Q&A: ...Should I Stop Stockpiling?

Question:  My stockpile is pretty full and my freezer is at it's limit, should I stop stockpiling?

I actually felt this way last summer.  I had a full pantry including 20 boxes of cereal, 4 canisters of oatmeal, cans of green beans, bags of beans, etc.  Our financial resources were very slim and I decided I'd make meals from our pantry and not buy any new pantry items.  We focused on purchasing milk, cheese, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables.  We did this for two months with no problems.  Then all of sudden, we were slap out of everything.  It sort of happened all at once!  I took for granted my pantry, assuming we still had certain foods when we didn't.  I felt like I did before I started couponing. 

If your stockpile is relatively full, I wouldn't stop stockpiling altogether.  Instead, purchase two of each sale item during the slim months.  Even if you can purchase only one of the sale item, it will keep you from becoming "Mother Hubbard's Cupboard".  I realized this a little too late and had to jump back into full swing purchasing my normal 4 of each sale item.  Our grocery budget didn't always allow it, and I started going over budget for the first month.  After the initial month, everything started leveling off and was back to normal.   

In the end, you have to do what works best for you.  This is only from my own experience.  

Enjoy!

Stockpiling: Last Minute Gifts?

This is Part IV in a series on Stockpiling solutions: Last Minute Gifts? Blessings of stockpiling. (You can read Part I: What can I freeze?; Part II: My cabinets are screamin'! Bathroom solutions; Part III: My kitchen is booby-trapped! Kitchen solutions.)

Have you ever needed a last minute gift? Maybe you forgot about a baby shower. Or maybe you have a friend who's getting married and need a last minute wedding shower gift. This is another reason why I love stockpiling. Everyone needs the essentials, whether it's for a new baby or for their new home. Stockpiling essentials at the bottom dollar saves you money and they can save your hide when you're in a pinch.

If you're a mother, you know how important diapers and wipes are. Heaven-forbid we actually run out of diapers! When the drug stores run a store reward for diapers, you can definitely be assured I'm going to pick up on it. When I hear about a great wipe deal at the department store, you can bet your britches I'll be making my way to pick up my fair share. Having these products on hand are without a doubt counted as baby essentials. But they also make wonderful gifts.

Bathroom essentials are other great stockpilable (is that a word?!?) products. How many FREE razors and toothbrushes and deodorant can one person have anyway? Don't get me wrong. I'm right there with the rest of you picking up my FREE stuff to roll my store rewards. Have you considered including some of these essentials in a gift for the new mommy? She did carry the baby for 9 months and went through who-knows-how-many-hours of labor and delivery. Wouldn't it be nice to pamper her with some of the latest toiletries? Razors, shaving gel, lotions, shower gel, nail polish...etc.

Then we have the newlyweds. This is where you can get really creative with your stockpiled essentials. Say you were able to purchase boxes of Uncle Ben's Rice or pouches of Knorr Rice Sides and cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup. And maybe you were able to pick up on the Pyrex casserole clearance. You can put these items together along with a little handmade recipe card with a simple recipe for Chicken and Rice Casserole. Or you can buy an inexpensive cookbook from Amazon.com for $.01 (These are usually pre-owned in good condition and you pay a nominal shipping fee.) and include this in your gift. Another pantry related gift is to combine cake or brownie mixes with cake pans or muffin tins. Wrap in a bow with a wooden spoon attached and "Voila!" You've got yourself a great gift.

Or you can create a gift made up of cleaning and household products. A friend and I did this for a bridal shower a few years ago and it was a huge success. It went something like this:

"Once upon a time there was a SCHICK young lady who met a SUAVE and BRAWNY young man in a beautiful GLADE. After dating for a while, the CHARMIN’ young man PLEDGEd his love to his ANGEL. She REACHed for him to give him a SNUGGLE. His fear of rejection was OUSTed when it DAWNed on him that she had said yes to his proposal. He SHOUTed with JOY! He WISPed away any worries she might have with his DOWNY CARESSes.

So, bride's name, as you go through the CASCADE of marriage with groom's name, just remember ANYWHERE you are together will be like riding high on the CREST of life. ALL the bad times will go up in a PUFF of smoke, as your FANTASTIK hopes and dreams come true with BUBBLES of happiness."

or you can choose something like this:

"We gather together with you to celebrate the (dawn) of a new (era). Marriage is a journey. Some days it will be pure (joy) but let's take a moment and talk about the others.

There may come a time when you realize your big (brawny) guy isn't necessarily (Mr. Clean). When this and other little glitches occur, don't (shout) or send up an (SOS). Go (easy-on) him. Hopefully the (Tide) will change quickly, tensions will (vanish), and things will (bounce) back to normal.

