Updated Stock Photos

My stock pile has grown a lot over the past few months, and I thought I would share some updated photos with all of you.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Categories of My Stock Pile;

- Beauty & Hygiene Products

- Cleaning Products

- Paper Products

 

This is how I store my flour and sugar.

Plastic bins with air tight lids are ideal for holding large quantities of these baking goods.

 

*food stock is stored in my pantry in the kitchen ~ updated photos coming soon!*

 

 





How I Stock Pile Health & Beauty Items

This category is a little more tricky to cover considering how much falls under this heading. But, I have developed a system that I think works nicely for this section. Please note that I do not stock up on medications. I only buy what we need when we need it for those.

• Shampoo / Conditioner ; 6 sets 
• Razors ; 30 womens disposables, 10 mens 
• Body Wash ; 12 bottles 
• Face Wash ; 3 bottles 
• Deodorant ; 6 bottles womens, 6 mens 
• Shaving Cream ; 6 womens, 4 mens 
• Tooth Paste ; 4 large, 2 travel size 
• Feminine Products ; 6 packages 

How I Stock Pile Paper Products

Paper products such as kleenex, toilet paper, and paper towels are staple items to every household, so its natural that we would all want to score great deal on them. I find it is harder to find deals on these products because even if people aren't living a frugal lifestyle, these are the main item that they would still wait for a sale to buy. Here is how I stock pile paper products :

• Toilet Paper ; at least 2 packages of 12 double rolls 
• Paper Towels ; at least 2 packages of 6 rolls 
• Kleenex ; I aim for 10 boxes

I find that if there is any product that I don't necessarily follow the 'magic number' on its these ones. I do not like to be on my last package of toilet paper or use up my last of the kleenex or paper towels and for this reason I always make sure that there is a sufficient amount of everything we need.

How I Stock Pile Cleaning Supplies

I'm the first to admit it, I love cleaning! Which technically means that I go through a lot of cleaning supplies. Because of this is took me a few months to figure out exactly what my magic number was when it came to a lot of my cleaning products. But! Here is how I stock on cleaning supplies.

• All Purpose Cleaners ; 6 bottles 
• Dish Soap ; 8 bottles 
• Toilet Bowl Cleaners ; 6 bottles 
• Shower Cleaners ; 4 bottles 
• Liquid Floor Cleaner ; 4 bottles 
• Window Cleaner ; 4 bottles 

How I Stock Pile Laundry Items

Laundry supplies are always something that I have made sure to have extra of. I always hated running out of detergent or softener and then realizing there is none on sale that week and having to pay ... wait for it ... full price! Yuck. By stock piling laundry items I always ensure that I won't be caught with none and that I will always essentially have clean clothes!

•  4 - 6 Bottles of Laundry Detergent (Depending on Size) 
• 4 - 6 Bottles of Fabric Softener (Depending on Size)
• 3 Full boxes of Dryer Sheets 

Laundry Pods

How I Stock Pile Food Items

Of course, there are many limits to stock piling food that you do not encounter when stock piling things like cleaners. For instance, you can not stock pile fresh food items. There are things you can get away will freezing, but for the most part stocking on perishable food products is a waste. 
With that being said, that doesn't mean that you can't stock up on certain food items. I personally stock on soups, pasta, condiments, pasta, sauces, oils, and other things like that. In the post I hope to show you my general guidelines for stocking on food items and to give you great inspiration for creating a food stock pile of your very own. 

 
 

•  Condiments ; One in the fridge on the go & one in pantry 
• Pasta ; 6 months supply 
• At Least 2 Cake Mixes 
• Soup ; 6 months supply 
• Canned Veges ; 2 months supply (depending) 
• At least 3 Taco Kits 
• Cereal ; 3 months supply

Creating A Stock Pile

I know that there are only two of us and our two fur babies living in our home, but I still found it very important to have a stock of our regularly used stock pile items at our disposal. When we first lived together there were certain items that I made sure we were always a little stocked up on ; toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent. But now, I have found it very beneficial to stock up on all household items we use on a regular basis.
There are many things that need to be considered when creating a family stock pile. A lot of time and planning and trial and error went into our stock pile, and I want to share how I do it with all of you in hopes that your venture will be much easier than mine was.
 

