I saw a Consumer Report study on paper towels. They tested Kleenex brand, Kirkland (Costco) and a brand I had not heard of yet, called "Seventh Generation."
The Seventh Generation paper towels won "hands-down" for picking up spills and food such as peanut butter with just one towel, and the paper towels are made from 100% recycled material. They listed a 3-roll pack for $5.69, but with not using as many you save money. They said sorry, Kirkland, not as good for the price.
I am finding out more and more that Walmart may be more of a money-saver store than Costco, especially with coupons and no membership, also with its $4 generic medications.
I gave up my Sam's club membership some years ago. With membership at $40/year it just didn't pay. Also I like to shop early in the mornings and that's only for business owners.
I went to Costco yesterday to buy their Kirkland coffee - I buy beans not ground and their coffee is what I like. While I was there- I got some popcorn they had featured, and a roasted chicken that I will make a few meals out of -- I also bought a package of frozen twice baked potatoes that they were sampling. Anyway, that was my Costco visit.
I also have a Sam's club membership and I buy my dog treats there. I like their name brand products I will probably let this one go sooner rather than later. Just can't justify it.
I wish I could find someone to shop with...Share big packages, etc. I may start asking my friends.
Shopping with someone to share bulk items with would be good. I am also finding that our Fry's supermarket here in Phoenix has had very good sales this year especially on products I purchase. Yesterday, I did a little food shopping at Walmart and found some great prices. However, Walmart's produce does not look very fresh so I purchase at Fry's or our Sprout's store.
I am going to try to find the paper towels I mentioned above and see if I can find them on sale anywhere.
I use so few paper towels anymore - I started using cloth for cleaning up and it helps cut down on the paper. I use a lot of Klennex...I am always looking for a sale on them...
I still use paper towels but I buy the Bounty Select-A-Size and have halved my usage. I also buy Puffs and we use a lot as we both have terrible allergies. For cleaning, I do use old t-shirts cut up into squares. A new company took over my favorite local grocery and they have incredible deals every week. A few weeks ago I got a whole boneless pork loin for $1.19 a pound and they cut and wrapped it to order for free. I also like to shop at Kroger when we're in the next town over because of the savings I get with their Kroger Card. We gave up our Sam's card ages ago because we have to drive 3 hours to get to one. I've never ween a Costo. That's what I get for living in the country, I guess.
A roll of paper toweling will last me a year so there is really no need to look for a bargain. We have shopping clubs here in the Philippines, but I never go there.. I prefer to shop at the public market where you can pick out each tomato, potato, pepper or onion individually. I hate shopping in supermarkets where you are obligated to buy 3 green peppers (one of which is always bad) because that is the way they are packaged. The expensive supermarkets are the only ones that allow you to choose your produce piece by piece.. However, public markets are cheap and you can even bargain with some of the venders..
True, public/farmer's markets are the best, but it is not necessarily true that you have to by vegetables in a package at a regular supermarket. If you go to a Club such as our Costco then most of the time you do, but at a supermarket (not an expensive one) you can buy a single bell pepper, tomato, onion, carrot, etc, and we have a couple of organic markets in my city of Phoenix, Az that have fresher vegetables.
I really wanted to mention this brand of paper towels in the consumer report study because the brand uses 100% recycled materials (good for the environment)and are the best buy for the money versus the other big-name brands we always hear about.
Sherrie - I saw the same comparison on tv just a few days ago. I don't use alot of paper towels either, but lately my son has been going thru them. I buy Scott 99% of the time when they are on sale and with a coupon. I have 4 or 5 big packages of them stored away along with toilet tissue. A box of Kleenex will last me a year as I rarely use it. There is a Sam's and BJ's here but I don't belong to either of them. Both are out of the way to go shopping and I don't buy in bulk anyway, so it wouldn't be practicle for me to put out membership money to join.
I used to buy Bounty because it was so absorbant, but I got so disgusted with them reducing the size and quantity of towels on a roll and jacking up the price that when Wegmans (my favorite supermarket) developed a new paper towel and gave a roll away to customers for free, I switched to their brand. I just recently bought the Seventh Generation Paper Towels, which I believe are produced by Marcal. I haven't opened the roll yet, but I have used only Marcal toilet paper for many years, since it is made from 100% recycled material. I was always happy with that, so I expect to like the Seventh Generation paper towels as well.
Colliflower, another one of the Consumer Report studies I saw back in the spring put your favorite supermarket, Wegmans, in the top 3 markets to shop. Thanks for the info on the toilet paper and Marcal, I'll check out their paper products here in Phoenix. I have been using the Brawny paper towels for years but I would like to switch to Seventh Generation.