We think you and "groom" are a (fantastic) couple with a (zest) for life and a sincere appreciation for each other. We fully support you as you and "groom" (pledge) to spend your lives as one.

We wish you all the best... Including love, happiness and lots of time to (snuggle)."

You can put the items in a large laundry basket with a big bow and "ta-da" you've got yourself the best gift any new bride or groom would love to have.

It's such a blessing to be able to share your stockpile with others. Knowing you are helping someone is a wonderful gift in itself. So next time you are in a pinch, get your creative juices flowing by looking through your stockpiled items. See what kind of gifts you can make from what you already have on hand.

Have you made a gift from your stockpile? I'd love to know what you used and how you did it.

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:

• Coupon Teacher's Thrifty Thrusday
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom
  

Stockpiling: My Kitchen is Booby-Trapped!

This is Part III of a series of stockpiling solutions: My Kitchen is Booby-Trapped! Where should I store everything? (You can read Part I: What can I freeze? and Part II: My Cabinets are screamin'! bathroom solutions.)

As I've mentioned before, we have a fairly small house and not alot of room for stockpiling. We invested in a used freezer on Craigslist and some storage containers for the bedroom to help out, but when it came to our pantry, well frankly, we didn't have a "pantry". You know the ones I'm talking about? A little closet-like room off the kitchen where the walls are lined with shelves from top to bottom and all your pantry items are neatly stored in alphabetical order with the ones expiring the earliest up front. Okay, okay, so I live in a dream land, but it doesn't hurt to dream!

When we started stockpiling I ran out of room after the first month. I literally have 2 cabinets that house pantry related items so it didn't take long to fill them up. I knew it was time to do something when I opened the cabinet door and a box of brownies tumbled out and nearly knocked my lights out! With little ones running around, I couldn't risk them getting hurt by falling boxes and cans. (Now that would be a very interesting conversation with the ER Doctors!) So again, we did some investing. I talked it over with my husband and he agreed we could spend a little money to erect some shelving units in the garage.

Yes the garage! We don't use our garage like normal people. I wish we did, but inevitably it gets filled with empty cardboard boxes, lawnmower, weed-whacker, leaf-blower, old yard sale items, old furniture, old scrapbooking supplies, the list is endless...and now it holds our pantry items too. Target put their wire rack shelving units on sale for around $30 last summer. We purchased two, one for our pantry items and the other for my husband's tools and what-nots. These shelves are very sturdy and hold alot! They have lots to choose from.
So if you have a small house and don't have a beloved pantry closet, look for creative ways to store your stockpiled pantry items. Do you have empty space above your washer and dryer? You might be able to install a couple of extra shelves above there. Do you have empty space in your hot water heater room? My in-laws replaced their air conditioning unit and it opened up a small closet near her kitchen. Do you have an enclosed garage with a spare wall? Be creative with your storage solutions. It's better to be a little organized than to have to explain to the ER Doctor why your child is unconscious from a flying can of vegetable soup!

Where do you store your pantry items?

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Rock Hard Brown Sugar???

When brown sugar and powdered sugar go on sale, I usually will pick up a few boxes (of course!). A few months ago, I picked up some dark brown sugar. When I took it out of the box it was hard as a brick! I needed to use 1/3 cup for the chocolate chip granola bar recipe and nearly broke the handle off my stainless steel measuring cup!

Here's the best way to soften your rock hard brown sugar:

A slice of bread: crazy I know, but it works! Just place a slice in the canister on top of the brown sugar. (Don't forget to put the lid back on.) And in a day or so the brown sugar will be as good as new.

You might run into this problem if you stockpile pantry goods. Just remember it's an easy fix.

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:  

• Homemaker Monday at 11th Heaven
• Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Stockpiling: My Cabinets are Screamin'!

This is Part II of a series of stockpiling solutions: My Cabinets are Screamin' - Where Should I Store Everything? (You can read Part I: What can I freeze?)

When I started stockpiling kitchen and bathroom items, I was worried because we have a small house. We don't have much cabinet space for pantry items and that includes health & beauty products. I had no idea how I could have room for stockpiling. So I had to get creative without spending alot of money. That's the idea of couponing and stockpiling, right?

