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in meal planning

Why I broke up with Costco

costco

We did it. We broke up with Costco almost a year ago and…we survived. Better than that, actually. We are THRIVING!

We’ve belonged to a ‘warehouse club’ for longer than I can remember. And, nope, I’m not feeding a family of 6. Just me, my hubs and 2 kids. Truth is, we were members before we even had kids. We first joined Sam’s Club because I thought it would be a great way to stock up on basics and to save a bit while doing so. The bulk toilet paper and paper towels drew me in and, from there, I was hooked. A while back, we made the leap to Costco because I heard they had a great selection of bulk, organic products. That’s funny…bulk + organic. Two words you rarely see together.

costco produce room

Here’s what we thought we LOVED about it:

  • Saving time and $$$.

    I was convinced we were saving a ton of money. And, on some things, I’m sure we were. I also liked not having to think about buying staples as often as I used to. Buying toilet paper and paper towels once every other month sounded far easier than every other week. And, since I’ve worked freezer meals into our meal planning, getting that quantity of meat seemed like a great idea.

  • High-quality meat and produce.

    Even now, I do often miss some of the products that Costco offers. The bags of avocados are hands down, the best I’ve found. Their pork loin is super fresh and their giant rotisserie chicken is better than any I’ve tried at a traditional grocery store.

  • Let’s get real…the samples.

    Seriously, going to Costco was an event for us. The kids loved it. We loved it. It was an experience, a total indulgence in consumption and consumerism and, it was fun. Until it wasn’t. Until I hated maneuvering around carts that were slowly zigzagging through the store to hit up every sample stand. Until I couldn’t handle my kids whining, ‘Sample! Sample!’ one.more.time. Until I was so sick of eating chicken taquito samples that my kids grabbed, thinking they would like it (every time, mind you).

costco napkins

Why we pulled the proverbial Costco plug:

  • Our extra fridge died.

    No really…that was the beginning of the end. I had been stocking up on milk, eggs, meats and cheese and when the fridge died that just wasn’t an option anymore.

  • It became another chore.

    I was tired of storing napkins in my laundry closet and applesauce in the linen closet. I would come home from grocery shopping and have to rearrange our pantry and upstairs closets just to make room for the amount of food and supplies we had purchased.

  • We started to live more simply.

    I started craving empty space in our home. Dropping the Costco membership freed up an entire shelf in our linen closet. The space in our pantry between the floor and bottom shelf was not filled with bulk cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce anymore. Dropping the membership really fell in line with our desire to buy, own, and consume less.

  • Kids are fickle little beasts.

    Without fail, whenever I purchased in bulk for the kids, their tastes changed before we ate all of that item. You name it…Babybel cheese, single-serve hummus, raisins. Whatever it was, my kids never ended up eating all of those bulk single-serve servings.

  • We live within 5 miles of TEN grocery stores and…there’s Amazon.

    If we need it, we can get it. Stocking up as though the apocalypse is coming is unnecessary when we have an overabundant access to….everything.

grocery receipt

Why I doubt we’ll ever go back:

  • Our grocery bill has gone down.

    That happens when our money isn’t sitting in the form of a 3-month supply of Pirate’s Booty next to the washcloths. And, impulse buys at Costco are far more expensive than impulse buys at Kroger.

  • Size does matter.

    5lb bags of frozen veggies take up A LOT of space. In defense of those bags, having that quantity on hand pretty much ensured that I could always include a veggie with our quick meals, but we’ve been able to significantly pare down that amount through better planning. These days, I enjoy being able to fit an entire turkey in our freezer without having to commit 30 minutes to reorganizing.

  • We have far less waste.

    There were times that food would go bad and I would totally rationalize it because it was often cheaper to buy in bulk and throw away the extra than buy the serving size we’d actually use. Just typing that is disturbing.

  • It’s removed an errand from my list.

    Since I have consolidated a lot of our grocery shopping by meal planning around our busy schedules, not going to Costco also removes a ‘To Do’ from my list. Our trips to Costco, which we used to envision as ‘family time’ have been replaced by family hikes, bike rides and visits to local parks.

  • I dipped my toe back in the Costco pool and got burned.

    True confession. This school year, my daughter has been eating single served guacamoles for lunch and had been loving them! Since they are far cheaper at Costco than at the grocery store, I asked my friend who was headed there to pick up a pack and a bag of avocados. What happened? 2 lunches packed…2 guacamoles came home in the lunch box. Apparently, in a week’s time, her tastes had changed. And, the avocados–we ate most of them, but the last 2 we opened were past their prime and had bruised, so we tossed them. Yep…..never going back.

So, that’s our story and I’m sticking to it. What about you? I’d love to hear how Costco or any warehouse club is making your life easier. I do know that for some families and their situations, it is a game changer. Or, if you’re middle of the road about it, maybe this will have you reconsidering how it’s working for you. I’d LOVE to hear your perspective in the comments.

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Comments

  1. Nicole | The Professional Mom Project says

    November 27, 2016 at 11:50 am

    I still like Costco. I find the prices much better than my local grocery store (which has recently remodelled so raised all of their prices). I do totally agree with the massive size of everything though. Sometimes I feel like my basement is one big storage room for paper products!

    Reply
    • Angie Trueblood says

      November 27, 2016 at 2:33 pm

      Ha! If we had a basement, it *might* be a different story. I did find comparable prices for bulk toilet paper, paper towels, etc. at our local Wegman’s, so we’re not totally throwing out the idea of buying in bulk. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Christen says

    November 27, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    I’ve never had a wholesale club membership since it’s just my husband and I. However, I recently discovered Boxed.com. They have non-perishables in bulk without membership fees and shipping is free. It makes sense for paper towels and toilet paper and single serve packs of nuts, etc.

    Reply
    • Angie Trueblood says

      November 27, 2016 at 2:33 pm

      Ohhhh…I’ll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  3. Deanna says

    June 3, 2017 at 4:33 pm

    You gotta be careful not to get what I call “Costco Fever” while you’re there. Try the samples, but don’t get duped. Even if you think it’s tasty, do you really need a 5 pound bag of whatever it was?!? We only get specific things there like organic meats and some paper products, and if we stick to the list I think we save money, but you’re totally right about the impulse buys, they are a much bigger mistake at Costco. 🙂

    Reply
    • Angie Trueblood says

      June 4, 2017 at 1:07 pm

      Yes! 🙂 We never fell too much victim to the samples, but we would see things that we use and then buy it…in ridiculous quantities for our family of 4. Ha!!

      Reply

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Richmond Moms Blog contributor

I am a meal planning junkie, a lover of label makers, and slightly neurotic about efficiency. I believe that meal planning is a huge step in the direction of creating space for more relaxed, quality family time and, after having our 2 kiddos, I realized I could combine my skills with my passion and help other families simplify their life. I am a wife, a mother, a business owner & a writer and I TOTALLY pretend to balance it all!

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