2023 is seeing parents always dreading their weekly shop. The ridiculous cost of groceries and pantry items aside, the effort we have to put in also makes it one of life’s most mundane tasks.
But a frugal mom of five has found a way to lessen both burdens.
Tabitha Kelley, the mom behind the YouTube channel This mom’s house has revealed how she saves money and time by shopping just twice a year and stocking her pantry and refrigerator with six months’ worth of groceries and other household items.
Bulk purchases save moms time and money
Tabitha, who is a British stay-at-home mom, reveals that she shops at Costco to stock up for her family. Shopping in the huge warehouse-style supermarket means she can buy items in bulk, allowing her to really stock up for her family of seven.
In a recent video titled “Most Epic Costco Haul Yet,” the mom admits that while shopping is a chore, her method is well worth it because she only shows up twice a year.
“As a busy mom of five, grocery shopping is a TOTAL WORK (I know you can relate), which is why I love stocking up and shopping at Costco once or twice a year,” she says in the footage.
“These sets last between six and eight months.
“So we shop at Costco once or twice a year and that’s how we like to do it.”
An epic Costco haul indeed!
Tabitha then goes on to show what she normally buys during these trips.
First come the household items you stock in your pantry, including cleaning supplies.
On her tour, the mother shows off her collection of 425 cleaning wipes, 90 rolls of toilet paper, six jars of olive oil, one year’s worth of rice, 22 packets of pasta, and 95 bags of potato chips.
Then come the items that need to be stored in your fridge or freezer.
There she will find 36 packets of butter, 10 dozen eggs, 24 chicken breasts, ground beef and other cuts of meat that she says will cover at least 15 meals for the large family.
There is also bread and bagels that are stored in the freezer.
The shop cost the mum just over $7,600 at checkout (or £4,100) and she says she tries to stretch out the time needed for her next shop as much as possible.
“We are a family of seven with five children and this is just what works for us, not everyone would like to do this big tour in one trip, but this is how we like to do it,” he says in the video.
“We expect between four and six months for this to last us.”
Meal prep and planning at its finest
With such an epic haul, Tabitha says she often packs items late into the night, so yes, planning and organization play a huge role in the entire shopping process.
“It takes a lot of effort on my part, with organization and meal planning,” she admits.
Hey, if it works and means no emergency runs to Woolies to get bread or lunchbox snacks every week, we’re cool with that!