what are your favorites buys at costco?

[urquie]

costco is my favorite store and i'm guilty of peeking in other people’s carts to see what i might be missing. so why not peek here... what do you guys love getting at costco?

lately i've been really good and getting all the seasonal fruit- great strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple.

my favorite find in someone else’s cart - fredrick and nelson's mint truffles. these are the great frangos from the days of old! a yummy treat or a great hostess gift!

i also love the pre-cut/pop-up sheets of wax paper to cover food in my microwave. much better than cleaning the micro because i'm too lazy to actually tear off a piece from the roll.

another favorite for my new baby are the white towel/rags in the auto/tool area. i use them as burp rags and to line dd's changing pad. and so cheap - $13 for 45. i'm never searching for a towel any more!

[octmom]

We don't have a costco in my town, but whenever I can get to one, I buy cases of their generic Kirkland baby wipes. They're cheap, unscented, and VERY soft.

Jerilyn

octmom
DS, October 2003

[Marisa6826]

ALWAYS:

Charmin
Bounty
Pampers
Contractor and white garbage bags
Poland Spring Water (1/2 liter bottles)
Seltzer
Advil/Tylenol
Zantac
AlkaSeltzer
Immodium
Lever 2000


SOMETIMES:

Fruit/veggies (we honestly can't consume that much!)
Apple juice
Salad dressings/olive oils/marinades
Bread/rolls
Eggs
Batteries
Lightbulbs
Books/DVDs
Gladware

As far as other stuff goes, if we see something interesting, we grab it!

-m

[pritchettzoo]

Printer cartridges
Kirkland shampoo (in a twin pack with a big pump)
Kirkland body wash (blue, in a twin pack with a big pump)
Drugs
Kirkland baby wipes
Kirkland Gardenburgers (made by Gardenburger for Costco)
Frozen chicken breasts
Chicken, feta and spinach sausages
Feta and other cheeses
Lunchmeat (freezes well)
Olive oil
Really heavy $10 glass salad bowl (standard wedding present/housewarming gift for people we're not overly fond of)
Gum
Books
Flowers (well, I look at them, grab a bunch, and put it back...good for gifts)
Contacts
Ziploc bags

Anna

[mamahill]

Green leaf lettuce (washed and torn already)
Spinach
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers
Broccoli
Grapes
Cherries
Blueberries
Bananas
(except for those last two, can you tell we're on the SBD - our veggies do NOT go bad!)

Torani flavored syrups (the sugar-free ones are made with Splenda)
Pesto sauce
Cheddar
Feta
Provolone
Turkey breast meat
string cheese
chicken breasts
Tri-tip
spices (monterrey steak seasoning)

Tuna
milk
eggs
canadian bacon

Hmmm... just about everything. What I don't get here I go to Trader Joe's for. :)

[peasprout]

Other than the staples like toilet paper and diapers, things I've discovered there are :

Caffe D'Vita Mocha Cappuchino-
instant powdered mix that comes in a canister. You can serve it hot or cold and it's low fat, 60 calories, and 99.7% caffeine free

Thai Spicy Chicken Wings-
Precooked, just heat and serve! It's not really spicy,...tastes like a sweet and sour sauce. I just serve it over rice!

JP- mommy to Ally & Zach
(11/02 & 4/04)

[Sarah1]

I'm guilty of peeking in other people's carts, too! :)

In addition to the mundane stuff like TP, trash bags & diapers, I love the bags of avocados--they're like 5 for $4.99.

[BethS]

We LOVE Costco. In fact today we were deciding whether to upgrade to the Executive Membership or not...let's just say we would have paid for it in 3 months. YIKES!

We always get...
Tillamook cheese
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Milk
Eggs
Pampers Cruisers
Kirkland Papertowels
Ziploc Bags
Orowheat Bread
Photo Developing
Beer/wine

Gas!! It's been as high as 25 cents cheaper/gallon here.

Basically everything. After living overseas for 4 years, having a Costco nearby was like coming home. Especially since we don't have a trader joes.

[mandye]

I have to say I have two indulgences from Costco that we don't indulge in too often. I love frozen the mini cream puffs that come like 70 to a container. The other is the sheet cakes from the bakery. YUM!

My whole family (parents and siblings) love the kirkland yogurt. DD lives on it.

mandy

[cvharris]

We are very big Costco shoppers. All of our household cleaning items/toiletries are purchased there. I agree with the OP about the white towels in the auto area - we use them to clean Ben up after he eats - they work great.

