I buy organic store-brand milk because it simply tastes better to me.
Even with expensive potatoes, that is a heck of a lot of potatoes. I am just curious about how you can eat that many potatoes in one week…(not being snarky- really want to know)
I buy organic milk because the expiration date is much much longer than the milk in the plastic jug. We don’t use much milk. I buy cage free brown eggs just because.
We only buy caffeine free Diet Coke and I like fancy carbonated water and will buy that. I also buy locally grown meat and vegetables.
Potatoes are like apples – some are good for one recipe but not as good in others. I’d like a hint of what you use the different types for, too, @zoosermom. Clearly, I need to expand my potato horizons. I’ve heard of salt potatoes, but not butter ones. They sound tasty though.
My splurge is on countertop cleaner. I buy the grapefruit scented kind from Williams Sonoma. It gives the whole house a nice, clean aroma. It is pretty expensive, but worth it to me.
Also, I only buy tissues with lotion. Target makes a generic brand (like Puffs), so it’s not too pricey.
Other than those 2 things, I’m pretty cheap when it comes to spending on household goods.
Creativity. I’m a vegetarian and my nickname is spud, so that should tell you! We have potatoes almost every day in some fashionl
Cascade or Kirkland DW pods, Bounty paper towels, Ziploc bags, Dawn dish detergent, Northern TP, Heinz ketchup, Brookstone sweet unsalted butter, Tide.
@zoosermom- I love the nickname and it sounds very appropriate! I do love potatoes and have fun experimenting with all of the varieties I find at our farmer’s market. The flavors vary so much among the various types. Feel free to share any over-the-top potato recipes.
We definitely save. Generic or store name Ammonia and bleach. Can’t see spending more for a name brand chemical.
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They are remarkable.
Saran Wrap (not so much for the thickness of the wrap, but because it unrolls correctly every time and never gets stuck on itself).
Also really like the Bath and Body Works soaps. Just realized that I missed the January sale! Hmm, wonder how many I have stored under the powder room sink?
And while I love the feel of Viva, I usually buy Wegman’s half-size paper towels in the giant multi-pack. They last forever and do a good job on most things. If I need something sturdier, I use a cloth/rag.
I want to eat dinner at zooermom’s house. I love potatoes! As for organic milk, it’s not a splurge for me as it lasts so much longer than regular milk which makes it much more cost effective for this empty nester.
I’m a saver on household goods – generics, Costco or the dollar store. In 90% of the time, I don’t notice a difference, and in about 95% of the time, I don’t care much if the cheaper thing isn’t as good.
That said, I am loyal to a few products. But the older I get, the less loyal I become to the rest.
My splurge is for fresh farm eggs. Where i live it’s not a huge splurge - a friend with too many chickens delivers for $2.50/dozen (grocery is $1 or so). SUCH a huge difference in the taste and healthier too. Before my current hookup I’d pay more like $4/dozen for them, not delivered (farm market). Either way, I almost never buy store eggs anymore and when I do, I try to use them for baking and stuff- not for breakfast.
As a matter of fact I will splurge on veggies and sometimes meats too, at our farmer’s market.
I did not know that organic milk has a longer shelf life! I’m going to look next time - I find myself dumping milk and that annoys me!
@zoosermom Although your potato budget surpasses most people’s, sounds like you are saving a lot not buying animal protein!
I used to only buy Charmin tp and Bounty paper towels , but I switched to BJ’s brand for both and I actually prefer them now. The TP is soft , but not too soft and it tends to last longer. The paper towels are just as good IMO…I use them a lot for cleaning and also I put them on the counter to gather my peels , skins and other debris from food prep.
I only use Tide , but now that it’s just my husband and I , it takes over a year to go through a large bottle.
We don’t use paper napkins. I found a nice brand of pretty cloth napkins that don’t need ironing after washing them.
I just discovered Mrs Meyers hand soap when buying some dorm supplies for my daughter…this I will buy again !
I also splurge on Reynolds foil because I use it pretty much daily. No cheap store brands for garbage bags…not worth the potential leaks or ripped bags.
What a great thread!
I am kind of in the middle on this. (I do 90% of our shopping – the old hunter-gatherer role.) On things like garbage bags, I go for cheap, but not the cheapest – I get flex bags with reasonably high thickness. Like @maya54 , I am willing to pay not to have them split. I will buy generic tinfoil, but only extra strength. I buy Saran Wrap, but I think of it as a bargain brand – it’s usually only about $0.10 more expensive than the generic per 200 feet. Anyway, I like it fine. I recently bought a roll of Glad Wrap on sale, and have not been liking it. I am devastated by the disappearance of fold-top sandwich bags from the stores where I shop – I usually stock a variety of plastic bags of various sizes, qualities, and closures, including recycled produce-section bags, and I use them all. The much cheaper fold-top small bags were fine for lots of uses.
I really admire Viva paper towels, but not enough to pay to buy them when their quality would make a difference for 2-3% of my paper towel usage. I try to stock up on Bounty when they go on sale, but will sometimes buy cheaper. As long as they are white – I can’t stand paper towels with printed patterns. My spouse has a nonnegotiable brand preference for Kleenex tissues, so Kleenex it is. We buy only the Scotts tube-free toilet paper, because it’s OK and because tube-free makes complete sense, and assuages some of my guilt for the number of Amazon boxes I break down and recycle. We used to buy store-brand Vanity Fair knockoff paper napkins, but we have gone all-cloth on the napkin front, so no more.
We went through a Mrs. Myers phase, but that seems to have passed. I don’t usually buy generic dish soap, though, and I avoid ultra-bargain brands. They just don’t last as long. But laundry detergent . . . I can’t tell the difference. I buy what’s on sale that doesn’t have an offensive fragrance.
For all you Bath and Bodyworks hand soap fans, they are having a one day sale today. The price is $2.95 each. Don’t need to buy five or seven to get the lowest price. They will also let you stack a 20% off coupon for even more savings!
Cloth napkins. Cloth towels. Linen handkerchiefs. I never buy paper towels or tissues ever. Dawn dish detergent. Cheap TP because the good stuff makes the dog constipated. (She likes to unwind it and then eat it, which happens when I forget to close the bathroom door.)
The best fruit and vegetables I can find, almost always organic.
I always buy organic fruits and vegetables. In the summer, there are two local (organic) farm stands where I go for most of my produce/fruit. When those close for the season, I shop at Whole Foods or a small health food market/cafe in my area.
For paper products (Viva–choose a size) and Method products for cleaning and laundry detergent (Method free and clear), I go to a chain grocery in New England (Market Basket–they were in the news a few years ago when the workers went on strike in support of the ousted CEO–he ended up gaining control of the company). The prices are quite a bit lower than other grocery chains in my area. If I can’t find the Method products at the market, I can usually find them at Target.