Stockpiling 101

Stockpiling

We get lots of questions on stockpiling so Shana is sharing how she does it.

In the last 3 months I have stayed on a $40 budget for household and grocery items for my family of 4 (plus 2 dogs and a cat). In addition to that I have been able to stock pile the following items enough for 2 years. As of April 1^st I began donating any of the following items I was able to get for free with coupons :

2 year supply of:

Toothpaste-adult and kids,Floss,Cover Girl foundation,Cover Girl powder,Cover girl blush,Mascare (1 year),Shampoo,Conditioner,Body gel,Hairspray,Mousse,Feminine Hygiene products all types,Deodorant for me,Deodorant for husband,Room deodorizer,Razors,Liquid hand soap,Bar soap,Laundry Detergent (1 year)Dryer sheets,Stain Release tablets,Dish scrub pads,Dish Detergent,Dishwasher tablets,Tin foil (1 year)

Most of the above items I only paid TAX on them. When you see us post a coupon that will get you an item free PRINT IT IMMEDIATELY!!

Questions I get the most:

What kind of food do you eat for $40 a week? First I want to say I am not going to make us stay on such a strict budget of $40 I just wanted to see if it was possible! I was amazed that it was!! We eat big breakfast, pancakes (home-made) and cereal, sandwiches for lunch, and mostly chicken and turkey, pasta and veggies for dinner. It sounds crazy but it is 100% possible to make a low and tight budget number fit your family.

This is how it basically broke down for us:

$5 for Milk (2 different kinds)

O.J./coffee $1.50 (used Tropicana Reward coupons stacked with store coupons, and great coffee deals with gift cards etc for Dunkin Donuts)

$10: for Fruit

$15 for meat found coupons for pork tenderloin (buy managers special at Kroger use that night) chicken coupons

$8.50 remainder left to spend on: cereal, canned food, frozen food, snack food etc.and tax on my free stockpile items

The following are key ideas to make it work:

• Meal Plan at least a week out if not the whole month.
• Get your whole family involved
  
• Eat Fruits and Veggies that are in season and on special price.
• Get creative, if you are going to have overage (because of razors grab some milk, or veggies)
• Shop at different places and have a written plan out of where you find those key items.

Where do you store all your stuff? First I want to say that it really does not take up much space to stack up 24 tubes of toothpaste. I try and keep all similar items together utilize bathroom cabinet space. I also use old wipe boxes and label the outside razors, floss, soap etc. store these in the closet. I keep a note card with the number of items written in pencil and as I use one I change the number.

How much do you use of a product? It will be impossible to stockpile a year's supply unless you realize how much you use of a product. You might be surprised, how much you really use of some products. I write the date (with a permanent marker) on the back of the product for dish detergent etc. especially when I try a new one. I discovered we were using FAR TOO many trash bags, so I started placing plastic bag on my pantry door (Target, Walmart, etc) and we use those for stinky trash and take it right out. In a nutshell track what you use and try to cut back where you can.

Did you find this helpful? Do you have more questions, please ask them, we are here to help!! What are other topics you would like to see written up? Do you have ideas to share? shanathesavvyshopper@gmail.com

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