Paper towels and TP ?

[mrsklamc]

I'm a big couponer but I just don't bother w/ these...I find it too confusing with double rolls, and ply, and blah blah blah....I buy a big pack at Costco and buy more when we run out. I'm wondering what other budget minded folks consider a good 'buy.'

 

[QVCshopper]

I get toilet paper at Staples using register rewards. Basically, you buy a flash drive, paper, batteries, etc. when they offer 100% back in register rewards. About a month passes and I go to Staples and redeem my rewards for their Charmin Basic. It's actually a decent price.

And I don't use paper towels for environmental reasons. I just used regular cloth towels, wash, and repeat.

 

[riley2008]

I like Bounty papertowels. So, I usually will watch Target's sales, use one of their Bounty coupons and a manufacturer one too.

That said, one large 8-pack of papertowels lasts about a year. We have primarily been using cloth napkins for just about everything.

Toilet paper, I usually go in with coupons, but find they aren't worth it, either.

 

[mrsklamc]

And I don't use paper towels for environmental reasons. I just used regular cloth towels, wash, and repeat.

I didn't grow up using paper towels- there just wasn't $ for that, so we used rags...but DH won't have it.

 

[KarenAylwood]

I'm the same- we get ours at Costco. I only buy when there's a coupon in their monthly coupon book though. If there's a good coupon sometimes I'll buy even when I don't need them to stock up.

In the latest consumer reports it went through different buying styles and I think tp/paper towels were found to be cheapest at Costco/BJ's (unless you're a crazy couponer or have tricks up your sleeve of course )

 

[LJSquishy]

I also purchase toilet paper (Kirkland brand) and paper towels (Kirkland brand) at Costco. I couldn't stomach paying the price of Charmin, even at Costco, so I just sucked it up and started going with Kirkland...even though I will be the first to admit their toilet paper doesn't even compare to Charmin! They did recently improve it, though.

I don't go through a lot of paper towels so one Costco package lasts us all year generally. We are a lot more concious of what we throw away now. Also, in our city, we can now put food-soiled paper towels/napkins in with our yard waste (grass clippings, leaves, etc) as well as food so it really helps knowing at least now these things are being composted!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

I am a brand snob with toilet paper and paper towel. I use coupons for the bounty and I have to have Cottonelle. I will skimp on everything else, but this.


Sarah

 

[marmalade]

We don't have a costco we have a BJ's and that is where I get my toilet paper and paper towels. I am weird that I like scotts regular toilet paper, I don't like the soft cushy stuff that always seems to have coupons for it. I have found it cheapest to buy in bulk at BJ's, plus I am set for a while before I need to buy more.

 

[AnninIowa]

We buy ours at Sam's Club. Their store brand paper towels are very good quality, and they also have Charmin Ultra. The rolls are the biggest you can get, too. The packs they have st the drugstores are much smaller in overall quantity, so y I am not skimping on TP!

 

[Ephany]

We buy the Charmin at Costco when there's a coupon. We tried the orange pack this time and it's not as soft, so I'll probably switch back to the blue package. I did hear Clark Howard say this morning that the best (as rated by Consumer Reports) is one of the Walmart brands. White Cloud, maybe? I'd imagine it's a bit cheaper than Charmin or any of the other 'big' brands too.

 

[HsvTeacher]

We also buy Costco papertowels and toilet paper. Since it's just the two of us, they usually last at least three months.

I'm a little obsessive about using their papertowels because I haven't been able to find any of comparable quality at around the same price. In a pinch, I bought another brand at Publix the other day, and they were so flimsy that I ended up using more of them.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We get our TP at Sam's - the Members Mark - we've found it to be the best for us and our septic tank. We hated the Kirkland from Costco. And not to be crass (ok, I am), I told DH that when he needs to use TP every single time he potties, then he can have some say about what kind of TP we get - otherwise it's up to me!

I prefer Bounty paper towels, all white, and I like the half-sheet option, so we get those at Sam's, too - sometimes at Costco if they have them for a better price. We don't use a lot of paper towels so we buy them maybe three times a year.

 

[NYEmomma]

I did hear Clark Howard say this morning that the best (as rated by Consumer Reports) is one of the Walmart brands. White Cloud, maybe? I'd imagine it's a bit cheaper than Charmin or any of the other 'big' brands too.

