One Of Costco's Cheapest Kirkland Products Is Worth Stocking Up On

Sometimes we ignore the obvious when we're trying to find deals, but discounts on items that are usually expensive are just more eye-catching! The reality is, you can make some big savings when you're careful about the small stuff. There's nowhere this is more true than when you're stocking up on bottled water. Specifically, Costco's Kirkland brand bottled water.

Kirkland Purified Water is bottled by a major brand, Niagara, and is one of many Costco products made in the United States.  The water is purified and filtered before bottling, with a blend of minerals added for taste and health benefits. At most Costco stores (and online) you can pick up a case of 40 bottles of water for $7.79, which is just under 20 cents per bottle. Each bottle contains 16.9 fluid ounces of water, so you're getting a little over 5 gallons total for that price. 

If you're considering stocking up, you could also invest $459.99 in 48 cases for a total of 1,920 individual bottles, but you might need a forklift and a truck. (Oddly enough, this turns out to be more expensive per bottle than buying one case at a time.) Don't worry, the water bottles and their lids are recyclable, so even if you go all out with the emergency water supply you won't necessarily be sending a huge pile of empty plastic bottles to landfill.

There's an extremely active thread on Reddit titled "Why do people buy so much bottled water at Costco?" The hundreds of answers range from the obvious to the ridiculous. The ridiculous include one comment which says, "People are weird about water." The more sensible commenters point out that Costco is, in fact, a bulk store and that tap water in some parts of the United States simply tastes terrible. 

There are many reasons to stock up on water, and a single person can go through a case in a little over a month if they take a bottle with them to work every day. If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that stocking up on more than just a few days of essentials might not be the overkill it once seemed, and there's nothing more staple than drinking water. With Kirkland-brand prices you should be able to grab enough to last a while.

Storage space is another question, but the neatly packed cases are pretty easy to stow away under a bed, at the bottom of a closet, or in the garage. It's not a bad idea to learn about the best non-perishable foods to keep on hand for emergencies (and which to avoid) so you can save them some storage space while you're at it. Something as simple as a bad storm can leave you without drinkable water for a few days after all, and any judgmental Redditors will feel pretty silly when they're dehydrated and you're rich with water for quenching thirst and cooking ramen when that happens.