Consumables can be anything well, consumable. So tires wouldn't be considered consumables. But non-perishable foods, hygiene stuff, meds, yes.
I shipped everything from toilet paper to honey to Advil to sundried tomatoes. Cereal, Ziploc bags, juice boxes, ranch dressing, shampoo, cookies, bleach. Toothpaste, brownie mix, detergent, balsamic vinegar, hand sanitizer, canned tomatoes. I did a lot of my shopping at BJ's but also Target. Target's prices were sometimes cheaper than buying things in bulk. I'm sure I annoyed many a customer as I unloaded my cart laden with 25 cans of Rotel (I can already tell that wasn't enough).
Sure, you can find canned tomatoes here. But they come out to about $4 to $5 a can. And a lot of them are dented up and dangerously nearing the expiration date. I found a can of Swanson's chicken broth here for about $4 and the thing expires on July 3, 2013. I don't think I ever came closer than 2 years to the expiration date of canned anything in the States. I used the broth, it smelled fine, no one got sick.
I was expecting the worst in terms of finding stuff here. I thought they either wouldn't have what we wanted (or only available as shady Chinese brands with questionable ingredients and health standards where they are produced) or that they'd cost an arm and a leg.
But I was pleasantly surprised. They have very good toilet paper here. Kleenex brand, much nicer than the ones that we shipped. There is good bread here, both packaged and fresh from the bakery. All that worry and stress about having to learn to bake bread for nothing! The local produce is dirt cheap. I know I need to be careful. I douse everything in vinegar solution or a veggie wash and no one has gotten sick yet (who knows about long term effects), but either you eat the local stuff here or eat canned beans for 2 years, which I can't imagine would be good for you either. A bunch of carrots for about $.50. I got a HUGE bunch of spinach (no triple washed bagged baby spinach here), 2 big bunches of perilla leaves, a big squash and some lettuce for about $3.00 total. But avocados? Sometimes they are $8 each. I got really lucky the other day and got some for $3 each. That is considered a steal.
There is actually a surprisingly good amount of imported goods here. I've found Eggo brand waffles, Newman's Own pasta sauce, kettle cooked chips, Barilla pasta, Gerber puffs, Earth's Best baby food, Goldfish crackers, McCormicks taco seasoning, Duvel beer. But each one of those items costs at least 4x the amount it would cost in the States.
Things that I have NOT been able to find here? That is of a good enough quality? Garbage bags. The ones I've come across are so thin and flimsy, not even strong enough to hold a poopy diaper. Hand soap. The one that I got when I first got here smells like you rubbed your hands in liquid fabric softener. Those are the only ones that come to mind. Not too bad.
Since we have DPO and diplomatic pouch privileges, we are able to ship a lot of things online from Amazon and such. The only exception are liquids- only up to a certain amount. So I've been ok with dry goods- cereal, baby food, garbage bags, tortillas, things like that. The only inconvenience is that it takes at least 2 weeks to get here, doesn't matter if you have Amazon Prime or anything.
I am so happy about our stash. We have a storage area upstairs and it feels like we own a small convenience store. Anytime I go up there to get something, I joke that I'm going shopping, even take a few totes with me. I'm already thinking about what I'll include in our first technical consumables shipment. I'll have to do it in the fall so that nothing melts in the heat and nothing freezes.
