How much of a stockpile would you like to have?

[drewmer]

I would love to have a minimum of a year but am trying to get to about 2 years. My DW and I are converting a portion of our house into storage so we can store our supplies that we purchase or grow ourselves. With food prices climbing, populations growing, using food for fuel for our cars, economic unrest, increasing fuel prices, etc there is no way to know that the local supermarket will always be open and have what we need to survive or live comfortably

 

[HM]

My answer isn't a choice.
There are very few things that I keep on hand in any quantity. Toilet paper and Paper towels are really the only two things. I usually just have an extra toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, bottle of lotion, bottle of shampoo, hand soap, and a couple bars of soap handy. It's more a have something on hand so I don't run out kind of thing. So not months worth of stuff...or more for me. And that works fine. If I see something a really good price and know I'll be needing it fairly soon, I'll probably buy a couple of whatever it is.

 

[bettymae1121]

I put "upto six months" but honestly it just depends on the item. DH and I want to do our own canning/freezing of fresh veggies/fruits this year, as well as buy half a cow. Not for the sake of "stocking up" but for cost savings, better quality, and to be "green". But other things we tend to just buy as needed (seafood, dairy, etc.).

H&B I also just buy as needed (I use Burt's Bees, which I rarely see coupons for, though if I see a sale I'll stock up a bit). I do buy TP in bulk from Costco, but that's because it's the best price (without extreme coupoing, of course) and since it's only DH and I, that lasts us 3-4 on it's own. I don't use paper towels or paper napkins.

 

[My3kiddos]

I used to stockpile alot, but now I would be happy with 12 months of paper goods, cleaning supplies, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, laundry supplies, and canned goods. 3-6 months would be my limit on everything else because it got to the point where things were going out of date before I used them. Free was great to me, but who in the heck uses 40 things of mustard? I ended up donating them to a shelter and they were happy to get them. Diapers were the best thing I ever stockpiled. I purchased enough Pampers before my son was born to last until he was out of diapers. Target had a great sale/coupon along with manufacturer coupon that I would get a pack of diapers or pullups and a kandoo item for like $2.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

I said a year's worth. I coupon quite a bit and usually save 50% of our grocery bill but I am nowhere near those extreme couponers. I only buy what my family will use.

We do have a stockpile of several things. I haven't had to buy many toiletries or dish soap in about 2 years but I am letting my stockpile of those run down so I don't have to move it all again next summer when the Army sends us somewhere else.

I don't like to stock up too much on perishables because I have lived places before where we have lost power on a regular basis. I only buy what we will eat before it goes bad. DH keeps wanting to buy a deep freezer but I just don't see the need.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I prefer to stockpile cash. I like to have an unopened back up of any item once the opened bottle (laundry detergent, dish soap, etc.) is halfway gone. I never keep more than 3 rolls of paper towels or 24 rolls of TP in the house. I keep the pantry stocked with a few cans of things I use frequently. I don't buy sale items if I have no need or room for them.

 

[LaDonna]

i said 2 yrs because if I had the space and the stuff wasn't gonna expire before I use it I see no sense in not....now if I said 5 years they gets to close to using it before it can expire perhaps? But there are a lot of ? to consider, I wouldn't do it if I had to clear shelves everywhere or go to the extreme that those on TLC do, but if every 6 months are so Im just adding on to what I have and rotate I have no problem with it, especially if the items are free.

 

[lisaross]

I wish extreme couponing show was not that extreme...lol i'd like to see everyday regular people like us on this board!

anyway i voted for 12 months! why not..if i'm getting a great price and will be using it or donating it!

 

[sherry7]

I haven't watched the Extreme Coupon show yet, but from what I've heard, it seems like most of the things bought are for pure effect. I would hope that these people are donating a majority of the items to family, friends, food bank, etc.

I will only "stockpile" things when they are free or nearly free, and only if it's something we can use.

As for me, I currently have a huge stockpile of diapers and baby wipes in my basement. My daughter is almost 1, and I probably have enough diapers and wipes to last her for a full year. I did get all of these for nearly free though. If I were paying full price, I'd just buy 1 months worth at a time because they take up so much space.

I have enough TP, paper towels, and Kleenex for about 3 months. I didn't get a phenomenal deal on them, but I hate to run out of those items. I can sometimes get toothpaste and toothbrushes for free at CVS, so I have about 6 months of toothpaste and about 20 toothbrushes. I also stock up on antiperspirant anytime I can get it for free, or almost free. I probably have about 6 months of canned items, mostly because I hate to run out of staple items. I limit frozen stuff to a 3 month supply, which usually coincides well with sales.

 

[MrsPete]

I voted six months supply -- truthfully more on some things, less on others -- and in the house we're planning to build for our retirement, we're going to have a fantastic pantry that'll allow us to do that neatly.

Six months is enough that you can plan to take advantage of the best sales -- you can stock up when you know the price is absolutley rock-bottom. I'd include non-food items here; for example, wrapping paper purchased after Christmas at 75-90% off is a stockpiled item.

We can our own produce, so we'd go a little more than 6 months there. I mean, when Roma tomatoes are in season and CHEAP at the Farmer's Market, we're going to get enough to make salsa for the whole year. Right now I don't can as much as I'd like because I don't have the space.