Some of our favorite foods:

Organic Blue Chips
Organic Mixed Green Salad
Asparagus
Red Peppers
Grapes
Shredded Cheese
The Cooked Chicken Sausages (several varieties)
Refrigerated Tyson Chicken Breast Strips
Ghiaradelli (sp?) Brownie Mix
Chocolate covered raisins
The calcium rich OJ
Gatorade
Spinach Dip
Spices
Rosen Whole Wheat bread
Alexia frozen potatoes
Stonyfield yogurt smoothies (the strawberry flavor)
Dinosaur frozen chicken tenders
the desserts from their bakery :)

I've actually purchased some decent clothing items lately - they have a good selection of capris and jeans.

Carolee and Ben (6/14/03)

[tippy]

Chicken, feta and spinach sausages (YUMMMM!!)
Ghiaradelli Brownie Mix (EVEN BIGGER YUMMM!!!)
Bounty
Kirkland Toilet Paper
Dreft and other cleaning and laundry supplies
Tripple Paste/Desiten
Huggies Ultra trims and Kirkland Wipes
My DH loves kirkland cranberry macadamia cereal (unfortunitely our costco stopped carrying it)
Garbage Bags
Freezer and Storage food bags
Old Bay Seasoning
Toothpaste

Organic Greens
Red Peppers
Tomatoes
Strawberries
Rotisseri Chicken (sp)
Kirkland Stuffed Salmon (AWESOME)
Natural Cheddar Slices
Goat cheese
Frozen Flounder, Chilean sea bass
Stonyfields Organic yogurt
eggs
batteries
Gum

DH gets all his contact solutions/cleaners etc there.
The pharmacy is way cheaper than any other I've used.

I also purchased the following there,
My printer, digital camera, storage bins for ds nursery, aero matress, socks and underwear for dh, seasonal clothes items, Memory stick for my Digital Camera and countless other items. I LOVE COSTCO!!!
Oh, and for anyone who hasn't tried it....The guacamole they sell (it's in a three pack in the refrigerated section in the middle of the store near where they keep the cheeses) is AWSOME!!!!

[Kieransmom]

For anyone with cats their dry cat food is great stuff. It is really cheap too. $8.59 for 20 lbs. I used to use the expensive brands such as Nutro and Science Diet but my SIL turned me onto this stuff. I have a cat that would throw up every time she ate. She does not do this on this food which is odd. One week they were out of the food and I had to buy Iams and she threw up until I bought a new bag of the Costco Kirkland brand.
They have their own brand of dog food too but I don't have a dog so I can't tell you about it.
We also love their Guacamole and Tzatsiki. Great stuff!

Michelle
Mommy to Kieran, born 5/9/03

[kelly ann]

Kirkland baby wipes
Dinosaur chicken nuggets
crinkle fries (but not ora ida...some other good brand)
Costco fresh pizza
Costco ready to eat spinach salad
Costco meatloaf
Kozy rice pudding
chicken egg rolls
sun-dried tomato ravioli


I need to check out those mint truffles...those are sounding really yummy.

Actually, after writing my post I now realize I am starving :(

[llcoddington]

Pampers Cruisers
Kirkland wipes
Ziplock bags
Genteal eye drops
All Free and Clear detergent

Frozen chicken tenders
Breaded chicken tenders
cheese
Canadian Bacon slices
Kirkland grape/cranberry 100% Juice
Honey
Maple Syrup
Rotisserie chicken

I used to buy a lot of fruits/veggies, but we moved and now go to a store where much of the produce is rotten. :(

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[memedee]

These amazingly soft Frette terry robes, gave some as gifts and kept the others
warm up suits in black velour, really great
always get books there as they are the best prices
my Nikon coolpix and hp printer
cashmere sweaters{not the best quality but cheaper than anywhere}

[octmom]

That reminds me-- I bought a great robe for myself at Costco this spring-- cashwear, I think. It is sooooo soft! Feels just like DS's barefoot dreams blanket. Wish I had bought more for gifts.

octmom
DS, October 2003

[wagner36]

Hmmmm....we weren't going to renew our membership, but maybe we will now after seeing these lists!!! We never buy anything but diapers at Costco --- and then I found them for the same price at the grocery store (and, I could conceivably use a coupon, if I clipped them), so I figured it was totally useless.

Honestly, I just hate big containers. I know that they are cheaper, but do I really need a gallon of ketchup?? Everything is just so big!! And the lines and the smell - does anyone else feel the dust in their throats for HOURS after leaving costco??

