13 Bulk Food Storage Ideas For The Costco Shopper

There are endless reasons why shopping at Costco is beneficial. Buying in bulk is typically better for the environment, as fewer plastic wrappings and containers are involved. You also get more bang for your buck due to reduced packaging and handling. In addition, buying in bulk means fewer trips to the grocery store, which saves you time and money. One of the major bonuses of shopping at Costco is that it does the research and makes decisions for you. It only sells trusted, fan-favorite brands, so no more comparing 20 different brands of soy sauce or apple sauce. However, buying in bulk means storing large quantities of items at once. That's why we developed bulk food storage ideas for Costco shoppers like you.

Although it's wicked convenient to get a giant bag of oats and not have to worry about buying more for months on end, storing them can be tricky. You want to make sure your ingredients don't spoil before you eat them while avoiding overcrowding your pantry with giant bags and cans. Finding a balance can be tricky, especially when working with perishables. Therefore, it pays to do a little research to help preserve the magical benefits of bulk shopping at Costco in the long run.

Every home cook should own a vacuum sealer because it helps to store virtually any food, anywhere. These devices also extend the shelf life of your food by eliminating oxygen and preventing any chance of oxidation. However, for some reason, vacuum sealers get labeled as extreme. But the truth is that you don't need an industrial kitchen or a family of eight to use such a handy tool. Small families and people living alone can find it useful.

Vacuum seal leftovers and throw them in your freezer. Store vacuum-sealed nuts in your pantry. Take the same approach for meats and cheeses and store them in your refrigerator. You can also vacuum-seal chopped vegetables and keep them in your refrigerator or freezer. You can even use vacuum sealers to marinate your meat or soy products. There are options galore out there for people who own a vacuum sealer. You will find yourself throwing away less and saving more. Enjoy long-lasting food, which is all we can ask for when buying in bulk. And luckily, they are fairly intuitive to use.

When you purchase a 2-pound bag of chia seeds, you likely won't use everything at once. Even though chia seeds last a long time and are shelf-stable, it's easy to forget about them. Who wants to deal with a two-pound bag each time you sprinkle a few seeds on your yogurt in the morning? Grab an old jar or a container with a tight seal and keep a few cups of the seeds in your spice cabinet, refrigerator, or with your grains. The rest can be stored in the depths of your pantry or cellar, where you will use it only when your jar runs empty. This will encourage you to use the seeds, as they are easily accessible.

This goes for ready-made foods from Costco as well. That big vat of chili or the famous $5 rotisserie chicken could feed you for a week. But after day two, you might be looking for a change. Simply store half of the food in air-tight containers in the refrigerator and the other half in the freezer. The key is to keep anything going into the freezer in single serving sizes unless you have a big family to feed all at once.

Bingo! You snagged an amazing deal on Costco's deli mac and cheese and bought two huge trays. One for the refrigerator and one for the freezer. The problem is that when your mac and cheese craving hits, perhaps in a month, you'll be forced to defrost an entire sheet of the food. The trouble is that once food is defrosted, it should be eaten within three to four days, per the USDA. If you're not feeding a family of four, that's quite a feat to take on. Luckily, there is a solution. 

For soups and casserole-style dishes (like mac and cheese), freeze your leftovers in muffin tins. It's one of the best uses for muffin tins you might not expect. Simply ladle or place the product in the muffin trays, freeze it on a flat shelf and crack the servings into an air-tight Tupperware or freezer baggie for later use. Thaw a few muffin-sized portions at a time for a single serving. Upcycle an ice cube tray for sauces, mashed berries, or smaller portioned foods.

Everyone is guilty of jam-packing their freezer with foods that will never see the light of day again. Half-used bags of frozen peas, forgotten leftovers, a fourth of an ice cream cake from some child's birthday ... the list goes on and on. Who can keep track of it all with today's demands? Organize your freezer and optimize the space so food won't go to waste. Doing so will also help you store bulk items easily.

The first thing you need to do is throw out anything that has expired. Secondly, you need to reserve a flat bag-sized space in the freezer. Next, whenever you need to freeze a liquid like the bulk chili from Costco or half of a massive jar of apple sauce, do so in freezer baggies or vacuum seal packs. Mark the bags with the date they were frozen, the name of the food, and the ingredients to track allergens (no, you won't remember what's in that soup three months from now). 

