Okie dokie…I am still waiting for more volunteers for the Reader Spotlight! Several of you are working on things but I’d love to have more of you guys volunteer so that when Thursday rolls around I will have great things to share. I know I LOVE to see what other people do. I love looking at pictures and just hearing things from another point of view. So send me your info–remember it can be about anything related to shopping, saving, coupon organization, tips, gripes whatever you want to share!!
I get so many questions about my stockpile I thought it would be easiest to just show you guys 🙂 It would be impossible to show you everything but I think this should give you a good idea of how I keep my stuff organized.
I would like to pretend that I am the queen of organization…but it is just not true. I have good intentions and do a fair job of keeping things organized. BUT–with my two boys running around destroying as fast as I can pick things up–the majority of my time is spent just keeping things tidy! I would love to win the lottery and pay a professional organizer to come to my house and go crazy with baskets and bins and labels everywhere! Hey– a girl can dream, right?!
Many of the things I use are where you think they would be–my laundry items are in the laundry room, diapers and wipes are in my 2 year old’s closet and I have what most people consider a pretty typical kitchen pantry. I try to keep enough items where they are easily accessible. I keep 2-3 extra items of shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, lotions, toothpaste, razors, toilet paper, tissues and such in the bathroom cabinets.
As you can see my pantry is full and not as organized as it could be…but I can get to most things I need pretty easily.
While I keep a small supply of items where they are easily accessible I also have a very large closet up in the guest suite that I turned into a stockpile pantry. The room is upstairs off the family room so it is easily accessible. Now when I run out of something rather that having to throw everyone in the car I just grab a bag and shop upstairs. Here are some pictures of that room:
I have wire shelving on the short walls and two very large shelving systems that are super sturdy to hold all the canned and other heavy items. Of course I also had to take advantage of the floor space too!
I try to keep things grouped as much as possible. It seemed odd to have shampoo next to the ketchup so I had my husband add several rows of wire shelving so I could separate the stuff as much as possible.
As you can see some things are a bit more organized than others 😀
The reason I chose this as my stockpile pantry is that it is a really big area. I think it might be larger than the bedroom in my first apartment!!
While I realize this method is not for everyone–it totally works for me and my family!! I am sure I will get comments telling me that I am a terrible person who hoards and should be ashamed…but I am actually not ashamed at all! My stockpile has come in handy on numerous occasions. A friend lost her house to a fire–I had a box packed and ready for her within minutes and it did not cost me a dime. I was told of a family in need…more boxes packed and shipped out with nothing out of pocket! Every Christmas I make friends and family goodie baskets full of things that they need and use. Each year they tell me these are the best presents and how much they look forward to them. After all, getting $100+ dollars worth of necessities is almost like getting a fat $100 bill as a gift.
I really think people who complain about stockpiling just don’t understand the basic principle…I buy things when they are super cheap or free so that I don’t have to pay full price when I need them. No–at this moment I do not need 15 bottles of glass cleaner–BUT I will over the next year! I was able to buy all 15 bottles of glass cleaner for approximately 15¢ each so I was able to get a year supply for what an average person might pay for one bottle!! So you tell me which method makes the most sense!
I have also learned quite a bit over the last few years about my family’s consumption rate and can usually buy accordingly. The great thing about overbuying is that there is always a food bank or church pantry that will happily accept my extra items!
I had a reader email me and ask if I would be able to point out items in the weekly ad that are priced at a buy it now or stockpile price. I thought that was a pretty good idea. I always spotlight the deals that are not to be missed in the Super Deals post but often there may be items that are a really good deal that just don’t make it over to the Super Deals post. So from now on when you see this check sign you will know that the item is at a stockpile price!
I hope you liked seeing a bit of how I organize and maintain my stockpile! Now it is your turn to share. Email me at contactiheartpublix@gmail.com to be part of the spotlight!!
Thank you for sharing! I love the checkmark by a stockpile priced item!
What I love most about stockpiling, is when they announced a few weeks ago that our church food pantry was low…I didn’t have to go to the store! I simply went to our stockpile and was able to pull several boxes of things to take. And I encourage anyone who coupons to buy items to donate to a food pantry. Here in Nashville, we are still recovering from a flood, and ofcourse with the economy still be so hard, food pantrys in the area are running at all-time lows.
