Costco's Kirkland Signature Brand

Now you know how Miss MoneyPenny loves Costco.  Miss MoneyPenny is all about getting good value for her hard earned bucks and Costco does not disappoint.  I wrote an earlier post on how to shop Costco and you can look at it here, but I have a couple rules that I live by when it comes to my Costco shopping trip:

1. A list is mandatory
2. Set a budget
3. If I see a bright sparkly thing that I just gotta have, it goes on the list for next month.
4. Can I really use it all, no matter the great price??

These simple rules have saved me from spending way too much money.  I actually avoided Costco for several years because of this reason, but once I figured out how to shop there, it is my favorite place to save some serious money.  And an important part of this is the Kirkland Signature brand.

I'm usually not a fan of "store brands," no matter how cheap they are.  My experience has been that they are of inferior quality, so I avoid them, as I did the Kirkland Signature products.  Then I bought the famous toilet paper, then the paper towels, then the garbage bags, and I was hooked.

The Kirkland Signature brand was first introduced at Costco in 1995 with the promise that these products would be equal to, or better than the best selling national brands, at a great price.  These products are constantly being revisited and re-evaluated every 12 to 24 months to make sure that they are still up to snuff.

Here is my list of KS products that I buy, and I totally agree that they live up to the promise.  This list is a work in process as I discover more KS products.

1. KS Dark Roast Supremo Coffee (3lb can) - $9.99
2. KS Fabric Softener - $9.89
3. KS Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Food (35lb bag) - $33.69
4. KS Bath Tissue - $14.99
5. KS Kitchen Garbage Bags - 
6. KS Paper Towels
7. KS Aller-Tec (generic Zyrtec) - $14.99
8. KS Ibuprofen (generic Advil) - $17.69
9. KS Vitamin C
10. KS CoQ10
11. KS Nuts
12. KS Albacore Tuna - $14.99
13. KS Honey - $12.99

My daughter-in-law, Miss PeggyRae, gave me the composter pictured at the top for Christmas, and it came from Costco.  The picture doesn't really show just how big both of those containers are.  This year I am not going to run out of composting space.  I'm still adding to the bin on the right, giving it a spin every time I empty my kitchen crock to hurry it along.  When it is full, I'll just spin it, only adding new stuff to the bin on the left.  It is sitting in full sun, so these warm days should get it to cooking.

Yesterday I visited the local garden center and came home with a flat of starts from Red Dog Farm, which is just down the road about two miles.  The starts that I bought from them last year did really well.  I'm a little concerned about getting them in the ground because last night was cold, 25 degrees when I got up this morning at 6:30, but I'm gonna do it anyway, because I can't wait.