When we first started out stockpiling, I was purchasing everything that was FREE after coupons and store rewards (ECB or RR) and what I needed at the moment. My theory was (and still is) "why pay for it full price when you can get it FREE or nearly so when it's on sale". So needless to say over the last several months we have accumulated quite a stash of razors, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, tampons, feminine pads, hair coloring kits, body washes, toothpastes, toothbrushes, flosses, mouthwashs...My bathroom cabinets were booby-trapped! Nearly everytime we opened the door to get something out, 4 or 5 other things fell out. It got to be ridiculous and my husband finally said something needed to be done about it. While shopping for the deals one week, I noticed CVS had marked down their storage containers 75% off at the end of summer. So I snagged two of them for around $2 each. I sorted through everything and placed shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotions and soap in one container and slid it under our bed. The other container is slap full of razors of every kind imaginable. It also resides under the bed. I found another plastic container I purchased at Walmart a few years ago to hold my daughter's crib sheets and what-nots under her crib. I pulled it out and filled it with toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash and floss. It still sits behind the door in the bedroom but after this post, I'm going to move it under the bed as well. (I'm feeling a little guilty knowing it's taking up much needed space.)

As for the bathroom, my husband's side of the cabinet is full of bathroom cleaning supplies and extra bars of soap. My side of the cabinet is full of feminine products, Q-Tips and beach towels. We have a narrow wall cabinet we purchased when we first moved into our house 8 years ago to hold bath towels and knick-knacks. Now the bottom cabinet of that is stocked full of hair color kits. I store toilet paper in our garage, but that's another story for another post...

Now that our stockpile is pretty complete, I only purchase what's FREE after coupons and store rewards. There really is no need to do impulse shopping. If there is something we are running low on, I put it on a list on my fridge and keep my eyes open for sales. If worse comes to worse and we run out before a sale, I'll use accumulated store rewards to get what we need, which makes it essentially FREE.

Be creative, there's more space in your small house than you may think. Dust bunnies may not be happy you are infringing on their space, but your family will be happy they are not setting off booby-traps anymore!

Enjoy!

Stockpiling: What Can I Freeze?

This is Part I of a series of stockpiling solutions: What Can I Freeze?

When I started stockpiling food and pantry items, I was worried because we have a small house. We don't have much cabinet space for pantry items. We also have a small refrigerator and I had no idea how I could have room for stockpiling. So I had to get creative without spending alot of money. That's the idea of couponing and stockpiling, right?

First of all, check your local Craigslist for an inexpensive freezer. We were able to snag one for $100. It's a nice Kenmore freezer that's only a couple of years old. Thankfully it's still working! You can also sign up to local Freecycle Yahoo groups. Freecycling is a wonderful way to get rid of things you don't need anymore but are still in good condition that someone else can use. People are always upgrading or moving or downsizing and you might be able to get one for FREE!

So in your freezer you probably have a bag of ice or a tray of ice, some frozen vegetables and maybe, just maybe, if you dig around in there, you might find half a Popsicle lurking about. At least that's what I found in my freezer when I cleaned it out. I routinely deep clean my Refrigerator/Freezer twice a year. Removing old things to make room for new things.

It's important to label everything that is not in it's original packaging. You think you'll remember what is going into each bag, but trust me, you'll forget. Keep a sharpie marker in a drawer in the kitchen. You'll always know where it is and it's in arms reach from the fridge. Also keep freezer storage baggies in the kitchen cabinets. I keep mine in the cabinet where I store our plastic storage containers (i.e. rubbermaid, tupperware...) You can stockpile storage baggies when they go on sale -- you'll be surprised how often Walgreens has their baggies for $.99 a box.

Keeping food organized in the freezer, prevents it from getting freezer burn and getting too old to eat. Here are the recommendations from North Dakota State University about food items you can put in your freezer and how long each can stay in there. (I also referenced a Weight Watchers 2004 cookbook for some of this information.)

Breads, Pastries, Cakes

• unbaked rolls and bread - 1 month
• baked breads - 2 months
• baked muffins - 6-12 months
• waffles - 1 month
• unbaked fruit pies - 2-4 months
• baked cookies - 6-12 months
• freezer pie shells - 1 year
• cookie dough - 3 months
• unfrosted baked cakes - 2-4 months
• frosted baked cakes - 1 month
• angel food and fruit cakes - 6-12 months

Dairy

• hard cheeses - 3 months
• soft cheeses - 2 weeks
• egg substitute - 6 months
• egg whites - 6 months
• egg yolks - 8 months
• ice cream, sherbet - 1 month

Fruits and Vegetables

• commercially frozen fruit - 1 year
• commercially frozen vegetables - 8-12 months

Meats, Poultry and Seafood

Beef, Lamb and Veal

• Ground, uncooked and all cuts, cooked - 3 months
• Roasts and steaks, uncooked - 9 month

Pork

• Ground, uncooked, and all cuts, cooked - 3 months
• Roasts and chops, uncooked - 6 months

Poultry

• All cuts, cooked - 1 month
• Boneless or bone-in pieces, uncooked - 6 months

Seafood

• Bass, perch, trout and shellfish - 3 months
• Cod, flounder and halibut - 6 months

What kinds of things do you routinely freeze?

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