The Costco plunge

Well, today, after years of heartfelt endorsement from my Mom (and lots of other people), I bought a Costco membership. I, too, now have a full gallon of dishwashing soap in my kitchen. It's actually sitting on my counter because such a gargantuan container doesn't fit where I would normally put dishwashing soap, but I'm sure tomorrow we'll figure something out. But I'll tell you, when the big one hits California, we'll have clean dishes and to spare.

Why, you ask, did it take me so long to jump on the Costco bandwagon? Well, it's partly to do with the fact that I don't really enjoy the frantic, hyperconsumer pace of the place. Those huge shopping carts bustling around, overflowing with stuff, the enormous parking lot, the long lines, and mostly the enormous amount of stuff to buy just sort of overwhelms me; especially compared to friendly little Henrys where we putter around with the lovely old ladies who all remark how adorable my boys are and tell me about their grandchildren as we scoop dry goods from the bulk bins. Also, so much food at Costco just seems over-processed and over-packaged. And, as one who is rather obsessed with prices (trust me, I'm obsessed. Just ask to see my "best price" spreadsheet, and you'll believe me.) the prices aren't that great. Sometimes they're a little less, sometimes a little more, than other stores; so you're generally not saving much money but you spend money in huge chunks - like at least $10 a pop - to buy big amounts of stuff.

Anyway, by now I'm sure you're dying to know why I went ahead and joined. Well, partly because of the stir fry vegetables my Mom gave us one time that are awesome and I missed them. Sure the bag takes up a third of our freezer, but they're that good. But mostly because it's a company I feel good spending my money on. They treat their employees relatively well, and I'm willing to put up with the rest to support a company that does that. Since the grocery strike here last year I've just felt sort of regretful spending my money in the big chains, and there's some stuff that's better not bought at my other favorites, Henrys and Trader Joes. So there you go - putting my money where my heart is, at least some of the time.