Amazon Subscribe and Save (and how it saves me time and money!)

I may have mentioned a hundred times a time or two that I don’t enjoy shopping and prefer to procure needed things online. (I’ve even talked about my no spend challenges and things to do instead of shop). One of my favorite ways to stay out of stores and save money, time, and hassle, as well as reduce decision fatigue? My monthly Amazon Subscribe and Save subscription.

If you’re unfamiliar, Amazon Subscribe and Save is an autoship feature. If there’s something you buy over and over, you can simply subscribe to that item instead of logging into Amazon to order it anew each time. You can even decide on delivery frequency – get one once a month, or 6 every 3 months, or whatever you need.

But here’s the best part. Subscribe and Save gives you discounts. If you order ONE product, you enjoy 5% off. But if you order 5 products a month, you get 15% off each one! I daresay that almost every household has 5 products that they buy every single month. Examples: Diapers, laundry detergent, paper products, hand soap, cleaning supplies, crayons, pet supplies, pantry items, feminine products.

Learn more about how Subscribe & Save works here.

Here’s what’s in my Amazon Subscribe And Save order.

Bonne Maman jelly

I don’t eat the stuff because it contains sugar. But my family loves it. Bonne Maman is hard to find in stores, and it’s cheaper on Amazon too. I love Bonne Maman for the cute glass jars! They’re the perfect size for overnight oats. They also store a little bit of leftover soup or what-have-you.

Paper towels

Even though I use microfiber cloths for almost all cleaning (I prefer Flylady purple rags), I do keep paper towels around for a few reasons.

One, they’re great for absorbing excess grease from bacon. Second, husbands and kids will grab whatever’s nearest to clean a mess, not distinguishing between kitchen rags and the pretty white cloth napkins you use for dinner parties.

This means you may find your pretty table linens used to clean up chocolate sundae mess, which is then thrown somewhere random where you won’t find it for days, necessitating stain removal undertakings.

A roll of paper towels keeps me from having resentful feelings about my loved ones. Worth every penny. 

Flossers

How did we ever live without these things? No more dental floss cutting off the circulation to my fingertips. No more unwinding messy floss into the trash can. Flossers are easier for kids to use too.

Toilet paper

With 9 folks in the house, we go through some toilet paper. I like the one-ply variety, because young children will grab a huge handful of tissue to wipe their teeny-tiny butt, clogging the toilet. And since I now have a septic tank, I’m even more careful about what goes down the toilet.

Bulk Baby Wipes

Another thing that I didn’t used to buy when I was crunchy, but now that I’m a bit soggy I always keep on hand. At the table to clean the toddler’s hands and face before he runs off with his adorable, grubby parts. Baby wipes for butts of all ages. Baby wipes for spot cleaning (they’re great for quick spot-mops of the floor and for getting greasy marks from walls).

Xylitol gum

I have to keep gum nearby. Because it’s not only great for freshening one’s breath when out in public, but also because I have a nasty cheek-chewing fixation. Research shows that xylitol helps prevent tooth decay, so I allow the kids to have it too.

Peet’s Coffee in Regular and Decaf

I only discovered Peet’s a couple of months ago. But it has quickly become my very favorite brand of coffee. Strong, smooth and not bitter. Love it. I get 4 bags a month, 2 regular, 2 decaf.

Amazon sends me an email well before they ship, to remind me of the contents of my order. I can easily choose to “skip” an item, moving it to next month, or deleting it altogether. I’ve never been surprised by anything or been charged for an item I didn’t need.

Tea: Oolong, Chamomile and Roobios

We’re big tea drinkers around here. I love Oolong, the kids drink naturally decaf chamomile and Roobios. I like getting a bulk box of these types of tea once every 3 months. It’s cheaper this way and I don’t have to think about buying tea (which ALDI usually doesn’t sell, meaning I would have to make a trip to another store).

Not having to think about mundane matters like buying tea, but enjoying teatime with kids? WIN.

Random One-Offs

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I sometimes do a subscription to get an item just once at a discount. And then I cancel it.

I recently ordered natural mineral sunscreen. I got one for me and a spray-on version for the kids. I’m picky about my sunscreen but don’t want to make a special trip to Sprouts or another natural grocery store to get it. Also, the Amazon S&S price was a few bucks cheaper for each item. So I added them to my subscribe and save. I only buy sunscreen in the summer though, so I’ll just cancel the subscriptions in a couple of months.

What I Don’t Buy via Subscribe And Save

Also, I’m not going to lie. There are some things I just won’t buy from Amazon because they’re pricey. Shampoo and conditioner generally are overpriced on Amazon even after the discounts, unless you buy in bulk. I tend to grab those from WalMart instead.

Go here to learn more about Amazon Subscribe & Save. There are even coupons available. You simply click on them and they apply at checkout. See if it could save you money and take a few errands off your plate!