Also, six months is enough that you can ride out a bad financial month (and the biggest savers amongst us have those on occasion) or donate to a neighbor in need even if you're not flush with cash yourself. A six month supply will allow you to avoid paying high prices if a basic food goes up in price temporarily. And with plenty of food stored, there's no need to rush to the store when it snows, etc. -- we may not be able to cook exactly what we want, but we won't be without.

On the other hand, I'd keep LESS than six months of meat in the freezer. Two years ago my freezer died, and I lost everything we couldn't eat right away (though we gave away all we could). Canned goods are less risky to keep.

I wouldn't keep more than six months of most foodstuffs because 1) things do expire -- it's not hard to rotate a six-month stock of stuff by putting your newest canned beans to the back, but more than that is difficult. 2) you can lose things in unexpected ways -- think about the earthquake victims in Japan, think about flood victims.

And it's important to remember that you shouldn't keep JUST foodstuff in your emergency stash -- a savings account that'll see you through hard times is just as important, if not more important.

 

[Nayan]

Mine is usually just a couple weeks. I don't have the room to store really anything and like on EC if I filled my sons room like that one lady did with her kids rooms Id never hear the end of it from him!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I didn't answer the poll because I don't like to stockpile. When we get down to a week's worth or less of something, it goes on the shopping list. I don't want to have to deal with storage (I don't have a lot of space anyway), cleaning, keeping track of what I have, etc. Plus, how do I know what kind of shampoo I want to use 4 years from now? Even toothpaste--I recently switched to a sensitive teeth formula. What if I had stockpiled 2,000 tubes of a kind I now won't use?

Plus, I allocate 1 hour a week to grocery shopping. There's no way I'm going to be successful with the extreme couponing.

 

[ilovejack02]

6 months at the most , I can't stand to much "stuff" .

Hubby hunts so we usually have a full freezer. I will be a whole ribeye once a year or so , so we have steak and I always load up on chicken if I see a good sale in the fall or winter. Once June hits, I try not to add extra things in our freezer and just eat the deer , fish and hog that hubby has brought home. Hurricane season starts in June and a full freezer isn't a good thing to have at that time.

 

[Colleen27]

I have about as much space as I could ever use, between the walk-in pantry, basement, and root cellar, and when I find really great deals I'll stock up to about 6-12mo worth of supplies depending on how much freshness matters for a particular item.

I like to have a winter's worth put aside at the bare minimum so that we're not dipping into our savings for groceries or toiletries any more than absolutely necessary if business gets very slow (as it often does that time of year). And as I've gotten more into heirloom & sustainable gardening I think some of the general preparedness/homesteading attitudes from that community have rubbed off a bit because I do find myself putting more necessities aside just in case (in case of what I don't know - we don't live in an area with known disaster risks like hurricanes or earthquakes).

 

[Kycha]

What store was he stopping at? Did anyone catch that? I would say the store bent the rules for the effect of the show, but then when I look at his crazy stockpile I have to wonder if maybe that isn't he case for him.

He was shopping at a Kroger. I also do my shopping at a Kroger and they have unlimited doubling(up to .50) and unlimited like coupons.

 

[fakereadhed]

The problem with those huge stockpiles is the money going out(even if free to buy the coupons- unless you're dumpster diving ) for stuff you may never use. I have an $80/wk grocery budget and I buy 2 newspapers per week. This week I went over, but we were on vacation last week and I didn't shop the week before we left. Spent $108, saved $118. Added about 6 items to my stockpile, the rest we will use soon. I don't see the point in having a bunch of stuff stockpiled just for kicks.

 

[eliza61]

Even if storage wasn't an issue, you still have to clean. If you had 5 years worth of stuff you would have to move it every 3 months or so to clean around it and under it (even just dust). I'd rather buy everything new at around 3 months.

LOL. that's me Punkin. No way would I want 100 bottles of tide sitting around getting dirty and dusty.
And I know in my head that toothpaste probably doesn't go bad after 6 months but sorry I'm tossing any toothpaste and mouthwash that has been sitting on a shelf for 9 months.

3 months tops for me. I hate piles of "stuff" just lying around.

 

[sk!mom]

I prefer to stockpile cash. I like to have an unopened back up of any item once the opened bottle (laundry detergent, dish soap, etc.) is halfway gone. I never keep more than 3 rolls of paper towels or 24 rolls of TP in the house. I keep the pantry stocked with a few cans of things I use frequently. I don't buy sale items if I have no need or room for them.

Ditto!

Actually, I hate clutter so much that even thinking about stockpiling is stressing me out. I can't imagine organizing it, managing it, and just looking at it.

 

[RangerPooh]

I chose 6 months. If you asked my husband, he would have answered a year or more.

He has been bugging me to stockpile in the wake of that happened in Japan. He asks if a disaster stikes here & food is unavailable, how are we (family of five) going to eat.

My husband has been talking about needing a stockpile too. Ideally we would have about a three month supply, but if we had a free room and lots of extra money we'd ahve closer to a year. Like you, we're a big family (6), plus my parents equals 8 . Not only do I need to stockpile food but formula too.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I hear you. I don't even like drawers of DVDs. My parents never stockpiled. Last few years of visiting them I have noticed an increase in their stockpiles of all things Costco; facial tissue, TP, lotion, razors, antacids, etc. Two people, 4500 s.f. home... and every last cupboard is stuffed. Ugh.

Ditto!

Actually, I hate clutter so much that even thinking about stockpiling is stressing me out. I can't imagine organizing it, managing it, and just looking at it.