10 Costco Items Mexican Households Buy Before Winter (And 5 They Never Touch)

Every October, the same Costco, the same enormous cart, and ten things that go in it only once a year. And five things I push that cart right past. Because winter is coming, and that building knows it before you do. Half of it is getting your house ready for winter. The other half is getting your wallet ready for it. 📖 My mother's whole way of running a house is written down in one book, The Old Mexican Way: https://oldmexicanway.com And before anybody feels bad: none of this is your fault. Nobody taught you to get a house ready for winter. They taught you to buy things for it. The 10 we buy, counting down: 10. El café: the big Kirkland can. And when it is empty, it becomes the guardadito 9. Las mandarinas: winter is citrus season, and December smells like the posada bags 8. La avena: 10 pounds of oats for about $9, the cheapest hot breakfast in America 7. Los calcetines: the wool socks, the cheapest thermostat you will ever buy 6. Las papas y las cebollas: two bags that must never sleep in the same cupboard 5. Los filtros: change the furnace filter in October, before the first cold night 4. La alarma: smoke and carbon monoxide, and the date on the back that almost nobody checks 3. Las sábanas de franela: warm the bed, not the house 2. Las nueces: the pecans, about half the Walmart price by the pound. Straight into the freezer 1. La cobija eléctrica: the heated throw, and the arithmetic against the space heater, out loud The 5 we never touch: 1. The emergency food bucket: read the serving. Your despensa is the real bucket 2. The flats of bottled water for the storm, if your tap is safe 3. The holiday cookie and candy tins in October (and yes, the blue tin) 4. The fancy hot cocoa: $1.50 a cup, against one tablet and a molinillo 5. The big space heater as the plan for winter My mother's winter rule, six words: warm the person, not the air. Safety, said plainly: a heater goes straight into the wall, never a power strip or an extension cord, three feet from anything that can burn, and never running while the house sleeps. An electric blanket or throw needs an automatic shutoff, is never left on high all night, and is never used for a baby. If you cannot feel heat well in your legs or feet, ask your doctor first. Keep the house warm enough that the pipes do not freeze. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms expire after about ten years: check the date on the back tonight. Prices are what the Costco website showed this week. In the warehouse they are usually the same or a little less, and produce changes every week. The six words do not change.