Holy WOW!! Now that is a stockpile!!!
I’m not sure if this is what you are looking for in regard to “the reader spotlight,” but I am working on a project in Spartanburg, SC. My website, a work in progress, is thespendyourselfchallenge.blogspot.com
Jaimee-great blog! I love the way you based your challenge on the verses in Isaiah!! Blessings to you!
I’ll have to check it out Jaimee. I’m in the Spartanburg area too and would love a site so local!
Wow! Very impressive! I have some cabinets full of household supplies that my husband calls “the store,” but it’s nothing like yours. I have just recently started using coupons and learning about getting these awesome deals. I just moved closer to a Publix. However, it’s unfortunate that the really great deals are usually cleaned out by the time I get there. I have five kids at home all summer, so it’s not exactly convenient to keep going back. For instance, I wanted to get some Bic pencils last night but they were all gone. I you have any advice on this, that would be great. I think you are smart to build a supply. Thanks for the info!
Don’t forget to get a raincheck. Sometimes, it is easier to just get a raincheck when they are out of something and just wait til the sale is over lol! Keep your coupons and rainchecks until the next sale (next week).
I still want to.see your freezer. How you freeze so much without a deep freeze is amazing to me. Thx for sharing
Incredible pantry! I love the idea of the check mark, since I am a newbie I still am uncertain of what the “best price” is and this is going to such a help!!
Thank you
That is seriously unbelievable. I was proud of myself last year when, after all of the great Johnson’s Buddies coupons, I had about 13 of them and didn’t have to buy soap for my girls for several months. But your stockpile? Im.press.ive. 🙂
Love it! Thanks for sharing. Really like you being willing to do the checkmark step to help us recognize things! I am lucky enough to have a nice sized pantry so my stockpile stays in there. I was putting things in the rooms they are used also so I feel good about my organizational method. About twice a year I go through the pantry (stockpile) and review dates to make sure I havent missed anything. When I do that I always end up with a few items (aka a box full) that are close to the expiration date. So if I don’t think I will use it by that time, I go ahead and donate it so there is time before it expires and someone else can use it.
I also have 10 bottles of glass plus … tee hee
Wow! you put mine to shame! 😉
Amazing! I think anyone who would call it hoarding or selfish doesn’t understand that it is really a great saving tool. I am teaching my neighbors everything I’ve learned from you. I save so much and am starting my own stockpile. My spare bedroom was recently cleaned out…and I am going to do turn it into a stock room. Thank you for the pictures-you gave me some great ideas.
WOW! You are so awesome!!!! I am showing my husband those pics. He thinks I am nuts sometimes to buy 6 bottles of glass cleaner 🙂 What a great idea of a place to stockpile. We have a decent pantry, but I always run out of room for toiletries and paper goods. With a 3yr old and 5mth old twins, I would rather have plenty of things on hand since I don’t always get to the store as often as I would like. My next project is a deep freezer! Love the idea of a check for stockpile item, since I am still sort of a newbie. Thanks for all you do! YOu have literally saved my family many hundreds in just two months!
That is wonderful ! I have been living out of my stockpile for 3 months, doing small deals to stock it back up. ( I don’t like it when things expire before they can be used, so I often make gift baskets of items to give away too ) I just did a post on how I stockpile. Thank you so much for sharing so many photos of your stockpile. I have mine spread all over the house, wherever I can find room !
Hi – I love your stockpile pics! Good for you 🙂 I wish I had that huge closet!!
And something you didn’t mention, but what I think are huge factors in building (or even causing) a stock-pile, are the overage-providers/money-making items.
For example, we have about 50 Renuzits right now because they were a MM recently. And some people might see all those Renuzits and think I am crazy or a hoarder but it’s like, “Would you prefer to pay $30 for your groceries with no Renuzits or would you rather pay $5 for your groceries and take home 15 Renuzits?”
So, my point is just that, of my stockpile, many items are the MM’s that I only bought for their overage. (I love it when MM’s are items that we actually use, like razors or dish detergent, but you can’t be picky!)I also stock up when an item is available at the right price or free. Like, Reynolds foil was free during HT super doubles and I bought 10 or 12 rolls. That may look like a TON of tin foil to someone who doesn’t coupon, but to me, I know that free foil only comes around once in awhile so I went ahead and got all I could!
