Are you familiar with your grocery store’s or box store’s clearance sections? If not, you should be. They can be a source of great savings and an opportunity to stock up on much needed items for your home and your diet. I frequently shop the clearance areas, as well as check the regular shelves for any managers specials or deeply discounted products.
With spring and the thoughts on spring cleaning on my mind, I wanted to talk about the good bargains that you can get on cleaning and laundry products when you shop the clearance sections for these items. Unlike with food items, cleaning products can have a very long shelf life, making stocking up on them a good idea.
There are at least four reasons why cleaning products will go on clearance. The first is that the manufacturer is discontinuing the product. Sometimes this is just because they want to change the packaging! Often the new items have less actual products in them for the same price, making the clearance packages an even better value. Other reasons for discontinuation might be changing the scent or eliminating a poorly selling product.
Another reason that cleaning products and laundry items can get put on clearance is that the store decided that they no longer wish to carry the product. The demand might not be as high, or they need shelf space for a different product that gives them a better profit.
Sometimes the reason is that the product is seasonal. That sounds strange for cleaning products, and it usually has to do with packaging or a “holiday” scent. The products still work the same, even if they have little Christmas trees on the box. Snap them up at bargain prices.
Finally, some cleaning and laundry products wind up with the clearance sticker because they have been damaged. Cans or boxes might be dented or opened, that package of detergent pods may be missing one or two pieces, etc. While I wouldn’t touch opened food, having slightly damaged cleaning products isn’t too bad.
You do want to check for a couple of things–make sure all necessary parts are included, make sure nozzles work or you won’t get the product out, making it useless, and that there is no foreign objects in the package. In the case of products in cardboard, make sure there is nothing spilled on them that could affect the formula.
Related Articles:
Inexpensive Bathroom Cleaners and Tools