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Bulk buying has certainly dominated the news recently. With the current pandemic situation on going, panic-buying essentials is still occuring. With some supermarkets still having a quantity limit on some items. As well as a limit on how many items overall that customers can place in their online basket. This will stop many from not only panic buying, but also wasting their money panic buying some items. Not only is it a waste of their money, but also wastes the items going to someone else to actually use them. However through sheer determination we know even with these limits people will still find a way around them. So here’s my list of what items to definitely not bulk buy.
Flour
Flour was one of the leading items that were being panic bought during lockdown. But it’s actually not a good idea to bulk buy flour. Unless you’re a baker by profession who regularly has baking jobs to do. Even though the cost of purchase is usually low. Flour typically has a short shelf life and is prone to weevil infestations. Out of the various types of flour available, whole-wheat flour has one of the shortest life spans. This is due to the oils contained in whole-wheat flour.
Cooking oils
Like flour, bulk buying cooking oil only makes sense if you use masses of it regularly due to your profession. The reason why bulk buying cooking oil isn’t a good idea is because it not only has a short shelf life. But cooking oils can also oxidize before the best before date stated on the label. This means that not only are you wasting money. But may be ingesting a product that contains compounds that are potentially toxic. These toxins have been associated with cancer, heart disease, advanced aging and neurological disorders. They are also pro-inflammatory. Any vitamins within the oils will also be lost once it expires.
Disposable internally worn sanitary products
So this may come as a surprise to a lot of you. Because this is such a commonly bulk bought item. The reason behind avoiding buying tampons in bulk is because they actually have an expiry date. The fact that they have an expiry date is often overlooked or simply just not known. You can typically find the expiry date next to the barcode on the box. After their expiry date, tampons are more likely to contain small particles of mould and bacteria. Whilst tampons have a long shelf life, they’re still items that women put down and forget about until needed. Which in turn increases the likelihood of them using expired ones.
Perishable foods
Within the current situation meaning we’re either having less guests visiting or even no guests visiting. Buying perishable food in bulk is a bad idea. Unless you have a big family that you live with, it’s likely that the food will go off before you’ve had a chance to eat them.
Bleach
Bleach is an item that since the pandemic started is becoming harder to find in stores. Whilst this alone will make you want to bulk buy to avoid being left without. Also taking into consideration that due to the current situation we are using more cleaning products than before. Buying excessive amounts of bleach may actually defeat the purpose of buying it in the first place. This is because bleach has a shelf life of around 6 months before it loses its potency.
That’s all for now!
I really hope this proves useful for you to know which items you’re actually wasting money on by buying in bulk. As Christmas approaches nearer, people would have been bulk buying in general. But as usual when we reflect back after Christmas. We realise each year that there was another way that we could have made the occasion financially easier. Some of these items aren’t only best for our wallets not bulk buying but also for our health.
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