I moved again. This time, I’ve moved further along the calming shores of my beloved Superfund site along the English Kills, a tributary from the Newtown Creek near Bushwick, Brooklyn. I think the area is named East Williamsburg, but it doesn’t feel like Williamsburg. It’s Culturally Bushwick.

One of the new challenges of living in this new industrial landscape is that I’m even further away from my regular Costco in Long Island City than I was a few months ago. For many years, I would shop there and carry bulk goods on my bike. It was reasonably convenient when I lived in Hunterspoint, and it was manageable when I moved to Greenpoint two years ago. But now it’s impractical to schlep rotisserie chickens, a half-dozen not-yet-ripe avocados, and bricks of Manchego cheese, much less cubic-yards of toilet paper and paper towels on my bicycle.

Lady Fleur shows one way to transport cubic yards of toilet paper on a bicycle.

The other day, we were running low on toilet paper and paper towels, but instead of renting a car by the hour, I went online. I remembered that I had signed up for Boxed about a year ago and that I had ordered toilet paper and paper towels before.

Ordinarily, I would be wary of a service like this because I already have a Costco Membership. But I simply didn’t have time to go all the way to Costco, and it didn’t make economic sense to get a car to transport paper. I ordered all this essential paper, along with some cleaning supplies, and I received the order the next day. The prices are competitive, but a little inflated compared to Costco. Also, the selection is limited, but there’s some items that aren’t available at Costco that I use a lot, such as food-prep gloves and Tate’s Cookies. These, by the way, cost at least double on Amazon Prime.

Right now is a good time to sign up for Boxed. Sign up with this link, and we each get a $15 credit. That’s a pretty sweet deal, but it gets better if you have an American Express card. Until January 2017, Amex Offers will tender a $15 statement credit on a Boxed purchase of $50 or more. And if that’s not enough, American Express enrolls you in the Boxed Bold loyalty program, exclusive for American Express members. I think you get a 3% reward on your purchases, which is a little more that you get with Costco’s Executive Membership.

As much as I feel like a shill for writing this post, I am doing so because I this really is a good deal. Back in the late 1990s, there were a bunch of dot-com companies that were basically giving away the store in order to show sales growth. This seems like one of those: a startup outfit that’s trying to rack up sales, even at a loss, to show their investors that they should keep investing.

You should take advantage and stock up on toilet paper before the bubble bursts.

Shop at Boxed

The above links to Zipcar and Boxed are referral links. Shopping through those links will kick back a referral fee to me. Thanks for your support!