As part of the big price comparison post, I also wanted to make sure that I address the issue of needing to buy in large quantities at Costco. Most importantly is this necessarily the case? Are there some items that it is okay to buy in larger quantities? And, are there some things that are in just such a large quantity that they might be unreasonable for most people?

The big thing I hear and read about Costco is that you have to buy in such large quantities that it is ridiculous and completely not feasible for most normal people or families. Well, I have to say that I heartily disagree with that sentiment. There are certain things that you either need to have a large family or a lot of storage space to buy, however, I think this is mostly the exception rather than the rule. For instance, there are several items that I compared that fit into this category:

• You can buy a single gallon of milk at Costco which is completely reasonable for anyone that drinks milk. I can go through a gallon of milk by myself in a week and that is only drinking about one glass per day!
• The 1.5 dozen eggs that you buy at Costco is also very reasonable size-wise, and seems to be offered at most grocery stores suggesting that it is a fairly common size for people to buy. Since the USDA says you have 3 to 5 weeks to use your eggs, that seems like plenty of time to use up your 18 eggs.
• The Yoplait yogurt comes in a pack of 18 but the expiration date is far enough out that you can eat one every day for work for 4 weeks and save on several trips to the grocery store.
• The Gala apples are a perfect way to ensure that a family of 2 (yes, just 2 really) gets their required apple a day for just 6 days…that’s less than a week. We often do this at my house; we’ll buy the apples and then everyone can have an easy, healthy snack each day during the week.

There are some things that require a little more storage be available in either your freezer or pantry. But if you can make the space, there are reasonable buys that will probably save you at least one trip to the regular grocery store, as well as plenty of money.

• The bread comes in a pack of 2 loaves so you might need to freeze one. However, if you have 2 people that are eating a sandwich for lunch every day or 2 pieces of toast, you can probably get through one loaf in about a week – 6 sandwiches per person will use up your 24 slice loaf pretty quickly.
• With butter prices rising so quickly (as are all food prices it seems) it might be a really good idea to buy the 4 pounds at Costco and stick it in the freezer. Butter freezes so well that it really doesn’t make sense to not buy it for the difference of at least $0.50 per pound when compared to the other grocery stores.
• If you haven’t seen the great new packaging that Costco has for chicken breasts, let me just say it is excellent! They now sell their fresh chicken breasts (those are the ones that I compared) packed in vacuum pouches containing 2 breasts. They are perfect for putting right in the freezer and seem like a better quality than the pre-frozen breasts.
• Things like Doritos, Cheerios, soda, juice and coffee are actually available at Costco in sizes that aren’t all that much bigger (if at all bigger) than your local grocery store sells. So, why make multiple trips to a grocery store when you can get by with at least one more week of food at a lower price from Costco?

There are only a few things at Costco that I compared with such large quantities I think it might be an issue for a family of 2 or 4.

• My first questionable quantity item is the Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup. I love pancakes and waffles, however, do I love them enough to go through 2, 64 ounce bottles in a year and a half? Probably not since it’s just Dave and me. Perhaps if we had a bigger family it might be reasonable. Of course, that also assumes that you have the storage space for that much syrup. When you compare the prices you see that it is just over $1.00 per ounce cheaper to buy the syrup at Costco versus Wal-Mart (it’s even more at Randall’s and HEB). Since it comes in two bottles this would be a great item to split with a friend, then you can both enjoy the savings and a somewhat reasonable amount of syrup (64 ounces).
• What’s next on my list of extra large sized quantities – Tropicana Premium Orange Juice with Calcium. No doubt this is a great deal if you have a HUGE family with a HUGE love of orange juice. You must, to buy 4, 64 ounce cartons of this at Costco. Yes, that’s 2 gallons of orange juice. To me this is maybe even worse than the syrup because it is perishable…that juice isn’t going to taste freshly squeezed forever. When I was reviewing prices at Costso on April 6 the expiration date on the orange juice was April 21. So, you’ve probably got a month to drink the 2 gallons. Which I guess if you think you can drink a 64 ounce carton of orange juice a week, this quantity might work for you. I will point out though, that 4 large containers of o.j. take up an enormous amount of fridge space!
• The Baby Carrots in a 5 pound bag are the only vegetable or fruit item that Costco sells that we have trouble getting through sometimes. I like them for lunch, as does Dave, and sometimes I eat them for a quick snack. But really there are just so many baby carrots a girl can eat in a reasonable time frame. In the week that we have had our current bag, we have eaten 1.5 pounds (better than I would have predicted). We do buy these even though I feel like it is probably too big for us. While we would probably be better off going to Wal-Mart to buy their 1 pound bag, that would mean a trip to another store every week to buy a bag of carrots and it just doesn’t seem worth it.

Obviously, everyone has to judge for themselves whether buying the Costco quantities for things like syrup, sugar, batteries, or whatever is going to work for you and your space constraints. I do find that with things that aren’t perishable, I can buy most anything at Costco and find the storage space. And anything in the freezer, is almost definitely something we might purchase. Seriously, we don’t even have a second freezer (just the little narrow one in our side-by-side fridge) and we can find space for fish, veggies, fruit, sausage, chicken, nuts (makes them last much longer), butter, some fancy desserts from Costco, sorbet (Island Way…yum), bacon, shrimp, hamburger patties, cheesecake, and meatballs (yes, that big giant bag). It’s all about organization!