Bulk Buying Isn't Always Cheaper
With services like Amazon becoming more and more popular, many people have turned to bulk-buying their groceries and essentials in an effort to save time and effort instead of going to the store. That said, there are some things that you shouldn’t buy in bulk, either because they waste your money - or your space.
Baking Essentials
If you’re looking to bake a cake or prepare a batch of cookies, you won’t get very far without some essentials, namely flour, eggs, and nuts. When purchasing these ingredients, however, make sure you’re buying manageable quantities that you’ll use within the next few months since they can easily absorb moisture and spoil if left alone for too long.
Toothpaste
We hope to death that everyone reading this uses toothpaste every day. If you don’t, you may have worse things to worry about than this list. For everyone else, however, just avoid buying too many tubes in advance since they’ll more than likely lose their effectiveness before you get the chance to use them.
Spices
Whether you’re preparing a pot of curry or just want to give your meats a more adventurous flavor, you’ll want to have at least a handful of spices by your side in the kitchen. Be careful about buying them in bulk, however - spices lose their potency over time, which can lead to some very bland meals.
Deli Meats
Unless you’re a vegetarian, meat likely forms a pretty large part of your daily food intake. Having a few steaks or ham slices in reserve probably seems like a good idea, but we wouldn’t recommend buying deli meat in bulk since it spoils so quickly after opening and can lead to excessive waste.
Shredded Cheese
Cheese is pretty much an essential food item. Some varieties smell pretty rancid, but in general, cheese goes well with just about anything. That being said, it’s best to avoid buying the stuff in bulk since it’s highly susceptible to mold once exposed to the open air.
Brown Rice
Rice is one of those semi-ubiquitous foodstuffs without which a pantry can feel incomplete or empty. It’s a fundamental ingredient of so many dishes that it probably seems wise to hoard as much of the stuff as possible. However, brown rice, in particular, contains oil that goes rancid within months. Funnily enough, white rice is a much more stable option.
Sunscreen
These days, it’s not enough to only apply sunscreen when you’re going to the beach - it’s pretty much a necessity throughout the summer months, beach or no beach! However, although it’s important to keep a bottle of the stuff somewhere, it’s not a good idea to buy it in bulk because sunscreen does have an expiry date, after which it becomes totally useless.
Condiments
What’s a hot dog without mustard or french fries without ketchup? Condiments are pretty much a necessity for enhancing the flavor of your food, but you’ll want to avoid buying them in bulk. It’s unfeasible that you’ll go through a whole tub of mayo or ketchup quick enough before it expires.
Soda
There’s nothing better than a can of soda on a hot summer day to stave off the worst of the heat (except maybe water). Unfortunately, that sweet and refreshing carbonation doesn’t last forever, so you’re better off buying soda in smaller quantities.
Bleach
No matter what the inside of your cleaning cupboard looks like, we guarantee that you’ve got a bottle of bleach lying around. Hopefully, not too many, however, since bleach completely loses its potency after six months, rendering it completely useless.
Canned Goods
Whether you’re preparing for the apocalypse or just can’t get enough of the taste of beans, stockpiling canned goods probably seems like a good idea. But unless you’ve got a full doomsday shelter in your backyard, those cans are probably taking up much more space than they’re really worth.
Frozen Foods
Similarly to canned goods, keeping a hoard of frozen food is hardly unheard of, but it may lead to some unintended consequences. Specifically, keeping your freezer fully stuffed with frozen foods can lead to freezer burn, which can lead to premature spoiling.
Shampoo & Conditioner
Your hair-care routine may be stupidly simple or ridiculously complex, but you’ll always want to have the basics at hand: a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. Don’t buy them in bulk, however, since large bottles generally take quite a while to get through and can often expire before they’re ever finished.
Cosmetics
For many people, their makeup routine is an essential part of their daily rituals. And while many makeup enthusiasts may seem like their supply is infinite, don’t get the wrong idea. Products like mascara have very short lives, so you’re better off only buying makeup when you need it.
Cleaning Supplies
Keeping your house clean is often quite an expensive endeavor, considering how many cleaning products you’ll need. That said, it’s still better to avoid bulk-buying since they not only take up loads of space but also lose their effectiveness over time.
Batteries
These days, pretty much everything that doesn’t need to be plugged in to be functional does need batteries (and, of course, they’re all different kinds of batteries, too). Still, it’s best to avoid buying batteries in bulk since they can lose their charge over time.
