Economies of Scale?

Today I had a lively chat with my sister about our mutual, possibly crazy, beliefs that if you buy better food, that is higher in food value, and use all of it, that you will actually spend less money on food.

She and I agreed that this is especially true because to do it you must move away from eating out, which is very expensive, especially when you consider that the nutritional value of your meal is most likely not as great as if you make your own food, fresh as needed.

She said that when she hears talk shows about economizing on food and other necessities that frequently the suggestion is to buy in bulk, which brought up nicely a thing that rather bothers me, actually bothers me a lot, about those big, bulk stores, and the societal worship of them that we are experiencing in this country.

Here it is:
if you are trying to save money, why do you live somewhere large enough to store 50 rolls of toilet paper, many times over? This is an oxymoron that has bothered me for quite some time. And you know, when I'm bothered I am not quiet about it. I have a suspicion that the access to huge quantities of stuff isn't necessarily making for a healthier, tidier, nor a less impoverished nation.

Naturally, in some cases it absolutely makes sense to buy in quantity.

When Costco opened it was a buying club for restaurants and other food service industries. Organizations who do need to buy things by the case, as they use them at such a scale.

I guess, if you are the mother of 8 kids who are all at home, and you have the space, you might want to buy several dozen rolls of toilet paper at a time, however, I'm going to make the rather bold statement that I, personally, think that buying in bulk is,
well,
a waste.

Firstly, there is the eco-snob in me who wants to point out that when you buy toilet paper in bulk it is just a lot of little packages inside one or more bigger packages, which means you are creating more packaging. Yes, this is the battle cry of the bleeding heart liberal, nothing new.

But there is another thing; I honestly believe that it is not really more expensive to buy toilet paper as you need it.

You don't really have to schlep out to whatever place that big bulk store is located in. Rather, you can go to your closest marketing option (if it is a buying club you live next door to I absolve you, I guess) and get just what you need.

In my philosophy, the pros of the shop as needed method are:

1) you don't waste time and petrol.

2) you don't have to store a lot of stuff that you might very well forget you even have and never use in an economical way anyway

and

3) (and this is where it gets abstract) you don't buy a load of low-quality crap you didn't really need.

Yes, that's right, I'm calling you out, America.
Sure, you might be one of those rare folks who makes a list and sticks with it, but if you have the space, and the quantity attitude already installed in your life, you are very likely one of those folks who does feel that bigger is better, and that you cannot pass up that 5 gallon tub of popcorn because it is ONLY $5, and when you saw it at Star Market it was $9. I mean, that's a saving of $4. Almost %50!

That, my friend, is a deal- and you want it... but you don't need it, and in my experience when people go to those places they always end up with a few things they don't need. A six pack of sweat pants. Bible stories through the ages on cassette with read along book. 25lbs of frozen tiger shrimp. Whatever it is, you most likely would not have bought it at the local market- somehow having driven that extra way, having made the pilgrimage to the land of cheap stuff, makes it an extra special opportunity. But when you look at the total bill, the fact that you bought that item pretty much outweighs the .07 a roll you might have saved on toilet paper.

My husband is a Brit. He grew up in a place where, space is tight and houses are small and he is firmly dedicated to the idea that less is more.

He has been here for over ten years and is still horrified by the conspicuous consumption around him every day. I've learned a lot from him.

We live in a rather small and storage free apartment, and we buy our toilet paper four rolls at a time, about once a week. You know what? Whether you buy it four or 50 rolls at a time it is going to run out eventually, and you are going to buy it again, so why not save the money and spread it around, or even put it away for now, and get toilet paper when you need it. Come on. It's not like you won't be going to a market again until you go through that mega pack of TP.

Easy for me to say? Why, yes. I live in a city. I have access to stores, and markets all the time. But like everyone I am on a budget and I need to watch what I spend, and I feel better knowing that when I go to the local market to buy toilet paper I am not going to come back with a cardboard townhouse for stuffed toys and a remote controlled gas grille.

My cost saving suggestions for a leaner time are taken directly from our fearless food leader, Mr. Pollen himself:
Eat food (not junk).
Not too much (if you are eating real food you don't need as much- fewer fillers, more nutrients).
Mostly vegetables (meat is expensive and we do not need to eat nearly so much of it as we have been raised to believe. A serving should be the size of a deck of cards- the size of your palm- six oz, or less.)

To give an example of the use-it-all, save-a-bit theory: when you peel onions and carrots while you cook you can save the part you would throw away in a ziplock bag in the freezer so that when you cook a chicken you do not need to buy extra veggies to make stock with the bones.

Honestly, if I had the space to purchase by the case I would use it to put in a spare freezer to put up seasonal produce and buy a whole side of a cow. Now that is economy!

But I don't have the space, and I'm guessing most people who are trying to save in small ways don't have extra space either. I believe we can change our wasteful ways, and we can all save by buying less, and using more.

I leave you to ponder along with me.

Use everything you can,
throw away as little as possible,
and try, if you can, to resist the sale in aisle 24.