[Tondi G]

Hmmm regular purchases at Costco

Toothpaste
Razors
Cotton rounds
shampoo/conditioner
used to buy the gummi vites till someone here said they had lead in them!!!!
tylenol
Diapers till DS needed size 6... mine doesn't carry size 6 diapers or the largest size pullups! GGGRRRRR!!!!!
Huggies wipes

chicken breasts
steaks
salmon
Butter Croissants... YUM!
muffins
Trail mix

Dog beds!
DVD's
Books
X-box games

[StaceyKim]

Kirkland baby wipes
Huggies dipes
Ice Mountain sport bottled water
Cheerios
Kashi Go Lean Crunch
Kitchen bags
Triple Paste
Dove soap
Anti-bacterial soap (big one for refills)
Dishwashing detergent tablets
Paper towels
Charmin toilet paper
Napkins
Tissues
Dove deoderant
Razor blades
Shaving cream
Flowers-just got some beautiful orchids!!!
Recess light bulbs
batteries for toys
computer paper
zip lock baggies (all sizes)
wine-especially during xmas time
All-free;they used to carry Dreft
Tide detergent
colored ink replacements
coffee cups with lids (it keeps my coffee warm)
Books

One time purchases:
Frette robes! Oh, these were a steal at $30-. I bought 5 of them and gave them to friends as gifts.
Metal racks for storage. I think we have about 5 of them!

We use them to change our tires for the winter too.

I am sure there are more things but I LOVE Costco!!!

[egoldber]

I buy a lot at Costco:

romaine lettuce
red peppers
pre-chopped broccoli
vine ripened tomatoes
cucumbers
blueberries (in season)

salmon
chicken breasts
leg of lamb
chicken sausages
feta cheese
shredded parmesan
hummos

bottled water (1/2 liter bottles)
Charmin
Bounty

frozen shrimp
dino chicken nuggets (*blush*)
string cheese
sugar free jello cups
LightNFit yogurt
Healthy Choice fudge bars
eggs
organic milk (my Costco just started carrying this and I was very happy)

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
canned tomatoes
tomato paste
juice boxes
Kashi Go Lean cereal

books
DVDs
toys in season

I never bought diapers at Costco because they were cheaper for me at Target with a coupon. I am also in the minority, but I do not like the Kirkland diaper wipes.

[Melanie]

Neat thread...we used to buy a ton of stuff, but we haven't bought much lately as we try to eat Organic now so I usually go to Trader Joe's.

I think recently we bought:

Frozen Chicken Breasts
Shave Gel
SonicCare Tooth Brush
Method Cleaners (but they don't seem to have them anymore)
Various Clothing Items (except they never have anything nice for boys)
VHS Tapes
DVDs
Their rotisserie chicken
Ziploc bags

We've bought in the distant past:
Microwave
Home Theater System
Outdoor Speakers


We always get our PC Tax program there, too.

BTW, my hairdresser just told me that regular shampoos in the store are terrible for your hair! I had no idea...we used to buy Pert from Costco, but now I guess that is off my list.

Does anyone buy their gas? Is it worth the wait? I've never even tried...

[christic]

>BTW, my hairdresser just told me that regular shampoos in the
>store are terrible for your hair! I had no idea...we used to
>buy Pert from Costco, but now I guess that is off my list.

Did he then try to sell you a $20 bottle of shampoo from the salon ;)? I've seen some head to head (so to speak) tests and the store brands do very well, especially Pert. Same ingredients in most of them too.

Most of my favorites have already been covered although I swear I saw a man one day with a box of Cinnabons in his cart! but I was too shy to ask and have never seen them on the shelf myself. Maybe it was a mirage???

I don't think anyone has mentioned Wyman's frozen wild blueberries yet. I always like to have these on hand for emergency cobblers or muffins :).

I'm not a fan of the Kirkland wipes though, too thin. But our Costco now carries the Huggies natural care pop-ups so we're buying those now.

But if anyone's really seen the Cinnabons let me know!

[Melanie]

Actually, no. I've been going to her for over 20 years and this is the first time we've ever talked shampoo (I brought it up). She doesn't like people to think she's selling something. She actually told me the local beauty supply store has good generics of Paul Mitchell and Redken, etc.

My mommy brain has hold right now, but it was something to do with the acidity or akalinity of the shampoo. She said I could buy Ph strips to test them if I wanted to know about certain brands.

[christic]

There's a woman named Paula Begoun who's like the Alan and Denise Fields of beauty products :). She has a couple books, one on hair products another on cosmetics where she goes through brands and exactly what's in them, what the ingredients do, and whether they're harmful or helpful. Very cool although the hair book is pretty old. She's written some stuff on baby skin products that I found very helpful also.

[tippy]

Never noticed this at our store. Nor a smell. Maybe you just have a dud of a wharehouse :( Buying in bulk is definitely not for everyone. I will sometimes split stuff with my mom, sister and even a neighbor if I know it is a product that I just am never going to use up in a reasonable period of time. That being said I guess if I had a dusty, smelly Costco on my hands I might just buy diapers there too!