my go-to costco items

sharing my favorite Costco picks from foods to household items and more!

This post is long overdue! It was requested a few months back and I’ve had it on my list and am happy to finally be getting around to it! For those that requested it, thanks for your patience!

When I first got my Costco membership, I went a little nuts buying everything and anything because the deals seemed so incredible! But now that I’ve had it almost 2 years, I’ve become a little more savvy about what makes sense to buy in bulk and what doesn’t (for instance, even if my husband and I ate a salad every day of the week, we would never be able to get through the tub of organic spring mix so despite the good deal, I pass it up!). So I want to use this post to share what I’ve learned with you and what products make sense for us to go for in the hopes that it can help you!

FOOD:

Pantry Items:

Almonds, Walnuts & Pecans

Having these big bags of nuts on hand are great for homemade trail mix, to throw into oatmeal, on top of salads…the list goes on! I usually buy all 3 of these around the holidays when we’re doing a ton of baking and store them in an airtight container for all my other uses.

Mayorga Organic Coffee 

This is hands down my favorite coffee (and I’ve tried a lot!). I go through a 2 lb. bag of this in about 1 – 2 weeks (if you have a coffee grinder, grind it batch by batch so it stays fresher longer! I do this sometimes but honestly, even when I grind the whole bag right at Costco it’s good to the very last drop).

Angie’s BoomChickaPop

This is my and my husband’s favorite popcorn. We’ll often eat it while we watch a show after Owen has gone to bed and I use it for snacks all the time. We have no problem getting through this bag before it goes stale!

Quaker Oatmeal Squares

My husband and I fight over who gets the last bowl of this. If you’ve ever bought a box from the grocery store, you know they don’t last very long! This helps get us through the week, especially since Owen now loves them too!

Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal

You guys know I love my oatmeal! From making it for breakfast to baking with it or making energy bites, I use A LOT of it, so I find this is great to buy in bulk!

Kirkland Organic Olive Oil

With all the cooking that I do (and the fact that I usually dress my salads with olive oil & vinegar) we go through this really fast. It’s a must-have for us!

Fresh Produce:

Avocados

We are avocado freaks in our household (except for Ollie of course!) – we go through so many a week that it makes sense for us to buy this bag. I’ll pull 2 or 3 out at a time and put them in my fruit bowl to ripen while keeping the rest in my fridge. We’ve never had a problem getting through them before they go bad!

Organic Disney Apples 

Apples are another thing we fly through in my house. Whether I’m making applesauce for Owen, throwing them in my oatmeal, pairing my sandwiches with them or just grabbing one for a snack, we fly through them. They keep well in the fridge so we’ve never had an issue with spoiling.

Clementines

I store these in the fridge and pull out a handful at a time to put in the fruit bowl. I love them and so does Owen so we go through them pretty fast in our household!

Organic Bananas

Between my baking and my husband & Owen’s love of bananas, we go through a lot a week so we always grab a bunch of these from Costco over the weekend. And if we don’t get through them all (which rarely happens) I peel them and freeze them for smoothies!

Refrigerator Items:

Kirkland Organic Maple Syrup

This baby lasts us a long while and is one of the better tasting maple syrups I’ve had (that’s not my beloved Vermont Maple Syrup!).

Organic Eggs

Eggs are another thing that we go through quickly in our house so the big batch of organic eggs at Costco makes sense for us. We’ll eat them for breakfast, lunch of dinner and I also use them to bake!

Frozen Items:

Organic Broccoli Florets (& Other Frozen Veggies)

I always keep a bag of frozen broccoli on hand to pull out and pair with pasta or chicken for an easy weeknight meal. Where it’s tough for us to get through their big bag of fresh broccoli, the frozen is great because we can just pull it out as needed! And honestly we’ll rotate veggies too so we’re not always doing the same meals – one week it might be brussel sprouts, one week asparagus, the next stir-fry mix, etc.

BABY/CHILD:

Diapers

I’ve read mixed reviews on these but honestly, we’ve had Owen in them since birth and they work really well for us. With the amount of diapers we went through in the beginning, it was really nice to be able to buy them in bulk (vs. having to run out for more all the time!). We’ve never had any issues with leakage, diaper rash, etc. using these.

Baby Wipes

For as many diapers as you go through with a kid, you go through twice as many wipes! From diaper changes to spills and face/hand wiping, we go through all 900 of these every few months!

Organic Applesauce Pouches

These are great for easy grab and go snacks when we have an early morning appointment or class to get to. And truthfully, both my husband and myself grab these every once in a while too!

Similac Formula:

When we had to start supplementing for Owen we used Similac formula and always got it from Costco! We tried the Kirkland Brand but he didn’t seem to like it as much so we ended up going back to this after one container.

HOUSEHOLD:

Kirkland Paper Towels 

These might be my favorite paper towels. They also sell Bounty but at a higher price and I honestly think these work just as well! I know some people are super picky about their paper towels, but these work for us!

Kirkland Toilet Paper

Everything I said about paper towels also applies to toilet paper! These are not paper thin like some discount brands, they’re hearty (but not so much that they’re going to be clogging your toilet!) while also being soft!

Kirkland Kitchen Bags

There’s nothing worse than going to replace the kitchen garbage bag only to realize you’re out! It’s funny what a necessity that item can be when you don’t have any! We buy a box of these bags 2-3x/year and it keeps us going!

Greenshield Organic Free & Clear Laundry Detergent 

When you have a kid, the laundry never stops! So we go through a whole lot of it and this definitely helps minimize the number of Target runs we’d otherwise do to re-stock!

There are DEFINITELY more, but these are the things we buy from Costco with the most regularity. We go crazy in their baking aisle around Christmas when we’re making cookies & other treats in mass. Other random things we’ve gotten from Costco that we love? Ollie’s gigantic dog bed (which was only $25!), our outdoor furniture set, books & clothes for Owen, our garage organization system, my chocolate covered raisins…the list goes on!

What about you? What are some of your go-to Costco purchases?? I need to know what I’m missing!

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