Green Living Tip 10 {Buy Staple Foods in Bulk}

Today’s green living tip: buy staple food items in bulk. To save on packaging and money, consider buying staple foods – flour, rice, oats, sugar, beans, and more – in bulk quantities. This can be done by buying the amount you need from the bulk bin section of your grocery store. Or, you can purchase larger quantities of these items – like 25-pound bags of flour or dried beans – and keep a reasonable amount in the kitchen and store the rest. (We keep lots of items in the freezer – here’s how we do it.)

The grains work well being stored in the freezer – and they won’t go bad. Dried beans hold up well in the pantry and that’s my reminder to cook them every week! (Never cooked with dried beans? It’s easy to do and inexpensive.) It’s easy to cook them in a slow cooker so you don’t need to be home to tend the pot of beans.

Buying the basic items in bulk, that you know will get used over and over, not only saves on the packaging and money but you’ll find yourself making fewer trips to the grocery store, as well. It does help to estimate when you’ll run out. Buying staple foods in bulk saves in so many ways! Plus, you’ll always have the ingredients on hand to make a batch of homemade brownies (like these brownies – inspired by our dear old chicken, Betsy) and then you’ll skip buying mixes, too. It’s so easy to save – packaging, resources, money, and time.

What food items do buy in bulk? What food items do you always have on hand?

Go Gingham Earth Month:

To celebrate April as “Earth Month,” I’m sharing a tip every day this month. Find all the tips by clicking the image below.

You’ll find simple and easy ideas to implement at your home – and they’ll save money as well!