And I totally agree with you that it is SO nice to be able to give away so much valuable stuff. I make “coupon swag bags” for my house guests and I give huge shopping bags and stockings filled with items I have payed $0 or even MADE money on during the holidays to my mom and aunts. They love it!
So, good for you – I love your blog – thanks for all the tips – and I’ll be looking for the stockpiling check marks 🙂
Nice! I loved seeing your stockpile! 😀 Thanks!! I’ve got a couple of those shelves in an extra room where I’ve started my stockpile. And my hubby thought *I* had a lot of BBQ sauce! Ha! I sent him your pics to show him I’m really not nuts. LOL The checkmark is an AWESOME addition to an already awesome site 🙂 Thanks!!
I love your pics!!! I always wonder how people organize things or what they have so I am a huge fan of seeing pictures!! Thank you for all you do 🙂
Love the check idea! Great stockpile.
Our stockpile helps when you find those notes at the bottom of book bags from the teacher asking for cleaning supplies or someone is taking up a collection for Mrs. So and So who just had a baby…we have several children so there at NO quick trips to the store and tons of requests from just about EVERYONE…if it weren’t for the stockpile we would be decling just about every school request there is…We also use the cleaning stockpile for gift baskets if a friend moves…
I LOVE the idea of the stockpile check mark!!! I was just thinking about asking you to list that the other day 😉 kudos!!!!
Absolutely no judgement from me! This actually opens my eyes to how much BIGGER my stockpile should be. Anyone who gets on your case about this simply doesn’t understand how couponing works. And I totally agree with you…when you build your stockpile up like this, it is so much easier to help people in need!
I stopped at Publix this morning before work and got $73 worth of stockpile items for $9. I ususally go on the weekend or after work, but I had figured out there were two great-buy items that were going to sell out fast, so I decided to force some discipline on myself and get out of the house earlier than normal, so I could hit the first day of the sale week in the morning. It definitely paid off. They had everything on my list. I live in an older home without much storage space, so now I get to figure out where to put it all!
No judgement from me either! You have it so well organized. I would probably stockpile more IF I had storage space like you. I have to keep my stockpiles at no more than 4 items – except when it comes to free/less than $1 good shavers. I will go nuts on these because we really prefer the quality shavers & like to have them for gift baskets.
What a great idea! I often wonder about the stockpile quantities as I am still learning all about this process. I appreciate so very much all that you do to help others (especially my family).
Keep up the much appreciated good work!
That is just pure awesomeness!!! I love it!!
I love the idea of the check mark for the stockpile price!!! That makes me happy. While my stockpile isn’t quite that great…YET…I am learning and so excited to see it get that way someday. THANK YOU!
This is wonderful! Thanks for the pictures. I’ve wondered about how to better organize my stockpile, and since we might be moving soon, this is only helping me to make decisions about shelving, etc. This was great!
I think your stockpile is awesome! My stockpile is getting there, but I live in an apartment and don’t have that kind of room yet. I love how you give stuff away too. Recently, our apt. complex sent us a memo stating they were taking donations for our soldiers overseas and gave us a list of toiletries, foods, and fun stuff the troops wanted. Instead of heading to the store and spending a lot for a little, I headed to our pantries and picked out two gap bags full of supplies for pennies. Oh, and they also asked for magazines. Well, I’m sending them free magazine supscriptions that I’ve received too.
Wow! I only hope to get to that point one day! You are my inspiration! It saves the family so much money and wasted trips to the store and think it’s great!
Michelle, how long have you been doing this and how long did it take you to build a stockpile to the point that you are able to spend so little out of pocket now? Sometimes I get discouraged, as my spending is much higher than yours and my stockpile is much smaller, but I’ve only been doing this five months now. Thanks for everything. I LOVE this blog!
I’m not Michelle but I might be able to answer your question. 🙂 It takes about a year to get to the point where you have purchased everything when it is “in season.” For example, in the summer you are going to get great deals on hot dogs. I just buy a ton and freeze them. I use them all year and about the time that I am out summer has rolled around again and I get more hot dog deals. You tend to get flour deals more around the holidays. So last year I bought a TON of flour. I’m still using it, but I am getting pretty low so I obviously didn’t buy quite enough.
