Trying to save some money-how to resupply common use items?

[soulrebel]

Hey everyone-getting really riled up and still months to go. Been camping almost every week to test all the things I think I might like to have in the woods.

I have come to realize that I'll be going through a considerable amount of ziplocs, soap, salt/pepper/relish/mustard/mayo/jelly, lotrimin, toothpaste, batteries etc..

I have a costco card and can buy all of these things for about 1/3 the cost that it will be over the trail--not to mention I can have as much or as little as I like in each box.

So is it worth it to try and resupply these items? I was planning doing about 6 boxes roughly 3 weeks apart. I know that won't cover me the whole time but I'd like to save a bit of money and weight with the individual packets etc if feasible. It just seems like a lot of people feel like the P.o. drops are a chore... BTW this is for 2 people.

Trying to save money-I hate paying mega bucks for trash bags, hehe

e.g-costco tuna w/ relish packet and mayo packet = 60 cents while the grocery store charges around $2 for less product.

p.s.-I might have a surplus of salt/pepper/relish/mustard/mayo/jelly in individual packets if anyone might like a 1/4th of what we bought -- I might be motivated enough to throw it in a box and mail it to you. just pm me then i'll begin to think about figuring how many millions I will have to charge you for the condiments

[rhjanes]

What about: buy enough for now. Send the extra and one box of 50 in a bounce-box? However as noted, the postage on the bounce box will probably eat up any savings.

[soulrebel]

You guys clearly do not shop at costco. lol. :) Any warehouse nutz out there?

[Mouse]

Having a bounce box of bulk refills of ziplocks, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, soap, maps, guidebook pages etc. etc, etc, worked nicely for me. I usually mailed it about 200 miles a bounce.

[betic4lyf]

maybe use other, more durable bags instead of ziplocks. besides carrying them, they fill up landfills, and dont decompose. really, dont use them unless there is no other choice. i am sure freezer bags can be reused, so that is an option, but dont use them to much, as we dont want to be filling up landfills

[Peaks]

Well, I didn't need to replace ziplocks all that often. A little camp suds lasts a long time. I think I used 4 ounces total. Didn't pack along salt, pepper, relish, mustard and mayo. One set of batteries for my headlamp lasted the entire AT, plus about 3 years afterwards. So, I don't carry extra batteries.

[Jack Tarlin]

In the Articles section of this website, Weathercarrot has an excellent article on Hiking On a Budget; you might want to check it out.