The last three weeks I've been telling you about how I save money buying organic by
buying local,
food preservation and
couponing. Now I'd like to talk about something I think a lot of people don't always think about. Purchasing in bulk online.
I'll be honest, I only do this every couple of months and it's usually for paleo cooking items or sometimes produce. But, what I spend that month in buying those items in bulk results in savings over the next few months since I'm not constantly running to the store to buy expensive coconut oil and almond flour, for example.
There are numerous places to buy organic items online, but here are a few of my favorites.
Azure Standard is probably my favorite place to purchase organic goods online. You can purchase monthly if you choose and it is delivered via semi to a drop site nearest you. We have a drop site here in Evansville so I am able to do this whenever I want, which usually is every couple months. There are discounted items in every category you could think of, from produce and dairy to dry goods to bath soap. It's the cheapest place I have found bulk almond flour too. I joined our group here a couple months ago and absolutely love it.
Vitacost is another site you can use to order pretty much anything organic at a discounted price. Except this time it's shipped directly to you. I have only ever browsed this site but I know lots of people who purchase regularly. They usually order together to get free shipping.
Abe's Market is a site I have used a couple times to order organic items. I like to get their Discover Natural Box for $5 where I get to pick three samples. It's a great way to get items that you don't need a whole lot of something, such as hemp seeds for example.
Tropical Traditions is one of my favorite sites to order from. If you've been around awhile, then you know that they are the best source for
coconut oil,
coconut flour and other organic products. I subscribed to their newsletter so I get updates on all the sales, which are almost always going on and have been able to get two free 32 oz jars of coconut oil with purchase. Which is awesome.
Amazon isn't a site that I would've ever thought about using to purchase organic products until one of my co-workers said she buys
Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour in bulk off of the site.Once I started looking, I realized that there is all sorts of stuff that we would use. You can also join their subscribe n shave program to get a deeper discount. Just be sure to remember to cancel your renewal purchase if you don't want more gluten free baking mix headed your way!
Does this take a little time to figure out where's the cheapest place to purchase organics? Yes, at first. When I needed to purchase something, I would take a quick look at Azure to check prices then compare with Amazon, Vitacost and store prices before deciding to purchase something. Now that I've been doing it awhile, I have an idea where it's going to be cheapest. It's worked out well almost every time!
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