Most things work on the 16-week cycle, but there will be some things that are only a GREAT deal either for either a couple of weeks or a couple of months a year.
It looks great michelle! Here is a link to my blog that shows pictures of my stockpile area.
http://nicoleakamama.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-stockpile.html
Now I know where all the NIVEA went! LOL!
I LOVE stockpiling and personally, I feel that is the only way to use coupons to their best advantage. My DH built me too huge cabinets and we put them in the kitchen and then I bought a beautiful Pie Pantry and put that in the dining room. My Mom and sister think it’s a bit overboard, but I’m thinking now their one step on board with me. 🙂
GREAT JOB!
I’ll offer judgement… your stockpile is AWESOME! My eyes grew bigger as I scrolled down and looked at each picture. Oh, and I think the checkmark to notate a stockup price would be great for me!!
As a new couponer, I appreciate the pictures of your stockpile. Over the past month I’ve started to get a number of items that are just sitting around in cardboard boxes, so it’s good to see what someone else does.
Also, ever since I started I’ve wondered what the “buy now!” prices where, so your checkmark idea is awesome!
I saw some shelves made of cardboard boxes turned on their sides in someone’s garage once so don’t throw those boxes out you may be able to make shelves out of them! 🙂
I wish I remembered where I saw it…
I love the pictures and wish I had that kind of room and stockpile! 🙂 But the first thought I had when I looked at those pictures was it look like one fo those bunkers some people built when we switched centuries 🙂 he he
LOL, I thought the same thing…we know Michelle will be ready for Y3K!
I love the pics.. Stockpiling is great…My husband built a huge shelving unit in our garage to allow me to stockpile the way I want. I love that you work hard to teach others how to not only save have abuncance for their family but also how to give to others. For me, couponing and stockpiling allows me to share with others who are in need just as you are doing. For anyone who thinks we are going overboard with couponing and stockpiling.. when was the last time you blessed someone other than yourself. You’re doing a great job!!!
You are awesome!!! I love the pics and it has given me some great ideas for organizing all of my great buys. My family and friends (and sometimes me) are all amazed at the amount of groceries and goods that I am able to get for so little money. You are the best!!!
You decided to go with the check mark!!! I LOVE it. It is so suitable to your site. Thank you so much for helping me and the many others.
Wow! That is awesome! 🙂
Awesome is an understatement!! I can’t wait for my sister to see your pics! She has a whole extra bedroom she has turned into her stockpile room. What a blessing it allows us to be when we are good stewards of God’s money! Coupons ARE a gift as is our talent for using them!! Thanks for sharing!
love your stockpile and would love love love to do the same, but i cant right now. 🙁 however, im really looking forward to the check marks!!! thatd make things very easy! [i just dont have the time to walk aroud and price check things.] 🙂
I bow to you! This is just soo awesome. This is what I want to accomplish. Thank you for all that you do! You have helped my family and I save tons!!
Michelle,
I have just begun couponing and establishing a stockpile- so far it is very tiny and I have to spread it out. I have one cabinet in the master bath, one shelf in the hall bath, and am working on a closet in the back room. Thanks for sharing the pics, it helps me to focus on my goals. It’s like you have a convenience store right in your own house. I’m always saying to my kids, “hey, do you see a grocery store inside this house?” Between the three of them and my husband, someone is always running out of something and they love to wait until the last second to tell me. Well my goal is for my family to be able to answer the previous question with, “Yes Mom, actually I do see a little grocery store inside this house.” How awesome would that be? Thanks for sharing! :)Maureen
Why are people so nice to you?! Im jealous 😛 You should see the comments people leave on my blog about purchasing large quantities. I don’t see any of that kind of judgement on other blogs. But, for some reason I have a larger following of people that want to sass me about it, than people who want to learn from me. It’s sad! All of you nice people that understand stockpiling, please visit my blog and leave nice comments! I need encouragement!
I had never heard of your site before tonight, but I just looked at it. I think you are doing a wonderful job of providing for your family. I wish I would think ahead to order MM in order to pay for the things that I do need. While I do pick up however many are left on the shelf that I have Qs for. I need to get up the courage now to ask my store to order MM items for me. Try to not get discouraged about the hateful comments. Those people probally don’t really know how to coupon anyways. I would wonder why they are even visiting sites like yours and this one. Keep up your good work.