Lay these in your flat space and allow them to freeze. Once frozen, stand them up and line them up. This will save space in your freezer and prevent them from sliding into a jumbled pile. The bookshelf-style freezer organization makes for easy grabbing — nothing will be forgotten, and you can line them up according to their expiration date. Another hack to help you find your freezer staples is using plastic file holders for those frozen flat baggies. If you can organize a desk, you can organize a freezer.

The cost of buying canned beans adds up pretty quickly. However, purchasing them in bulk at Costco is manageable. But what should you do with a dozen cans of black beans at a time? Luckily, canned items last quite a while, but storing them isn't always easy. Yes, they are stackable, but unless you have the perfect space in your pantry, you may want to invest in a can organizer. These are inexpensive and allow you to store cans on their sides. The trick to using them is arranging similar items together. 

You don't want cans of beans, corn, or diced tomatoes in one slot in the organizer, or you'll never know what you have in stock. When arranged properly, once you grab a can of coconut milk, another one should roll down to take its place. Additionally, due to its design, you'll see when the stock is running low, allowing you to add the item to your grocery list. Save time, never forget what you have in stock, and confidently buy in bulk. Another tip for storing canned goods is placing them in a deep drawer. These should be items you use often, and it might make sense to write the name of the food on the can's top area using a Sharpie. Stair-style organizations are great for reading labels but don't help with space efficiency.

If you're a home cook passionate about food, your pantry is likely overflowing with all sorts of creations and ingredients. It's no wonder you might forget certain items since they are buried. You should be able to identify every item in your pantry without moving anything around. However, a crowded pantry is sometimes the result of bulk shopping. If you can't cram it all in, it's time for an overflow location.

This doesn't mean all of your canned goods will go there. It just means that you can keep a few in your pantry that are easily accessible, and then any overflow can go into your alternative location. You can call this your home grocery store. This location should be checked before each bulk shopping trip at Costco.

The best tip for storing canned goods and other bulk items is to select a cool, dry place. This might be your garage, depending on where you live and how much insulation you have. For most, it's likely the basement or cellar. Some folks even have storage rooms that hold items like seasonal decorations or off-season clothes, which could work as well.

Although deep freezers are expensive, their benefits outweigh the costs in the long run. Think about how much food you throw away each week. You can reduce such waste significantly by freezing leftovers and freezing bulk items. Nobody needs a four-pound bag of frozen blueberries taking up their entire freezer, but it may be too good of a deal to pass up. Toss them in your deep freezer instead. You can freeze anything, from produce, nuts, seeds, grains, meats, and dairy to ready-made meals.

Not all chest freezers are made the same, so do your research. A budget-friendly option is to buy a used one if you trust the source. Plug it in to test it before leaving the purchase location if it's a Facebook marketplace or Craigslist sale. Frozen food preservation works by freezing any bacteria attempting to break down the food. It also limits oxidation by decreasing oxygen exposure. However, frozen foods don't last forever, so they're not a great option for your apocalypse shelter stash.

When you leave a sliced apple on the counter, it will inevitably turn brown. This is why we don't pre-cut apples in the same way we might with red peppers or onions, although they also oxidize over time, just at a slower rate. We know lemon juice can prevent the apple from turning brown because it contains high amounts of antioxidants. Oxidation happens when the "white part" of the apple interacts with oxygen and discolors, losing its vibrancy. Check out a detailed explanation of what happens when fresh food turns brown.

So, how do we prevent this from occurring in your bulk produce or ready-made Costco foods? Air-tight containers are the answer! Those little plastic Tupperware with press-on lids aren't going to cut it. You'll want a container you can trust, not those that dispense salad dressing in your favorite purse or briefcase. The air-tight variety will prevent oxidation and help your bulk items last longer in your refrigerator, saving you money down the road. 

Fans of store-bought tomato sauce or items parceled in large glass containers can benefit greatly from their jars. Don't ship them off to recycling stations; upcycle them at home by reusing them. Remove the labels and run them through the dishwasher, or scrub them by hand and let them dry completely. Use the lidded jars to hold dry goods. Store a few cups of that 2-pound bag of oats in your glass jar, keeping it in an easily accessible spot. You could also keep dried beans or pasta in them after discarding their boxes or containers.

