Welcome to the ABCs of Savings! Each day we’ll be discussing another money saving topic, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you don’t miss any steps along the way. You can read the full alphabet of posts here (updated as they are posted).

J: Jump Into Stockpiling

With the recent Extreme Couponing focus on mega-stockpiling, I thought this might be a good time to talk about the subject. Stockpiling means something different for each person, so I’m only speaking from my own perspective. Yours may be a bit difference, but that’s the beauty of the bloggy world. We can all use our big girl (and boy) words and have an intelligent conversation about these topics.

For my family, having a stockpile means not having to run to the grocery store more than once a week. We have enough food on hand to make some meals. If we would happen to get sick or get snowed in, we’re going to be okay. I’ve built our stockpile by buying multiples of things that are on sale for free or close-to-free. It contains canned goods, pasta, rice, crackers, snacks, and personal care items… the basics.

One thing I love about our stockpile is that it gives me a starting point for healthy meal planning. I can inventory what I’ve gotten for next-to-nothing, and I can use those items as a starting point for planning meals.

I like to keep our stockpile at a reasonable level. For our family, that means having on hand no more than 6-8 weeks worth of something. That’s the normal sale cycle for most items, so I know that if I have enough to last me that long, I should be able to find another sweet deal on it again before it’s gone. If our family can’t use it in 6-8 weeks, it usually gets donated. The exception to this would be soap, shampoo, and toothpaste. I tend to buy a bunch – maybe enough for 6 months to a year – and then start donating what I can get after that. This method seems to work for us.

Organization has been crucial for us. We’re in the process of moving, and packing up the stockpile made me realize how very disorganized it had become. The food was mixed with the personal care items, and I had duplicates in different places. It’s kind of nice to have it all boxed up. As I unpack it, I can sort it, organize it, and donate what is excess for us.

Organization is especially important for keeping an eye on expiration dates. When I stock up on cereal, I like to move the older cereal to the front of the line to be used. I remember finding 4 boxes of WAY expired cereal in my stockpile a year or so ago. I was motivated to keep things more organized after that.

Storage-wise, I’ve had to be creative. The last house we lived in had absolutely no closets. Talk about having to think out of the box! We ended up installing a wire canned goods shelf at the top of the basement steps. We also used a put-it-together-yourself type of cupboard in the basement. That did the trick for us. I know that some people even use Rubbermaid containers that slide under the bed. I guess you just have to choose what works for you.

For us, stockpiling means fewer trips to the grocery store and a way to save money on our monthly food bill.

If you already keep a stockpile going at your house, you might be interested in keeping it more organized. My friend Shelly at Coupon Teacher is doing a Taming the Stockpile series that you may be interested in.