Thank you so much for all that you do- you are really saving my family so much money. I am on my way to having a garage that looks as stockpiled as your room! I am looking and looking for the checkmark so I know what to stockpile this week. Am I missing it? Did it not start yet? Can someone tell me? Thanks!
I think this is great. I used to stock up when I was in college because I would catch great deals at the Revco/CVS I worked during the summers. As a college student, I would have had a really difficult time without my stash. I didn’t know about couponing then. When working I always tried to keep a little extra (you never know when someone will need help) and used coupons whenever convenient. Now I’m trying to get really into the coupon game.
My husband is in sales and I’m a SAHM and things have been TIGHT. The economy and recent flooding in TN has really impacted our family, but we are blessed we didn’t get flooded. Plus I have a HR pregnancy and haven’t been able to get out and shop. My coupon supply has vanished (loved your post on not paying for coupons). The little stockpile I had started (thanks to my friend Brandy at ipreferpublix) has vanished; but at least we had it. It took alot of stress off of me to know I didn’t have to stress so much about necessities. Plus the last time my husband went “couponing” with me before he was upset about spending so much time at the store and was really complaining. Now he is all on board and asking me for coupons and deals.
Now I have two months to try and get a little stock pile before I have six weeks of down time again. If anyone complains about you taking care of your family they have never had need. I pray that they don’t, but sometimes everyone needs a little reality check. I think what you are doing is great.
How do you handle F.I.L.O. rotations? I had several jars of mayo go bad because I didn’t know the stores were selling them so close to the expiration dates. When I went to pull some, they all were months past expiration. They looked okay, but I was too afraid to give them to my children or eat something dangerous while pregnant. Thanks for the photos. I so want to be where you and Brandy are and I know I’ll get there.
(First sorry for the typos, I am nursing my son as I try to type with his feet in my face lol)
Thanks for this post Michelle….everyone thinks I’m nuts because I have 30 bottles of snuggle…but guess what…when my Dad is low on soap who does he call…Can you bring some soap to the store today….we need toilet paper for the store…etc etc..
and thank you for the chuckle…I laughed when I pictured you going upstairs with a shopping bag to “shop”. I use a laundry basket to gather my items from the garage and then walk around the house with it like its my personal shopping basket LOL
Thanks for all the hard work you do…We heart Michelle
IMHO this is not hoarding!!! It is using resources wisely. Thanks for helping me to do the same.
sooo excited about the stockpile checkmark! I have been meaning to write and ask if there was some way for you to highlight a REALLY good deal! :o)
I think backlash for stockpiling comes from people who buy 30-100 of something in one trip that they don’t use just to get overages. I know that irks me and several of my couponing friends.
Stockpiling what you can and will use in a year or before it expires, totally different.
When I look at your pictures, I see a lot of things that could easily be used in a reasonable time period. I’ve seen other people’s blogs where I look at a picture and go “what do you need 100 of that for, oh I see so you could buy $300 worth of other products for free.” Only then do thoughts of greedy or selfish cross my mind.
SO basically, backlash for stockpiling comes from people who do it for the wrong reasons.
I did a whole post on hot-button coupon topics, maybe I should add stockpiling to it.
I think you did a very good job of explaining stockpiling. When I try to explain it, sometimes people just don’t get it. There IS a difference between stockpiling and hoarding. IMO hoarding is a greed or addiction issue. What you are doing is being a good steward with what you have. I appreciate your courage in posting the great pics. Hopefully, the nay-sayers will now understand.
I too love the new check mark feature. Thank you for all you do!
Just for the FYI, for most people hoarding is not because of greed. It is sometimes an addiction, but often is the result of a traumatic event (death of a loved one) or some other mental disorder such as OCD. It is a mental disorder. Most hoarders do so unaware of their disability or because they don’t know how not to do it.
Hoarding is a very misunderstood mental disorder, and so I felt the need to share that those people are not greedy, and usually do not decide one day to just hoard. Most people have hoarding thoughts occasionally such as “I’ll keep this dress that I don’t fit into because some day I might,” or “I can’t throw this ugly thing away because it was Grandma’s!” but generally we have the common sense to eventually do something with it, hoarders lose that sense and enter into a obsessive behavior. “I have to keep these sauces from McDonald’s because I might need them” or “I need this mail from 10 years ago because there might be something important in it.”
