't use it. I buy rice, beans and lentils en masse because I use them weekly in my diet (I'm a creature of habit). So only buy what you really use regularly or you'll waste money. The last thing you want is for something to spoil because you bought too much and didn't use it.

-Jaren