There’s toilet paper for the bathroom, paper towels for cleaning, and tissues for stuffy noses. If you have kids running around the house, then you know it won’t take long before even the best stockpile of household goods runs dry.

And we’ve all experienced that horrible feeling when you can’t find another roll of toilet paper, or when you need to wipe up a pet mess and can’t find a paper towel anywhere.

By keeping your household goods well stocked in your home stockpile, you can make sure you never run out of paper products again!

Here's how to get the best deal on your paper products (household goods) so you can avoid paying full price, and never run low on the essentials.

Use The Price Per Sheet (Or Tissue) To Truly Compare

Have you ever actually tried to read the number of rolls on a package of toilet paper?

The numbers are just bizarre! You get 9 mega rolls which are really 36 regular rolls. Then the jumbo rolls promise to give you more rolls than the mega ones? You'll quickly go crosseyed.

The only true way to be able to price compare paper products or household goods like these is to find some common ground. And that means getting to the common “unit price.” In the case of toilet paper, you want to use the “square feet” listed right on the front of the package.

Then you simply take the price of the item and divide it by the total number of square feet listed on the package.

For example, let's look at the package of Angel Soft Toilet Paper in the photo above. These are the numbers to use:

Price: $5.39
Square Feet: 352sf
Unit Price = $5.39 divided by 352 = $0.015 = 1.5¢ per square foot (yes, a penny and a half)

That gives you a “unit price” to compare with other household goods and sizes (mega, jumbo, etc) in order to determine which one is the best deal.

Let's compare it with the generic Kirkland variety at Costco:

Price: $16.99
Square Feet: 1,593.7sf
Unit Price = $16.99 divided by 1,593.7 = $0.011 = 1.1¢ per square foot (a penny and a 1/10)

That means for this example, the Kirkland generic Costco brand is the cheaper toilet paper. Download this FREE Paper Product Price Comparison Cheat Sheet to see how other Toilet Paper brands stack up against each other.

Can you see how using the square foot allows you to compare apples to apples on your household goods? Now you don't have to worry about what pack of paper you are looking at… mega? jumbo? single roll? double roll? It doesn't matter!

Notice How Much You Truly Use

In order to really know that you're getting a good deal, you'll need to also pay attention when you use your paper household goods to see how much you're using up.

A couple months ago I bought some generic paper plates (thinking they were cheapest) but what I soon realized was that they were so flimsy that everyone was using 2 plates instead of one like usual.

That was my “aha” moment because now those cheap plates were costing us more than the name brand ones.

Same thing with toilet paper, if it takes you a big wad of toilet paper (say 10 sheets) to accomplish the same thing that three sheets of another brand can do, this can really impact your price per use on your household goods.

Whoever used the last item in the household goods package brings you the empty package with your note and you then calculate how many plates we used for the time period you had them in your home. Not only will this allow you to know how much you are using, but you can more accurately determine when you need to buy more household goods.

For example, if you know you use 9 rolls of paper towels every month then you might want to purchase them from Amazon at an even cheaper rate! (That's what I do for my family!)

You Have To Think About Quality

When you are looking for what household goods are going to get you the longest use for your buck, you want to not only think about the unit price but the quality of the items you are buying.

You know when you have a bad batch of tissues because they will irritate your nose, and a bad paper towel will not clean up even the smallest mess.

Just because you can find a cheaper price per unit, doesn’t mean you won’t end up using more in the long run to get the same job done.

And sometimes you need different qualities of household goods for different uses. For example, we use a more expensive tissue during the winter months when everyone seems to have the sniffles. And I always grab for one sheet of select-a-size paper towels when I'm making toast instead of using a paper plate because even the most expensive brand of paper towel is only half the price of even the flimsiest generic paper plate! Knowing what to use when is strategic shopping at its best! Download our FREE Paper Product Price Comparison Cheat Sheet here and always know which is the best price across six stores!

Generic Is Not Always Cheaper

Many times you hear financial gurus suggest as one of their tips that you should use generic household goods to save money. And I agree… so long as you price compare the LOWEST UNIT.

The store brands can have great quality household goods that work just as well as some of the leading brands. But you have to be diligent in watching the price because they are not always cheaper.

They might just be sneakier and have fewer items in the package, therefore making them less expensive by default.

I found that for Paper Plates the sale at Publix beats the price of every generic plate across ALL stores! Download this Price Comparison Cheat Sheet to see how the stores (and brands) stack up against each other.

Combine A Great Coupon With An Even Greater Sale

Paper products go on sale all throughout the year. This has never really been a secret.

The trick to getting the BEST deal is to combine those great sales with a great coupon.

Stores that offer double coupons or additional rewards such as CVS ExtraCare bucks etc. can help bring those sales prices down significantly on your household goods.

Check for the deals at your favorite store here.

Think Outside Of The Grocery Store

The grocery store is not the only place to buy your household goods.

In fact, sometimes you can score great deals online or at the drugstores.

I know it can be tempting to pick up a roll of paper towels while you’re already in the store, but make sure it’s worth it if you do!

YOUR TURN: What household goods is the one you always worry you'll run out of? How do you keep up with it? Comment below with your ideas!

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