13 Ways To Store Bulk Food Items From Costco

At the time of writing, grocery prices are at the front of many people's minds, and it's no surprise why: prices for many foods are at an all-time high. One of the best ways to help combat these rising costs is by buying in bulk from wholesale retailers like Costco. Costco has consistently sold an astonishing variety of bulk foods, including pantry staples, frozen items, dairy products, meats, and produce. However, not everyone has a gorgeous, spacious walk-in pantry (and if you do, I'm totally not jealous). For those who don't have a lot of space for storage, it can be hard to justify buying in bulk.

Costco is one of the biggest wholesalers in the U.S., with over 600 locations nationwide as of 2025. To shop at Costco, you need a membership, and some people are hesitant to take that step if they feel they don't have the space to store all their bulk items once they buy them. But don't let that stop you from finding a good bulk seller — there are tons of ways you can find space to store bulk food items and make your wallet happy.

Even those with the most spacious of walk-in pantries typically divide up bulk foods into what they're going to use right away and what's going to be used later. If a big walk-in isn't in your floorplan, you may need to get a little creative with your storage options.

Many people prefer to keep their bulk items in their kitchens. Look for unused cupboards or see if there's a way to consolidate two cupboards into one to free up space. Consider putting boxes of packaged foods, like chips, on the floor of your pantry. If you don't have space where your extra food can be tucked away, consider adding a free-standing shelving unit or pantry to your kitchen.

If your kitchen just isn't large enough to store bulk items- and trust us, we've been there- look for closets elsewhere in your home. Another option is to set up a storage center somewhere, like in a basement, garage, or utility room. As a bonus, these places are often dark and cool, which is exactly the conditions you want for storing things like canned food, root vegetables, and spices for the longest-lasting flavor.

Don't be afraid to utilize the doors in your kitchen and pantry for storage. With all that empty, open space, you might as well get some use out of it! There are tons of over-the-door pantry organizers out there. Look for ones with adjustable shelving; this allows you to maximize space and fit even a 2 liter bottle of Kirkland olive oil or a brownie mix multipack. Even something like a shoe organizer can be repurposed to hold cans and bottles.

Smaller versions of these over-the-door organizers are also available for cupboard and cabinet doors, allowing you to further maximize your space. Some options hang over the door; these are better for tall, thin items, like salad dressing rather than peanut butter. There are also adhesive cabinet door organizers, which work well for smaller, lighter weight items like herbs and spices. The benefit of the adhesive kind is that you can place them wherever you prefer on the door, so that the basket doesn't hit any of the shelving inside the cabinet. However, if you're renting, this may not be the right option, as some adhesives can be difficult to remove, and you gotta get that security deposit back.

You have your space; now it's time to divide and conquer. Some things make sense to divvy up, like the big boxes of individual packets of Chips Ahoy! cookies or Lays potato chips that Costco sells. Others, like multipacks of baking mixes, you can leave as-is.

Grab some pantry baskets to help with organization. There are tons of options out there, from bright and colorful to clear to soothing millennial gray. Fill those baskets with some of the packets or food, and then leave the rest in the box and put that in your designated storage area.

Dividing up big packages like this has several benefits. First, it frees up space in your pantry or cabinets, allowing you to store a greater variety of foods. It also makes it easier to find things, as you don't have big boxes taking up space and blocking your view. As an added bonus, it your space just looks nicer when organized this way.

Cans are one of the hardest things to store in bulk because they're round. This causes them to take up extra space, since they don't sit flush against each other. Sure, you can stack them, but they aren't particularly sturdy this way and can easily be knocked over when reaching for something on the shelf.

The storage of cans is a fairly common problem, and so of course there's a solution: can organizers. These allow you to store the cans on their side and make it easy to grab what you need. There are several different options available, some made with wire, some clear plastic, some three levels and some two, but the overall idea is the same: lay the cans down on their side on the racks, and when you grab one, the one behind it rolls forward to take its place.

