What I Buy in Bulk

Large families often buy some groceries in bulk to save time and money. Here are a few of the things that are always on my bulk buying list!

Back in 2015, I posted this photo of my crazy messy kitchen on Instagram (@amyraisingarrows) and Facebook after we returned from Thanksgiving festivities.

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Several people noticed all the bulk products I had on the floor space near my island.  A lot of people had questions about what I buy in bulk, so I originally wrote this post in order to give a bit of a “tour” of what we buy in bulk as a family of 10.

You can watch the video version of the original post here:

So, before I continue with this post, I just want to be clear – you will be seeing a mix of 2015 bulk buying and 2025 bulk buying. Some things have changed, some have stayed the same.

Let’s take a closer look at my bulk stash…

Back in 2015, I kept my bulk items on the far side of my kitchen island.  Our house was smallish, so storage space was limited.  This was a great place because it was concealed, yet accessible.

Now in 2025 and in a different, much larger home, I STILL keep my 5 gallon bucket of flour under my island in the kitchen! It’s easily accessible for all the baking we do, and I can’t imagine not having it readily available. However, almost all of my other bulk items are in the overflow pantry in the basement.

See a Tour of the Overflow Pantry below:

Many of the storage containers I use are from previously purchased items. I simply refill my Redmond Salt container and my Rumford (no aluminum) baking powder, but the 5 gallon buckets you see are food grade and you can find them here:

You can also purchase these same buckets in a 1 gallon size here.

And I HIGHLY recommend you buy gamma lids. They are a lifesaver when it comes to opening buckets! (I purchased them after the photo of my kitchen was taken.). They simply screw on and off, saving your fingers from the awfulness of prying lids off buckets.

In 2015, the 5 gallon bucket under the island contained rolled oats. Now, my rolled oats bucket is in the Overflow Pantry and I dish from it into a gallon sized jar I keep in my kitchen. I do the same thing with my jasmine rice.

As I mentioned earlier, the 5 gallon bucket that IS under my current island contains flour – Hudson Cream Unbleached Flour that I buy in 50# sacks from an Amish Bulk Food store near where I grew up. (A 5 gallon bucket will hold about 25 pounds.)

I used to buy Prairie Gold white winter wheat flour.  (You can purchase a similar product through Azure Standard.)  But, in 2015, I buy white winter wheat berries and store them in a 5 gallon bucket in the Overflow Pantry. (NOTE: I own a Mockmill Grain Mill.)

For a time back in 2015, I was buying Sprouted White Winter Wheat from Azure (a Granite Mills product) because it was a Trim Healthy Mama friendly grain that I would use to make bread that was “on plan.”  (My yummy Sprouted Whole Wheat Rolls to be exact.)  

I kept the sprouted flour in the freezer to keep it fresh since I wasn’t baking bread super often. I still do this with flours I don’t use often like pastry flour and rye graham flour.

Toward the back of the Instagram photo is a large container that held Sucanat, purchased from Azure.  However, I decided to stop buying it in bulk because we don’t use it up very well.

I used to buy raw sugar in bulk, but I don’t use as much as I once did and the price at Aldi is just as good if not better than anywhere I’ve found for bulk.

The 1 gallon pail on the left in the photo is an old coconut oil pail that I used to hold my almond flour.  Back in 2015, we were using a lot of almond flour because of Trim Healthy Mama, so I was buying it in bulk.  I would either purchase it from Amazon or from Azure depending on how soon I needed it.  (We have Amazon Prime, so if I order from there, it will be to me in 2 days with free shipping.).

Now, in 2025, I do not purchase bulk almond flour. In fact, I ate so many almonds and so many baked goods made from almond flour, that I developed a slight allergy to it (causes my throat to dry out and seize up a bit).

The next pail over in the photo is coconut oil, as is the gallon container sitting on top of it (I was almost out of the one in the pail).  These I would order from either Azure or Tropical Traditions.  I no longer do this. I use mostly avocado oil, olive oil, butter, and some coconut oil (my family grew weary of the taste) – all purchased from Aldi in smaller amounts or from Sam’s in larger quantities.

