Buying in Bulk - Go Green & Still Save Money

Last spring I embarked on an experiment. I had decided that I wanted to shift the everyday household items we used over to organic products. Every year I go a little further to the greener side of commerce and it was time to make the switch for things we used daily like detergents, deodorant, bath soap, etc. The catch was that I couldn't spend more money on these items; in reality I needed to cut expenses. I was concerned about being able to afford the switch to organic products, as I'd found them to be more expensive than traditional ones at local chain stores. So the trick was to go greener and somehow save money at the same time.

I thought about the fact that these items would have to ship to me so I grouped the purchases together in two different orders, as I could afford it. It would save me multiple trips to the grocery store which seemed to offset the shipping given that it's 2 shipments versus probably a dozen or more grocery stops. The UPS man goes down my street every day so no extra trip on his part either. I used my local Whole Foods store as a benchmark for individual prices and found a few of the same items at Target for comparison. But they didn't offer products in bulk or carry Country Save or Canus. I considered signing up with Frontier Coop but they didn't carry these products either.

I took my search online. I spent several hours researching to find the best selection, lowest prices and reduced or free shipping. I was being very conscious about what company I bought my products from. I wanted to be sure I was making good choices and supporting companies that cared about producing good quality organic products from sustainable sources. I knew that buying in bulk would reduce the unit price but I wasn't sure if that really applied to organic products, since I'd never seen organic products available in bulk before.

Enter amazon.com. They had the best prices and Free – thank you very much – Shipping. I spent more up front because I was buying in quantity, but as you'll see from the breakdowns below it's been a total win-win experience for me so far:


Country Save HE Laundry Detergent Powder
80 standard loads, 160 high efficiency loads per box
Case of four 10 lb boxes for $62.15 ($15.54 per box)
I have a heavy-duty top load washing machine and wash for a family of four. I bought this case on March 17th and I'm only half way through the second box. That means each box is lasting about 4 months so this should be enough laundry powder to get me to July of next year, conceivably. Dare I say this was the first time I'd used Country Save laundry detergent and went on recommendation alone. I know, risky move to buy something I'd never tried before in bulk, right? I absolutely LOVE this detergent. My daughter, who struggles with allergies, does fine with this. It cleans wonderfully. It doesn't have a heavily perfumed odor, the clothes just smell fresh and clean. One thing I really like about this is that it's the best detergent I've found to keep clothes feeling soft when line dried outside. It's safe to say I am officially hooked on Country Save!


Seventh Generation Dishwashing Powder
Free & Clear, 75 oz box, Case of 8 boxes for $49.77 ($6.22 per box)
We bought a new energy efficient dishwasher last year. We cook, bake, eat and dirty plenty of dishes daily. Our dishwasher sees action at least once every two days. I bought these on January 31st and seriously I am only about halfway through the 2nd box. I am impressed! I'd used this detergent before and found it was the only one that didn't spot or streak dishes and glassware. It's a wonderful product. I'm averaging about 4 1/2 months per box which amazes me. That means I have enough of this on-hand to last me until January 2011!?


Seventh Generation Dish Liquid
Lemongrass & Clementine Zest (also available in Free & Clear and Lavender Floral-Mint)
25 oz Bottle, Case of 6 Bottles for $18.13 ($3.02 per bottle)
Okay, for those of you that don't know me in-person, doing dishes is not my favorite. I used to hate doing dishes. Now, in a strange way, I find it a little therapeutic; is that wrong? I actually credit this dish soap with the transformation. {Mom, if you're reading this, I'm sure you'll agree it must be a miracle product if it helped *ME* to actually enjoy doing dishes.} It smells so wonderful and for the first time ever I've found a soap that doesn't cause my hands to break out in a rash from doing the dishes. I love it so much I refill our foam pump dispensers in both bathrooms with it and bathe our pets with it. I bought this on March 17th and I am about to finish the 2nd bottle. At this rate I'll have enough to last me until this time next year. Oh Joy! (oops sorry, wrong brand)


Canus Goats Milk Bar Soap
Four 3-count boxes, case of 12 bars for $20.32 ($1.69 per bar)
I've posted about this soap before. I am so grateful for this product, you can read about why here. I have 4 bars left and 2 newly opened ones in use so my best guess is that I won't need to buy more bath soap until April of next year. I think this would have lasted longer but my son was going through a phase of drilling his finger all the way through a bar of soap just to see if he could. We've since curbed that behavior.

So you see, it can be done. I'm a very thrifty girl and unfortunately more economically-challenged than I would like to be. If I can afford organic products, anyone can. I know this isn't rocket science. I just want to encourage you, you can buy healthier products for yourself and your family without spending more money. You just have to do your homework, be thoughtful about the products and companies you're supporting and order from the best resources you can find.

A Tale of Two Cookbooks

This is a story about two cookbooks. One that I really wanted for Christmas last year, but didn't receive. And another that I'd never seen before but found on the library cart on my way out the door. You know the old saying, never judge a book by it's cover? It is SO true...


First, the hefty beauty, The Golden Book of Chocolate. The cover is alluring, with a shiny gold wrapper and a chocolate bar imprinted on the cover. It looks like you're picking up a giant candy bar. (Score one for the design team!) The book starts with a rather indepth history of chocolate, which is interesting but reads a bit more like a textbook. There are nice full color images of each recipe. Being a visually-oriented person, I like to know what I'm shooting for before I start. Beyond that, I found the book to be lacking in charm and not very user friendly. There are no referential lead-ins to the recipes or details about ingredients. It's starkly organized: just the ingredient list, the recipe and photo. I think the Drink and Basic Recipe sections are the best this cookbook has to offer. I was disappointed in the book overall which really surprised me. The Nobake Cookie bars were really awful tasting. It's the first time we have ever thrown out chocolate in my house. Seriously, in the trash, because no one would eat them. That's sad. This book is worth perusing, if for nothing more than the dishy photos, but I'm sure glad my husband didn't shell out $30 on this for my Christmas gift!


Now for the second cookbook, Here in America's Test Kitchen. The cover may not be sexy (no offense) but it's what's inside that counts. I must confess that this is one of my favorite food shows on PBS. But this cookbook really does deliver to the foodie-geek that I am! Each chapter consists of a theme, equipment corner, science desk and testing lab all focusing on the recipe theme of the chapter. For instance Chapter 12, American Casseroles. It talks about why we American's love our casseroles. It describes each recipe in-depth giving well-rounded information on history, ingredients, etc. Then the recipe, in this case Macaroni and Cheese (cue the angels singing). Just following the recipe is the testing lab where they tell you how ingredients, such as different brands of cheddar cheese, fared in taste tests. This information is organized in a handy chart explaining why something was or was not recommended. Equipment corner explains what tools are best for the job, prep, baking, etc. In my opinion, if you're going to make mac and cheese, why not hit it out the park? I love making ordinary foods taste extraordinary and I'm impressed by all the testing and tasting that these folks put into their recipes. While it's not loaded with tons of recipes, it certainly gets down to the nitty-gritty on the recipes it does contain. This book was published in 2002 so it's also very affordable. Check out the great deals on amazon if you're interested or borrow one from your local lending library. It looks like they've published over a dozen cookbooks from this show, wowza. Guess what I'll be looking for the next time I'm at the library?