These can organizers are great for both the cans you plan to use right away and for your overflow storage. No more leaning towers of cans — grab what you need and restock as you buy more. Just be sure to follow the essential rules for storing canned food when setting up this solution.

Some kitchens have the space for bulk storage, but the space is awkward and ends up being underutilized. If you have deep cabinets, for example, it can be really hard to store things because you'll inevitably have to reach to the back or move things out of the way to grab certain items. In those cases, having drawers is often preferable to shelving.

Luckily, even if your cabinets don't have drawers, you can add them. In fact, you can find a few different style drawers for your kitchen storage. First, there are ones that you'll need to actually attach to the cabinet or shelving. These are great for deep cabinets, but not always an option if you're renting or just not particularly handy. If you do opt for this variety, they're usually relatively shallow, so they're a good option for storing boxes or other large food containers.

You can also get stackable drawers, which are great for smaller cabinets or for plastic shelving units. These are usually narrower, but have higher sides than the attachable options, and are best for things like individually wrapped snacks, juice boxes, or extra spice bottles. Because they're typically stackable, they work well for tall shelving spaces.

Turntable organizers, otherwise known as "lazy susans," are another good option if you've got deep storage and a lot of items that are a similar height. These circular organizers rotate, so you can easily reach anything stored on top with a simple twist. People use lazy susans in refrigerators and on countertops and table tops, but they can also be an excellent way to store bulk food items in a way that's easy to access.

For example, Costco sells a lot of its condiments in two-packs. You grab one bottle of ketchup, put it in the fridge, and put the other on a lazy susan with other excess condiments. When the first bottle is used up, you can grab another one without risking knocking over other bottles. It's also a great alternative for cans, or you can add baskets on top to store smaller items.

These types of turntable organizers come in multiple sizes, meaning you can use them in storage spaces large and small. It also means you can fit tons of different types of food on them. Some have two levels, and while this doesn't allow you to store larger items, it's great for minimizing storage for smaller things, like spices and jars.

One of the best ways to give yourself more storage space is by adding levels to your shelves and cabinets. This works best for deep storage spaces, but can be used for almost any depth space.

To start, look into stackable cabinet shelves. These allow you to expand storage vertically without stacking things right on top of each other. Cabinet shelves like these are available in a variety of sizes, so you can find one that fits your space best. If you have the space, you could put the items you'll use right away on top, and the excess underneath. Otherwise, these can be used to organize your pantry or store overstock items.

Tiered shelf organizers are another way you can add height to your shelves. These usually have three levels, similar to choral risers, and make it easier to reach and see things in a crowded cabinet. You can use these to better organize your overstock, or add these to the back of a deep cabinet to store bulk items you don't need every day.

Costco sells a lot of nonperishable pantry staples, like rice, pasta, flour, and sugar, in bags rather than boxes. While this can be economical, it's not practical for long-term storage. Bags don't store as neatly in the cabinet, and you really shouldn't store open bags of flour, or other staples, in your pantry anyway.

Not only do open bags of food accelerate spoilage (and yes, flour can go bad), but they also attract pests. No one wants to find grain weevils in their flour when they're in the middle of making chocolate chip cookies, and if you end up with pantry moths, you're going to end up throwing out everything in your pantry, including your latest Costco haul. Instead, pantry staples should be moved into airtight containers, especially if they've been opened, but even if they haven't. If you can't fit a whole 12-pound bag of flour in your pantry, split it into two, with one in your pantry with your other baking supplies, and the other with your overstock.

The added benefit to switching to airtight containers is that these can be way better for storage than bags. These types of containers can usually sit flush against each other, avoiding wasted space, and are often stackable. You can find tons of different airtight storage options online, so you can pick ones that will match your needs and aesthetic.

When it comes to storing overstock, you can't beat stackable bins. As their name suggests, stackable bins are meant to stack neatly on top of each other, allowing you to make the most of extra vertical space. They also often have lids, which gives you the freedom to store them almost anywhere, whether that's in a pantry or cupboard, on shelves in the garage or basement, or even under your bed if other storage options are limited.

