I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for 20 years, and I promise you the best deals are boring bulk buys – 5 practical essentials I'm buying only once this year
I’m locking in convenience for the next 365 days


As a teenager, I had a friend with a kitchen cabinet of dreams. When you opened it, every shelf was jam-packed with bulk-purchased essentials. It was like a CVS in there and I vowed to have the same setup in my house when I was all grown up.
Now, I am cruising through my 40th year on the planet, and I can smugly confirm that a stacked supply closet feels as good as it looked all those years ago. It’s why I’m spending my adult money on bulk-buying home cleaning essentials in the Amazon Prime Day sale.
It’s the best time of year to buy it and will lock in 365 days of convenience at a fraction of the cost.
5 cleaning essentials I always stock up on during Amazon Prime Day
The point, for me, with bulk buying is to save money, and always be able to do the cleaning task I aim to without encountering a block mid-way because I have run out of something. That's why I'm shopping for boring but essential cleaning items on Prime Deals.
Nothing beats Dawn dish soap in my experience and you end up using less because it is so effective and foams for so long. I also love these EZ-Squeeze bottles, as I have wrist pain and use adaptive pacing when cleaning. Skipping the flip when the bottle is full and heavy saves me from injury. This will see our household through a year of dishes.
I use dishwasher cleaning tablets once or twice a month to keep on top of my dishwasher maintenance. Running out means it becomes easy to let this job slide, and before you know it, your dishwasher stinks. Nobody needs that, so stock up now.
I think my husband was The Hulk in his past life, because the unhinged strength he puts into cleaning the dishes every day rips our sponges apart far sooner than the norm. That’s why I need to keep a healthy stock of these hard-wearing, heavy-duty sponges in the house to help us with my other half's comical strength.
I often use a DIY cleaning spray, but this non-toxic, biodegradable all-purpose cleaning spray from Seventh Generation is marked as category A (low concern) by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) so I feel happy to use it across my home when I need a commercial cleaner. Four bottles will actually last me over a year.
I task stack to save energy as I am chronically ill, meaning when I am brushing my teeth, I’m usually cleaning the mirror or sink in front of me as well. That’s why having a pile of clean, dry, and ready-to-go microfiber cloths in every bathroom and the kitchen is vital in my home. They last for hundreds of washes, just skip the softener to preserve absorbency and color code cleaning to avoid cross-contamination.
If you have space in your home for bulkier bulk buys, I strongly recommend stocking up on Scott Paper Towels and toilet tissue.
For me, in my three-bedroom house with no garage, I don’t have the space. But in my dream house, you know those two items will definitely be going on my Prime shopping list.
Other things that don’t quite fall into home cleaning but I find essential buys during Amazon Prime include travel packs of unscented tissues for my daughter. She likes having one in her school bag and it’s a great time now to stock up before the school year kicks off again.
Finally, Ziploc bags are often fast to sell out in the size I like at grocery stores, so stocking up now on Amazon whilst they’re on offer is a great move for year-round convenience.

Punteha was editor of Real Homes before joining Homes and Gardens as Head of Solved. Previously, she wrote and edited lifestyle and consumer pieces for the national press for 16 years, working across print and digital newspapers and magazines. She’s a Sunday Times bestselling ghostwriter, BBC Good Food columnist and founding editor of independent magazine, lacunavoices.com. Punteha loves keeping her home clean, has tested and reviewed the latest robot vacuums, enjoys cooking, DIY, and spending weekends personalizing her newly-built home, tackling everything from plumbing to tiling and weatherproofing.
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