I hope that helps make it a little more clear for you.
Thank you for your reply Lauren and your clarification. I am fully aware of hoarding being a serious mental disorder. I was refering to ‘hoarding’ as in someone going to a store and clearing the shelves(at every store) everytime there is a free item just because its free. These are the same people who want to ‘break the rules’ and get all they can get for free, even if that means no one else is able to take advantage of a deal. I’m sure we you know the type I’m talking about.
I, in no way, meant to offend anyone that may truly have a serious mental issue.
Oh, I know those people. 😉
I just wanted to clarify in case anyone reading really felt that way because a lot of people think hoarding is something a person chooses to do, and the solution is to just “throw it all away,” and that never works.
Awesome stockpile and post! I had a closet built under my stairs for that purpose. A friend of mine did it in his house so I thought it was such a great idea I had it done too! It was full the day the closet was built…and I still could use more room!
The check marks are going to be really helpful for me 🙂 I just started this couponing/stockpiling (however much I can in a 760 sq ft. apartment LOL) thing about 7 months ago and thanks to you I have my weekly grocery budget for 2 people down to $30-$37.50(my MAX) a week. And we eat soooo much better than we used to! But I still catch myself buying things once in awhile at a higher price. The check marks are going to do wonders for me! 😀
wow, great pics Michelle! I’m impressed!! Question, I tried to zoom in to see but couldn’t…please tell me those are NOT oreos sitting on the floor next to the papertowel?? I can never ever stock up on oreos as the kids just eat every. last. package. 🙁 I tried. They know all the hiding spots (they even discovered my chocolate stash!) … teens!
I was wonder if those were Oreos, too! My family is like yours, if I buy 4 packages they might last 8 days around here. No way I could ever buy enough to stockpile them!
Michelle, thanks for sharing this. I love it! I keep most of mine on built-in garage shelving in the basement and I also love grabbing a shopping bag to make a trip to my “store”! I keep TP and tissues under the kids’ bathroom sink because they have a double and there was nothing else we needed to put there. I also keep kids toiletries in there, because there is just so much drawer space going to waste. I keep extra toiletry items in my own closet in an IKEA Antonius drawer unit. I love it when preschool or church asks us to make shoeboxes for the military or Operation Christmas Child…I can pack pack several for free anytime! My church recently ran low on cereal in the food pantry and I was able to grab several boxes from the shelf and drop them right off. It feels nice being able to help so much without impacting my budget!
Thanks for sharing!
I absolutely LOVE your stockpile, it makes me jealous and inspired! As soon as I get home I am going to take over one of my guest room closets and get to work! I am always complaining how my cabinets are so full of my extra items so now I am definitely buying some shelves and creating an actual “Over Stock Pantry.” Thank you SO much for sharing this with us and I also love the check mark!! Thank you so much for being real with us!!
Love your pics!! I am so envious…I have started stockpiling with certain items and friends and family think I am crazy with everything I tell them I do to save on my weekly groceries, when I go to certain stores some clerks look at me crazy and I have been asked how much time to I spend on my coupon book piles I tell them it a part time job that pays me more than a full time job meaning “I spend quite a bit on it but the savings and rewards are much higher. When I recall that I use to spend $250 on a strong week of groceries and now I don’t spend more than $80 I am proud of myself and don’t even care that the laundry hasnt gotten done LOL….the last two weeks I’ve been on a slump and havent gone shopping much not looking for deals or coupons but thanks to your picks you inspired me again to get my butt going!!
Your my hero!!! 🙂
Totally Insane, Awesome, Stockpile!!!!! Wow that is alot of stuff, When a Hurricane comes through, I want to come to your house!! I stock pile to, not quite as extensivly but I am the only income in my household so I do still have to try to stay within a spending budget. I have a large 9ft walk in closet and 1 whole wall is shelving I use that for overflow and hten a have a really good size pantry that is jammed pack as well. I love your site and people that think your nut are just jealous.