Trash Bags
Trash bags are good for storing all your other unused bulk buys or making a point to your child that, yes, you are going to throw all their toys away if they don’t get their act together. However, unless you’ve got tons of storage space, it’s better to just buy them as needed.
Paper Towels & Napkins
Unless you enjoy stewing in your own filth, it’s a good idea to keep some paper towels and napkins handy to clean your hands or wipe your counter. Still, we’d recommend against buying them in bulk, if only because they take up a considerable amount of space and are prone to being unnecessarily wasted.
Plastic Wrap & Foil
Packing your lunch? You’ll be glad to have some trusty plastic wrap or foil at your side. However, there’s really no need to buy such large rolls of the stuff - they generally take incredibly long to get through and otherwise just take up loads of space.
Lightbulbs
Lightbulbs are essential for keeping your house illuminated and for symbolically conveying a character’s bright idea in a comic strip. Lightbulbs are also typically long-lasting, in contrast to what the movies would have us believe, so it’s okay to buy them strictly as needed or just keep one or two spares for good measure.
Toilet Paper
Lockdown, 2020. Need we say more? Yes, toilet paper is an essential grocery item, but is it something you really need to buy in bulk? Not really - it’s perfectly fine to buy a bundle or two. The world isn’t ending yet, we promise.
Facial Tissues
While you could get away with using toilet paper or paper towels to wipe your face, they’re often pretty rough. A box of facial tissues is the perfect solution - box, singular, not plural. Buying in bulk often just leads to a whole lot of your space being taken up.
Paper Plates & Cups
Paper plates and cups are the backbone of any good house party, and even if you don’t plan on throwing any ragers anytime soon, they’re good to use every now and then to save you time on washing dishes. That said, there’s no need to buy in bulk unless you enjoy wasting paper or having all your space be taken up.
Paper Bags
If you’ve got kids in school, paper bags are a necessity for packing their lunches and leaving them with little “Mom loves you” notes. However, they’re also not something you really need to stockpile and, in fact, it’s more frugal to purchase reusable bags, which also take up way less space.
Notebooks
Although pretty much everything is digital nowadays, some of us still enjoy the satisfaction of putting pen to paper and taking notes in a book. That said, we’ll be the first to admit that we don’t always make the best use of the notebooks we buy, which often leads to a whole lot of space being taken up that could have been used for something else.
Toys & Games
As parents, the urge to spoil your kid with toys and games is generally pretty strong, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. That said, buying heaps of toys at a time generally just takes up more space than they’re worth, especially if some of them never end up being played with.
Clothing
For some people, clothing is purely functional; for others, having a stocked wardrobe full of options is essential. That said, you’ll really need to consider how much space you’ve actually got lest you end up with a pile of clothes with nowhere to put them.
Books
The pursuit of knowledge is a noble one, and we would never want to dissuade someone from collecting books for the sake of it. That said, if you don’t have the space to spare, keeping your books in good shape can become difficult. It may be wiser, in some cases, to opt for digital versions instead.
Electronics Accessories
Every doohickey and doo-dad nowadays needs ten gajillion wires, parts, and accessories to function or, at the very least, to get the most use out of. That said, you can buy them as needed, and there’s really no use in having seventy spare chargers or plugs.
Pet Supplies
Pets are a wonderful addition to your family, but they’re also expensive. Depending on your furry friend of choice, you may need to invest in cages, food, toys, and other accessories. Therefore, you’re better off only buying these items as needed - to protect your space and your wallet.
Gardening Tools
Gardening can be a wonderful and fulfilling hobby, but it’s not exactly cheap. Seeds, tools, and equipment all come at great cost to both your wallet and your storage space, so try to keep it to a minimum.
Sports Equipment
Taking up a sport is a good idea if you’re trying to work out or stay healthy, but it’s not always cheap. All those rackets, bats, and clubs take up plenty of space, so buy only what you need.
Camping Gear
Camping is a great activity for the whole family, but the amount of gear required for the average trip is truly staggering. It’s therefore much wiser to only buy exactly what you need and nothing else.
Travel Accessories
It’s not enough to just take a trip with the clothes on your back anymore. These days, most people will want at least several bags and other accessories to get where they’re going. Needless to say, it’s easier on your wallet to just buy what you need.
Seasonal Decorations
Christmas, Easter, Halloween - each of these holidays are defined by their decorations. But there’s no need to go overboard. Unless you take scaring the neighborhood kids really seriously, all those decorations will only take up space - despite being useless for most of the year.
