Managing a Stockpile of House Supplies

Earlier this week, I looked at the pile of items I got very cheaply at CVS and realized one key to saving on groceries: Have a stockpile of necessities.

I’ve always read that buying staples in bulk is a way to save money. Corollary to this idea is buying needed items ahead of time, and only when they’re on sale. When I browse through the blogs of successful coupon shoppers, I often see photos of their stash of toilet paper, toilet paper, toothpaste, diapers and so on. All of these wise shoppers get their supplies when they’re on sale so they never have to pay for anything at full price. Whenever they need anything, they simply go shopping at their stockpile. Another benefit of shopping this way is that they never run out of toilet paper.

Buy only what you’re going to use or give away. Getting excited about sales makes it easy to go overboard, though. How many tubes of sunscreen does one need every year? Buying items just because they’re on sale is never a good idea, regardless of how high the discount is. If you’re never going to use or donate it, it’s a waste of money.

Designate a single place to store extra supplies. I was originally planning to set-up a small area in the basement to store my CVS finds. I was going to simply put everything together, ignoring other storage areas I already have around the house. I initially envisioned my own little ‘grocery store’ to go shopping in when we run out of stuff.

On second thought, I realized that I could easily forget what I already have if they were all lumped with no organization whatsoever. I decided to continue to use those areas where I already put extra supplies. For example, I’ve always placed extra bottles of body wash in the second upstairs bathroom. There was no sense in having another area for storing these, when I already have the habit of checking that bathroom whenever I needed a new bottle. If there are no designated areas, store all extra supplies in one place where it will be easier to check what you already have. Place similar supplies together.

Store supplies in narrow shelves, with identical items stacked together. Make sure you can still see what’s at the back of your shelves. Put those with nearer expiration dates at the front so they will get used earlier.

Do a regular purge of your supplies. Once or twice a year, go through your supplies to find items that will expire soon. These should be used or donated. Get a tax receipt for your donations.

Creative Commons image by ninjapoodles on Flickr