How I Shop at Costco While Living Small

Skip the paper towels, for one.

It may surprise you to learn that I love Costco. When I mention that I shop at the warehouse club, my friends are often pepper with questions: How do I do it with such a small space? Isn’t it against my minimalist leanings? Can my family of three really use Costco portions? Doesn’t it just make me spend more?

Avoid the Costco effect: Don’t even enter this part of the store!

I’ve got answers to all these questions because I do think that shopping at Costco can be aligned with living small, but you need to be strategic and restrained. Here’s why I shop at Costco and how I make it work in a small space:

How is Costco “small?”

Costco offers the smallest prices, which is the reason I like to shop there. I always tell people that the membership price would pay for itself in coffee alone. At my local Foodtown, 12 oz. of Starbucks French Roast cost $16.79 (which works out to $25 a pound); on my recent visit to Costco, 2 lbs. cost $12.99. I only need to buy 3.5 pounds of coffee to cover the cost of membership!

Shopping in bulk is sustainable (but only if you use up all of what you buy!) There is less packaging on a single large bag of brown rice than on the dozens of bags or plastic tubs I would buy individually. Likewise, the carbon footprint associated with transport is smaller because of more efficient shipping, and if you buy a lot in one visit like I do, you drive less (or avoid grocery deliveries, if that’s how you roll). 

The company’s values also align with my own. I appreciate the complete lack of shiny marketing or paid shelf placement. As a customer, I don’t leave feeling like I have been exploited by price gouging or tricksy marketing. Costco also pays their workers more than similar stores: An average $26/hour versus an average of just $17/hour at other major retailers. If you want to know more about the company culture, the New York Times ran a feature on Costco this summer that is well worth a read (gift link).

Costco is minimalist in its own way. I love the lack of choice because I don’t have to compare five types of jam to figure out which one is actually the best value, nor do I have to pick up every jar of peanut butter looking for one made without palm oil (the Costco peanut butter is a screaming deal and contains only peanuts and salt). 

The “Costco effect”—and how to avoid it

Years ago my friend told me she had to stop shopping at Costco because she was spending too much money, but I tried to reason with her that yes, each trip is expensive, but it represents a significant savings over time. (I recognize it is a privilege to be comfortable enough financially to spend a lot on one big grocery run.) What I failed to appreciate at the time was the power of the “Costco effect,” which is when you go in for groceries but leave with an inflatable kayak and a Squishmallow you hadn’t planned to buy. David and Susan Schwartz, who wrote the fan book The Joy of Costco, call the experience of shopping at Costco a “treasure hunt” and say there’s even an official name for these types of impulse purchases: “wow” items. An example of a “wow” item that they give is a light-up snow globe filled with gin-liqueur and edible gold flakes, which was apparently a hot seller in 2022 for which I have no words. Do not think of shopping at Costco as a treasure hunt.

In my experience the best way to avoid the Costco effect is to shop with a list—and stick to it. I also recommend that you do not even enter the parts of the store that sells apparel, housewares, small electrics, and the like (“softlines” in Costco corporate lingo). I only shop the food and “health and beauty” aisles. Sure, I might occasionally miss out on a deal on something I need, but I also don’t get sucked into impulse purchases. 

You just can’t buy some things

There are certain things that people who live in larger homes buy at Costco that I can’t squeeze into my New York City apartment, for example sundries (toilet paper, paper towels, and the extra-large boxes of trash bags) and certain large food containers that won’t fit in my fridge (Castelvetrano Green Olives, I am looking at you). Likewise, there are fresh foods that I will never get through before they spoil in a household of just three people. 

So what do I buy at Costco? I’m sharing a list for paid subscribers below. And a quick word about paywalls: I know that you don’t like them, but I try to write an essay that is useful on its own and then offer a bonus section at the end for readers who want more. I’m so grateful to the readers who are able to support my writing with a paid subscription: Thank you!

I’m also curious about YOU, what do you buy at Costco? Any great deals I am missing?