Ok I understand stockpiling. As you said you’ve helped people. My question is you said you have 15 bottles of glass cleaner so you know you’ve spent 15cents a piece on those for the whole year. Thats great except I know people that keep buying more and more cleaners. If you continue to buy how do you save money? How does one know when to stop. It seems you have a good picture of what your family uses so you’ve done the research. I have just started to coupon. Its just my husband and I so getting the 4 greenworks cleaners for 9cents a piece was great. I have since taken the rest of my cleaner coupons to work and given them away so I’m not tempted to “stockpile” more. Its very tempting but I won’t be saving money if I continue to buy.
Also I noticed a theme too in the comments in such, is it really good to stockpile so much that your getting close to expiration dates?
As I said I’m new to this and some things worry me, I guess we are all different in a way. I also know that my “family” is small due to having no children and they really do add some major factors to the equation.
A lot of this has been bugging me since I read a post somewhere that a girl bought out some cat food and donated it to her local shelter.Thats great I know the local shelters always can use stuff. Though I know it wasn’t her when I went to pick up the same great cat food deal it was completely gone wiped out. Knowing that it could have been done by someone that doesn’t even have a pet really bugs me. seriously save those sweet deals for those of us who love our pets. If its not something I would personally use, I just skip over it. If its raining free items I don’t go after them unless I will use them. I don’t want to bum someone out that was actually looking forward to that item.
I am meaning this all to be informative and just asking for information. Please don’t take anything I have said negatively I love you all and you give
me great ideas especially as a new comer to all of this. Just wanted to to possibly give an opinion on a “couple, no children” side of things since there are lot of mommy voices out there…my sister included hehe.
I tend to only buy the things that my family of two (just me and my husband) will actually use, plus anything that friends and family really love and enough to make small donations to charities. If there is something that is going to give me a ton of overage or allow me to buy something for free I will buy it and donate it if I can get the store to order some for me. For example, a few weeks ago I could have had the store order me a bunch of those Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayos because I would have gotten $1.00 overage on each plus I have a coupon to save $2.00 on produce when you buy any two participating Kraft products (and those were participating) but it was around the 4th and I was busy. I wouldn’t have felt bad asking my store to order me 20 of the mayos if it meant $30.00 towards produce and I had something I could donate.
As for your question about what to do when you are fully stocked my answer is that I don’t buy unless it is free. I also won’t go out of my way and I won’t special order coupons. For example, last year I stocked up on feminine products and I am still using that supply but a couple of times over the last year I have added a couple of things to the stockpile because they were 100% free, the coupons were readily available, and the product was on the shelves when I got to the store. I wouldn’t be bothered to mess with rainchecks (I understand some people are all about them but I HATE rainchecks- I’m not organized enough for them).
As for the cleaner issue I would buy a couple and donate them but again I wouldn’t really go out of my way to get them or track down coupons for them.
If I buy a ton of something that is getting ready to expire I keep only what I can use and give the excess to friends/family/charity.
I don’t buy a ton of one thing to donate to charity because I am selfish and lazy, but if I was going to I would have my store order some for me so that I wouldn’t be taking from the stock available on the shelf. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that when others talk about donating things then they are doing the same thing. There are A LOT of families with cats so the stock could have been gone just from people buying a normal amount for their own cat. When 9 Lives goes on sale I always buy three and that lasts me almost exactly (I still have half a bag) until the next sale for my one very large Garfield shaped kitty.
This response was so helpful:) thanks much for writing this. You sound a lot like me, feel you on the raincheck thing. Nothing is important enough for me to get those I don’t go back enough hehe.
My husband said something tonight that really made me think. Have any of you super couponers ever thought of working for a local food bank? Where you could coupon for them? I know they don’t have much of a budget so having money savvy ladies working for them would be very helpful.
I am not super enough nor have the time to do this but thought it was a good idea to share from the hubby.
And the idea about asking the store ahead of time to order extra for you for donation is priceless. Your not depleting the shelves and your helping. I just love you for that:)
thanks again:)
you said, why do people keep buying. I buy stuff that I can get cheap/free because if I don’t use them, I know I can sell them in my yard sale. I have a yard sale twice a year and usually earn $800-$1000 in just 3 days. My yard sales help me with “extras” like vacations, christmas, paying off a credit card, etc. Of course I don’t empty out shelves or stores. I’m lucky enough that I have several walgreens, cvs, riteaid, publix’s in my area.