The pail on top of the sucanat is Palm Shortening from Tropical Traditions.  Yet another item I no longer purchase in bulk.

You might also notice that on the shelf sat my Big Berkey.

Not a bulk purchase, but worth a mention!

We don’t use this as much as we once did because we used to live in a place where the water needed to be filtered.  However, I really like how the Berkey water tastes, and it is a good emergency tool because you can literally take pond water and make it drinkable with this thing!

In front of the Berkey is a bag of cinnamon.  Spices and seasonings are great things to buy in bulk, but cinnamon is a favorite here.  We eat a lot of cinnamon, and we really like Vietnamese cinnamon.  We used to buy it directly from Frontier, but there isn’t a co-op in my area, so this particular batch came from a health food store I brokered a deal with – they gave it to me bulk in an unmarked plastic bag for a marked down price. All I had to do was ask!  You can also purchase it from Amazon here.  We prefer the Vietnamese because of its wonderful taste.

Other spices I buy in bulk from various sources include: Italian seasoning, Garlic powder, Onion Powder, Cumin. I also buy cream of tartar (for our playdough recipe)

Next to the cinnamon is our favorite salt – Real Salt.  I know this sounds crazy, but this salt tastes soooooo much better than any other salt I’ve ever tasted!  While the salt shown in the photo isn’t bulk, I do buy tend to buy it in bulk – then and now. you can buy it in bulk here.  I cannot say enough good about this salt – just try it!

Next to the salt is our vanilla.  We make our own vanilla using the cheapest vodka (or rum) we can find and vanilla beans from Saffron.com.  We buy the beans in bulk and often share with friends.  You can read more about how we make vanilla in this post.

honey

You also see peanut butter on the shelf in the photo because even though that peanut butter isn’t huge, it is a product that comes from ALDI and is bigger than the normal peanut butter container.  Our ALDI has been carrying these for quite some time, and I love it!  Yes, you could buy peanut butter in bulk online (Amazon and Azure carry 9 pound pails), but ALDI almost always trumps bulk prices. (more on that in a moment…)

Lastly, you will see a bag of beans if you look closely at the photo.  I’m going to be honest…I don’t like beans.  We are one large family that does not eat a ton of beans, so we do not buy them in bulk.  However, we do sometimes end up with bulk beans from friends and family.  The beans in the photo came from Ty’s uncle and are straight from the field.  We have also been given bulk beans from Azure and a mixture of beans for soup a friend made from her purchase at her local Sprouts (she has been able to broker bulk deals through them).

Some other things we buy in bulk are paper towels, toilet paper, meat, unsweetened coconut, and school supplies.  The meat is usually in the form of a side of beef which we keep in our extra upright freezer.  Currently, that freezer is full of deer meat from the two deer our oldest son shot a couple of weeks ago.

A quick note on buying from warehouse type stores versus smaller stores…
We have an ALDI here.  ALDI prices nearly always trump big box stores on every single thing.  I’m okay with opening a million cans of tomato sauce from ALDI versus buying a more expensive #10 can from a big box store.  The only thing I’ve found to be a better price at the membership type stores are paper goods and that just hasn’t been worth the membership fee for us (plus, the cost of driving to said store, which happens to be nearly an hour away).  So, my advice here is to get a membership to these stores ONLY if the prices are better than what you can get elsewhere.  And don’t hesitate to ask your local supermarket if they will give a discount if you buy in bulk from them.  Small hometown grocery stores are your best bet for doing this.

I know this is a super heavy post, and I probably left you with even more questions, but feel free to ask your questions or make comments below, and if need be, I can always do another post on this topic.  Ultimately, what you buy in bulk needs to fit what your family uses the most of and what you have space for.  Buying in bulk does often have a hefty upfront cost that you have to consider, but if you look for good deals and save up a little in your grocery budget here and there, you can snag good deals when you find them and save in the long run!