I was going to mention this -- in the past couple of months in Consumer Reports they rated both TP and paper towels. They gave White Cloud a really good rating, higher than Charmin & significantly cheaper than Charmin. For paper towels, they said Bounty was the best, but if you're trying to save some money, Viva is very, very comparable, as well as Brawny (Brawny was rated lower than Viva though).

 

[Eeyore98]

We don't use paper towels that much, mostly for specific things like blotting greasy pizza (the idea of using a rag for that is just gross). So a big pack will last a long time. Usually the big packs of both TP and paper towels at Costco end up being the cheapest in our area, especially where the more expensive brands are concerned. We don't mind their Kirkland brand, so we usually go with that.

I find it too confusing with double rolls, and ply, and blah blah blah....I buy a big pack at Costco and buy more when we run out.

The packaging usually gives you a number for the total square footage of TP that's in the package (not per roll). So I just use that to figure a price-per-square-foot. But that being said, usually the big pack at Costco has the lowest ppsf anyway, so you are getting the best price you can without couponing.

And not to be crass (ok, I am), I told DH that when he needs to use TP every single time he potties, then he can have some say about what kind of TP we get - otherwise it's up to me!

LOL...the funny thing is, at my house, it's DH who is the picky one! Not sure how that works!

 

[hsmamato2]

I use coupons somewhat,and I find it's the paper goods coupons that are worth using,paired with sales....I stock up when I can get TP cheap,and am working on keeping pt usage down in our house....I think right now we might use 5-6 rolls every couple of months,mainly b/c DH feels the need for them,I usually keep them hidden in a cabinet for the few things I need them for,like dog mistakes,etc.
When CVS has deals on paper goods combined with coupons is stock up week for me!
We use more cloth napkins and towels anyway...

 

[willowsnn3]

We don't have a costco we have a BJ's and that is where I get my toilet paper and paper towels. I am weird that I like scotts regular toilet paper, I don't like the soft cushy stuff that always seems to have coupons for it. I have found it cheapest to buy in bulk at BJ's, plus I am set for a while before I need to buy more.

We only use Scott's regular tp also. Been using it for years. Supposed to be better if you have a septic tank. DD has a Sam's card from work so we get the 36 pkg of Scotts there, averages out to 69 cents a roll.

 

[eliza61]

I do use the coupons for these items. it's strange, some tp clog up my toilets. I hate these newfangled low flow toilets. LOL. so for some reason the store brand stuff doesn't work and we're plunging night and day.

 

[MrsPete]

I've been watching TP prices lately; I'm trying to determine what's a rock-bottom per-roll price for something decent. I'm figuring that if I knew .35 or .40 (or whatever) is a good price per roll, I'd know when to stock up. This is complicated by the fact that all rolls aren't the same size. If you read the small print on the front, it tells you how many squares are on the roll, and some brands /some packages have MUCH MORE product per roll than others.

I have not found coupons to be useful on toilet paper. I like Cottonelle or Northern, and Target brand (which is equivalent to them in quality) always seems to be a good bit cheaper than name-brand-with-a-coupon.

In general, big packages seem to be a better buy on toilet paper; however, on occasion the opposite is true.

I never buy toilet paper at Walmart. First, paper products in general seem to be lower at Target. Second, they frequently seem to have one price on the shelf and another in the cash register. Yes, I could go to customer service and dispute this, but since it's a HABIT at our Walmart, I just don't want to be bothered. They lose the sale.

Paper towels, I like Bounty pick-a-size. A roll seems to last so much longer than a regular roll. We don't use enough to matter environmentally -- about a roll a month. I do stock up on these when they're on sale, but I always buy the same brand.

 

[sherry7]

Lately, I've been buy the huge pack at Sam's Club (their brand). I'll occasionally buy it at CVS if I have Extra Bucks to use up.

An 8-10 pack of paper towels lasts us for close to a year. We only use them for cleaning windows, and cleaning up kitty hairballs.

 

[mrsklamc]

An 8-10 pack of paper towels lasts us for close to a year. We only use them for cleaning windows, and cleaning up kitty hairballs.

I might be able to help you go through less. Know what's great for windows instead of paper towels? Newspaper!