Ode to not work weekends:( I’ve worked weekends for 3 years so I miss yard sales so much. That sounds like a great idea though:)
The best thing about having a stockpile is that I never really need to purchase anything besides milk, eggs, bread and fresh fruit/veggies. I technically don’t even have to buy the bread because I could make it or the fruit/veggies because I have plenty in the freezer. This allows me to buy things I WANT to buy. It lets me be a little picky and only buy the brands that I like. It has allowed me tons of wiggle room in my budget this summer to stock my freezer with peaches, strawberries, blueberries and corn so that I can enjoy them the rest of the year.
I had a woman today at Publix tell me I was her hero. Today, I got $350.00 for $160.00, and that isn’t even my best but I needed to stockpile some things and so that was okay. I won’t be shopping for a while, with the exception of milk and produce, sometimes bread if I haven’t frozen any.
I don’t think you’re a horrible hoarder at all – I’m green with envy – wish I had that much space and wish that was my stockpile. My husband already thinks I’m nuts and says things like “you don’t really need that do you, don’t you already have enough XYZ.” For free or really cheap – yes I do need it, and it doesn’t matter how much I already have. You never know when you might need it, or it will come in handy for someone else! Love what you do with your extras.
I think that it is great that you have stored enough to be able to share with others. My goal is to have on hand at least a year’s supply of what my family uses & needs. That includes food and non-food items. Using coupons and the deals has helped me to get a lot closer to that goal. It is great to have what we need on hand at a good price and replace at a good price or free. There may be a time that we have to totally rely on what we have stored. It is will even be better when I have enough stored to share if needed.
Keep up the great work!
Your stockpile looks so organized! I just started stockpiling sale stuff about 8 months ago. It really helped my family because my husband lost his job (shop closed down) and while waiting for another paycheck, we did not have to worry about food.
And you always say that I crack you up LOL!!!! Great job Michelle!!! 😉
You are awesome! I love your stockpile! Ignore those drinking the hatorade; they’re just jealous… 🙂
I too love your stockpile. However, I see lots of large packs of paper products like papertowels and maybe toilet paper. How do you get great deals on these? How often are they and where? Thanks! Diane
I do toilet paper that way all the time. I buy the 12 roll packs of Northern for $5.49 minus manufacturer’s Q, and publix Q whenever I can. I can usually score a 12 pack for $2-3 depending on the Q. I might buy 3-4 at that price and then store them. Right now, we’re on our last 12, so I am looking for a sale deal soon! 🙂
I’d prefer Publix, but I’ve also done this at K-Mart, Wal-Mart or Walgreen’s, too.
You have my goal. I love your stockpile room. It is the bomb. I am working hard to get a few of my friends on the crazy coupon lady banwagon. YOu go Michelle.
I LOVE it! I used to have a similar one. I believe everyone should have enough for their family for at least a year. You never know… And its great like you said for gifts. I also stock up on stuff I use or dont use because of gifts, or giving to charity. I think everyone should share their stockpiling tips and pictures. I know when I first started couponing I was so overwhelmed, had so many questions. This kind of stuff was super helpful. Keep up with the great tip sharing!
But now we are in an apartment and plain dont have the room. We have a storage unit from downsizing from our last house. I may put some shelves in there and start one there! :o) I miss that feeling of preparedness. I think there is a BIG difference in living in the “country” and the city. Before, I HAD to have extra stuff, because if I ran out of toilet paper or laundry soap it was insane to make a trip to town for that. So you always have backup. In the city, there is a “never ending supply” in walking distance anyway I turn. So mentally, how people shop and prepare, and stock up has a lot to do, I think, with where they live.
One comment re: stockpiling, that someone reminded me of the other day. When you stockpile canned goods, you might want to make sure you know the expiration dates on them. Yes, canned goods can and do expire. I used to write on the top of the cans with a sharpie and then rotate the older ones to the front when I need to use them before they’re set to expire. FYI
LOVE the check mark = stockpile idea! That will be so helpful as a newbie! Thank you so much for sharing your system. I’m curious about your holiday gift giving idea — can you elaborate? I LOVE to give (oh, and get) useful, consumable gifts. I think that’s a fabulous idea I would love to incorporate into my gift giving. Thanks again!!!
Love it! I’m so jealous!