It pays to use clear containers for pantry storage because they have a clean look, allowing you to know what you have on hand and how much is available. Use them to store dry goods like cereal, grains, dried beans, dehydrated or freeze-dried foods, pasta, or spices bought in bulk. Please note that unless you go through entire jars of spices monthly, there is no need to buy them in bulk, no matter how they are stored. Spices are best used as fresh as possible and can technically last a few years. However, just because they will still be edible doesn't mean they will carry the same flavor potency.

Food preservation is a lost art. Our grandparents knew how to pickle, can, and dehydrate food; we, on the other hand, buy processed foods and toss out our leftovers. Canning can be a little tricky, and if you're nervous about bacteria, it might take a while to feel comfortable with its processes. Dehydration, alternatively, is fairly straightforward.

A great place to start is learning how to dehydrate fruit in your air fryer. It takes so much less time than using a full-blown dehydrator, and it's likely you have one on hand. If you intend to purchase the real deal, research the common mistakes people make with dehydrators. Dehydrated fruit is extremely popular, and as we know Costco sells fruits in bulk. It can last up to five years if stored properly and is one of the best ways to preserve fruit. Beyond fruit, you can dehydrate just about anything from meat and sauces to herbs and vegetables. When you're ready to consume, eat it in its dehydrated form and enjoy a chewy, jerky-like texture. Or, rehydrate it by soaking it in water or mixing it with water if it's a sauce.

The Costco shopper knows that even if you're going in for a hot dog or rotisserie chicken, you're coming out with a car full of products. You don't tell Costco what you want; the retailer tells you what you need. If you are truly buying your food in bulk, amongst other things, then it may be worthwhile to invest in shelving. Place these shelves in your basement or garage and keep your backup foods there.

For instance, if you get one of those jumbo bags of rice, keep a few cups in your pantry and place the rest in an air-tight container on your shelving unit. These shelves will help to keep you organized and prevent overflow in the kitchen. Nobody needs 8 pounds of rice stored in their kitchen cabinet. Just be sure these shelves are in a dry, cool place, and remember you can also use them for non-food-related items like paper towels, toilet paper, soap, and cleaning products. Luckily for you, Costco sells plenty of shelving units at a reasonable price. These shelves, if installed in your basement, can also be handy for storing emergency food and water for natural disasters or lockdowns. May you never experience this!

Label makers are not just for Type-A folks. Anyone buying in bulk needs to grab one or at least get really into making them by hand. One of the biggest mistakes people make when shopping in bulk is disorganization. It's great you have 24 cans of coconut milk, but will they end up on a dusty shelf in your basement, forgotten until you bring home the next batch of coconut milk and only realize when you go to put them away? Categorize your overflow areas so you don't waste time searching. Buying in bulk is supposed to be a time saver, so label your foods to enjoy this perk.

Organize your foods by how they are preserved — Cans, jars, bags, and boxes. This will help you keep things together with similar expiration windows. Then, it's time to refine the system. Stack your beans together — do the same with chickpeas and black beans. Tomato-based products should go together, and so on. Each row needs to have a label so that anyone in your household can find it easily. You will also be 100% sure that once you've grabbed the last can of tomato paste, it is time to buy more.

Commercial kitchens employ "Use first" stickers, which should be considered an important organizational tool for any Costco bulk shopper. This is especially important if multiple people cook in your household because, let's face it, even if your system makes sense to you, everyone is different. It might be a no-brainer that some foods are stored on the fridge's top shelf, or that newer cans are placed at the back of the shelf, but your partner may have other plans.

Learn to rotate your food. This means that when you buy something new, don't shove it in the front of the refrigerator. Place it in the back, behind it's slightly wilted stunt double. Slap a "use first" sticker on the older product, and rest assured that it won't go to waste just because there's a fresh new doppelganger in town. This tactic should be used on any item, from frozen and canned goods to bagged goods. Even if they have a multi-year expiration date, you still need to know which can of peaches will last longer. Just because a can of peaches won't expire for a few years doesn't mean you want to wait until the last day.