The following are the things I plan to enlighten you on in regards to creating a stock pile for you and your family: finding your magic number, knowing when to stock, knowing your limits, storing a stock pile. 

  When starting to plan your stock pile basics, you need to take into consideration how long you want to stock pile for and how much your family needs in moderation to its size. 
Personally, for just the two of us, I like to stock on items for about 6 months if I can. 

So i figured it out. If we go through approximately 1 bottle of all purpose cleaner a month, than we need 6 bottles of the cleaner to have a 6 months supply.  Get it?

Now every item in your stock pile may have a different magic number, but that is okay because realistically you will go through certain things a lot faster than others.

Once you have figured out your magic number for that particular item it is important to stick to that number. So if you find a great sale on laundry detergent and your magic number is 8 bottles for 6 months then only buy 8 bottles. Or say you already have three bottles in your stock, then only buy 6 bottles to make your grand total 8 bottles. Get what I'm saying here? You need to stick to your magic number or you may find that your stock is too large for your family to handle.

This is a very important tactic that I mention briefly on my post titled 'Knowing Your Rock Bottom Prices'.  But, I wanted to talk about it further here as well. 
 It is a very great skill to be able to combine your overall knowledge of sale prices, coupons, and knowing your rock bottom prices to maximize your savings as greatly as possible. Once you have got the hang of shopping this way it is going to become second nature. 
Knowing when you have found the best deal you possibly can and when to stock up on that item is a bit more tricky then I ever thought it would be. You have to take into consideration the product itself, its uses, and the total amount you are going to be spending on that item at that time. For example, say you found a great deal on laundry detergent for $4.00 a bottle and you want to buy 4 bottles. That's still $16.00. You have to ask yourself if you can afford to spend the whole $16.00 right at that moment or maybe you should pick up one bottle and see if you can find another deal again before you run out. You catch my drift? 
Stock piling has many benefits and one of the more beneficial ones is saving money, but if you are paying too much for the items in your stock pile then how are you really saving money? 

This is also a very important skill to learn that ties in with knowing your magic number. You have to have limits and you seriously have to shop within them. Even if it is an amazing deal you need to ask yourself the following questions: 

• Will it go on sale again? 
• Do I NEED this?
• Have I hit my magic number? 
• Can I afford this?

Answer these questions before purchasing a product and I bet that 80% of the time you will double think about what you are putting into your cart. 

One of the things that needs to be considered is the space required to house a large stock pile. Do you have a place that you can put a years supple, six months supply, three months supply of household needs? Once you have decided on a space then there is the issue of what you are going to store your stock pile on. 
I know a lot of people who use shelves like these to store their items : 
But they can retail at stores for $30.00 plus. Finding a good deal on storage is always a plus.

You need to take into consideration a couple things when choosing your storage. 
Price: how much are you willing to spend on a shelf that is suppose to be storing your items that you've gotten cheap enough to buy a 6 months supply? 
Quality: Of course you don't want to spend a lot, but you also don't want to cheap out and have the shelves breaking within a couple of months of use 
Necessity: How many shelves do you need to store your items? We use 1 large wood shelf that was in my room as a teenager, a small white shelf that was in J's room as a teenager and the shelf that is built into the closet we use to store everything. 

Before you jump into creating a stock pile, I wanted to let you know that mine was not built right away. I did not go out and buy everything at once. It has taken months to get my stockpile to where it is today, and it is constantly changing. I take things out and they are replaced when then next good sale is. If that means I take 4 bottles of cleaner out before the next good sale then so be it. You need to be patient with the sales and not immediately buy things just because you think they are a good price. There will always be sales. There will always be coupons. The cycle will continue, so if you miss out on one deal there will always be another one not to far off. Keep that in mind fellow frugals! 

And Don't Forget! 

With any questions, comments, or suggestions! 

I love to hear from each and every one of you!