2023 is seeing parents forever dreading their weekly shop. The ridiculous cost of food and pantry items aside, the effort we have to go to also makes it one of life’s most mundane tasks.
But one frugal mom-of-five has found a way to lessen both burdens.
Tabitha Kelley, the mom behind the YouTube channel This Mama’s House has revealed how she saves money and time by shopping just two times a year and stocking up her pantry and fridge with six months worth of food and other household items.
Tabitha, who is a stay-at-home British mom reveals she shops at Costco to stock up for her family. Shopping at the massive warehouse-style supermarket means she’s able to 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 it only comes around twice a year.
“As a busy mom of five grocery shopping is a WHOLE CHORE (I know you can relate) so that is why I love to stock up and shop at Costco once or twice a year,” she says in the footage.
“These hauls last us anywhere between six to eight months.
“So we shop at Costco once or twice a year and that’s just how we like to do it.”
Tabitha then goes on to show what she typically buys during these trips.
First comes the household items that she stocks in her pantry – including cleaning products.
In her haul, the mom shows off her collection of 425 cleaning wipes, 90 rolls of toilet paper, six jars of olive oil, a year’s worth of rice, 22 packets of pasta, and 95 bags of chips.
Then comes the items that need to be stored in her fridge or freezer.
In there, you’ll find 36 packets of butter, 10 dozen eggs, 24 chicken breasts, mince and other cuts of meat that she claims will cover at least 15 meals for the large family.
There’s also bread and bagels that get stored in the freezer.
The shop cost the mom a little over $7,600 at the checkout (or £4,100) and she claims she tries to drag out the time needed for her next shop as long as possible.
“We are a family of seven and we have five kids and this is just what works for us, not everybody would like to make this huge haul in one trip but that’s just how we like to do it,” she says in the video.
“We’re hoping about four to six months that this will last us.”
With such an epic haul, Tabitha says that she’s often packing items away until late in the evening – so yes, planning and organizing play a huge part in the whole shopping process.
“It requires a lot of effort on my part, with organizing and meal planning,” she admits.
Hey, if it works and means no emergency dashes to Woolies to get bread or lunchbox snacks each week, we’re down with that!