I’ve Been Ordering All of My Cleaning Supplies on Boxed — Here’s How It’s Been Going

I live with two roommates in a New York City apartment where we take turns purchasing cleaning supplies and household goods like paper towels, dish soap, sponges, Swiffer pads, and Lysol wipes. Fed up with high NYC prices on even the most basic of items, and long commutes down city blocks and up apartment stairs with heavy bags, I finally turned to Boxed, an online delivery service, to lighten the load a little bit. Friends, I’m never turning back — and here’s why.

Consider Boxed as a sort of online Costco sans the annual membership fee, flatbed carts, and risk of getting lost in a warehouse abyss. The site gives shoppers wholesale prices on bulk-sized items including snacks, drinks, wine, cleaning, beauty, health, baby, pet, and office products — and shipping is always free on orders over $49. Fulfilled orders arrive in large boxes in just one to three days. Their slogan? “Home is where the box is delivered.”

• Pricing and fees: There is no membership fee to shop with Boxed. Shipping is free for your first order and all subsequent orders over $49. Customers do have the option to upgrade to Boxed Up. For $49 per year, you get free shipping on all orders, 2 percent cash back for future purchases, and exclusive discounts.
• Where it’s available: Boxed currently ships everywhere in the United States except for Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. They cannot currently ship to PO boxes.

I live in a city where I do not have access to a car, so hands down, the best part about this service is that I can order heavy items like detergent, dish soap, paper products, etc. — without having to carry them multiple blocks, take them on the subway, or pay for a ride-share to get them home. The prices of cleaning supplies on Boxed are also much more reasonable than any nearby store, which makes planning ahead with a bulk shipment very much worth it. And they have all the name-brand supplies — plus an in-house private-label brand, Prince & Spring, which I absolutely love.

I also like how personal the Boxed shopping experience is. Within moments of your boxes being packed, a Boxed employee takes a photo of their contents and sends you “your box’s selfie” along with tracking information. Boxed guarantees shipping within one to three business days, but I have never had to wait more than 24 hours. Speedy delivery is definitely a perk!

Additionally, I love the fact that customers get to select two free samples with every order (the sample offerings change each week). It’s a little thing that makes ordering toilet paper and dish soap feel like a treat. There is also the occasional little bonus gift: My newest prized possession is the free leopard umbrella that I got with my last Boxed order.

I wish it was more practical for small households to use Boxed for items beyond cleaning supplies. Everything that Boxed sells comes in bulk, so that means, that when we order zip-top bags, sponges, or Swiffer sweeper pads, we end up with enough to last us the rest of the year. I wish that I had the pantry/closet/storage space in my small apartment to take advantage of Boxed’s great deals on food items — like snacks and beverages. In my current living situation, it doesn’t make sense to stock up on anything beyond paper goods, Lysol wipes, and dish soap, as we just don’t have the space. I also acknowledge that the large carbon footprint of shipping a 20-pound box is much greater than me simply carrying these items myself. Because of this, I make a point not to order anything from Boxed that is not absolutely necessary.

Boxed offers Boxed Express, a service which offers same-day delivery of products including fresh produce, milk, eggs, meat, seafood, baked goods, frozen, deli, and pantry items. These items are handpicked from local stores by Boxed Shoppers and personally delivered to your door in reusable bags. To see if Boxed Express currently delivers to your zip code, check here.

I will definitely keep using Boxed to purchase cleaning supplies for my apartment due to the convenience factor, lack of a membership fee, quick shipping, variety of products, and ease of ordering. Boxed also makes it easy to split the cost of an order with roommates, coworkers, or friends with their Group Order feature, which minimizes awkwardness of roommate money issues. Here’s to hoping for more home storage space in the future so that I can take advantage of all the perks that Boxed has to offer.

Do you use Boxed? What do you order from the bulk site?