Because most of these bins are clear, you can immediately see what's inside without needing a label (although labels can still be helpful). They also come in a variety of sizes- grab bigger ones for things like toilet paper and paper towels and slightly smaller ones for things like snacks and cans.

Traditional stackable bins are great for overstock storage, but there are plenty of stackable options that work for your pantry as well, which lets you to store more on your main shelves. Stackable wire baskets work great for produce, while stackable drawers, as we mentioned above, are ideal for snacks and smaller, individually-wrapped items.

Obviously not everyone has space for a chest freezer, but if you can get one, you should. Chest freezers are a must-have for anyone who buys certain foods at Costco. Of course, they're great for frozen food- if you store a four-pack of Kirkland pizzas in your regular freezer, you're not going to have room for much else- but so many other things can go in the freezer as well.

Meat is a given; pretty much any type of meat is going to be good in the freezer for a while. Many types of dairy can also go in the freezer, including hard cheeses and butter. And really, you weren't going to try to fit a whole four pounds of butter into your little butter tray, were you?

Some pantry staples can go in your freezer as well. In fact, storing flour in the freezer keeps it fresher longer and also kills off any pantry pests that may be hiding inside. Other things, like nuts, beans, and bread, can hang out in the freezer as well if you have the extra space.

The prices at Costco, and the exceptional freshness and quality of its meats, make it one of the best grocery chains for buying meat. Of course, Costco is a wholesaler, so when you buy meat at Costco, you buy a lot of it. At the time of writing, the average package of ground beef at Costco is about 6.5 pounds, while a package of pork loin is just over nine pounds. The prices are fabulous, but it's not worth it if the food spoils before you can eat it.

To prevent this from happening, and to make your life easier down the road, separate your meat into per-use portions. For example, separate that six pounds of ground beef into portions of one pound each. Keep one to two pounds in the fridge, whatever you'll use within a week, and freeze the rest.

You may want to consider investing in a vacuum sealer in order to make your food last the longest and prevent freezer burn. Vacuum sealers condense the plastic wrap around the food, locking out air and the bacteria it can carry. You can find vacuum sealers online or even pick one up on your next Costco run.

While breaking up meat is super helpful, if you want, you can take it a step further with meal prepping. Meal prepping allows you to take some of the bulk food items you bought and turn them into individual meals, and there are tons of versatile ingredients you can use for meal prepping so your meals don't get boring.

One option is to meal prep for the week, which will use up more space in your fridge but free up space in other areas. To help reduce space, look for stackable meal prep containers. With these, you can take advantage of vertical space in your fridge, reducing the overall footprint that the meals take up.

Another option is to meal-prep or batch cook for the future by putting together freezer-safe meals. Many types of casseroles and slow cooker meals can be frozen, then heated up later when you're ready to eat them. This allows you to pull things like pasta, rice, canned food, and dairy from your pantry or fridge and store them in your freezer space instead. Use freezer bags and casserole dishes with lids to get the most space out of your freezer.

There's no point in purchasing food in bulk if you can't eat it before it goes bad. And while expiration dates aren't the be-all, end-all (unless it's baby formula), you don't want to risk food poisoning by trying your luck with a can of chicken noodle soup that's five years out of date. Just because they're called nonperishable doesn't actually mean they don't eventually expire.

To help you avoid food poisoning and food waste, organize your bulk food by expiration date. Canned food expiring the soonest should be at the front of the line, while the ones with the furthest dates should be toward the back. The same goes for other bulk food you're storing, including grains, baking supplies, and snacks. Utilize the "first in, first out" method that grocery stores use, meaning anything new you buy should be rotated to the back of your overstock.

This is a good practice even for items in the freezer. Frozen foods take a lot longer to go bad, but by keeping the oldest items at the front, you reduce the risk of freezer burn and other issues that can happen to foods that are frozen long-term. Monitoring expiration dates on all bulk items you buy allows you to get the most out of your Costco membership.