Stockpiling is when you buy enough of a product at its lowest price (preferably free, of course) to last you through the times when the item isn’t on sale.  Sales are generally cyclical, meaning that what goes on sale now will also go on sale again in the future. (Often, this cycle is about twelve weeks.)   If you find an item that you use on a super-sale special, and you only buy enough for a week or two, then in three weeks, you’ll be buying that same item again but paying more. That doesn’t make sense!  Buy enough to last until another sale comes along and reap the savings.

To know when an item is at its lowest price, you need to do a little research.  Some people keep price lists and track the prices at the stores they go to.  I generally just keep it in my head.  Once I made the decision to do it, it wasn’t that difficult to keep in mind what a good price is for any given item.

There are a couple of different things I have heard from people when we talk about stockpiling.

But I don’t have the money to buy extra all at once!

That’s the beautiful thing.  You will have more money for stockpiling if you just make the effort to get started.  When I first seriously decided to build a stockpile, it felt like I was going to the grocery all the time and spending money.  I was buying random things at very low prices, but I was still spending money, and I couldn’t help but worry that I would end up spending the same amount but on different things.  Fear not, that goes away pretty quickly.  We used to go to the grocery store and spend a hundred dollars easily. Now, a more typical trip for me is around thirty dollars.  We buy milk and eggs and fresh produce on a weekly basis, but most of the other stuff we’re not buying on a regular basis anymore because we already have it.

So yes, it might be hard to get started if you don’t have any extra money.  My advice is to think about a couple of things that you know are true luxuries on your next shopping trip. Say, ice cream.  Decide not to buy it on this trip and take the money that you would have spent and use it to stock up on a sale item. It will take you longer to get started if you do it gradually, but you have to start somewhere.  It makes no sense to pay more for something because you don’t have much money, does it?

You may want to take your budgeted cash only for your shopping trips until you get the hang of this. Physically remove the money you can spend on your groceries from the amount you can spend on your stockpiling, and you will see how much stuff you can buy that week.  Do the same thing next week, and it won’t be long before your stockpile has grown!

If you think about it, your alternative is to never have enough money at the grocery store.   Just go for it!

But I don’t have enough space for stockpiling!

Yes, you do.

I admit that I am fortunate enough that I do have plenty of storage space for this stuff in a large closet off my laundry room.  However, you don’t need to have a large amount of unused space to stockpile.  You just need to think creatively. Look around your house and see where you have some (hidden, preferably) storage you’re not using as well as you could be.  Here are a few ideas of storage places you might be able to use:

  • with other household items – I have half a dozen bottles of dish detergent and even more dishwasher detergent under my sink right now.  I was barely using that space, and I’ve found that liquid detergent freezes in my unheated closet on the coldest days. Keep a few extra tubes of toothpaste in your bathroom drawer with what you’re using now.  Put a line of shampoo bottles behind the towels in your bathroom. It doesn’t have to be together to be a stockpile.
  • under the bed – those large tubs made for this work great, especially for small loose items of an awkward shape.
  • stacked in plastic totes in a closet or basement or spare room. I have two tubs under the clothes in my daughter’s closet right now, though not containing stockpile items. Do make sure that whatever is in those tubs is safe for the occupant of the room if you do this, though!
  • in an unused dresser drawer — do you have any that are under-utilized now? I know that I have a couple that could use cleaned out.
  • in the garage (make sure that the temperature is okay for the items you’ll put out there first)
  • a random shelf in your closet with a bit of spare space
  • kitchen cabinets, especially for food items.
  • stacked against a wall, with a curtain or screen hiding it from the room
  • a shelf over the washing machine
  • under a table with a full tablecloth
  • unused showers/baths make great storage spaces if you’re lucky enough to have one.  We never use the shower in the bathroom off our bedroom (but my husband drew the line at letting me install a clothes rod over the shower to hang up clothing.  He seemed to think it would look bad or something. :))
  • over your fridge
  • in your fridge/freezer – I sometimes keep jars in the fridge that don’t necessarily need to be there, and flour and cornmeal are really best stored in the freezer anyway
  • under the couch
  • under the stairs
  • in bags attached to hangers in the closet
  • space bags (free after rebate at Walgreens last summer…hehe)

Just remember what spots you’re using (keep a list if you need to) and you’re golden.  Toothpaste and razors don’t take up much space.  I do this as a hobby and I have more stuff than most people will accumulate.  Most people will just want to do enough to save a little money and avoid running out of something at an inopportune time–you really don’t need that much space for that.

And let me tell you, the first time you run out of shampoo in the shower and head for your stockpile to grab a new bottle instead of getting in the car and going out to pay full price for it, you will be so glad that you started your stockpile.  You get to shop in your pajamas and feel super-smart and thrifty at the same time. What’s not to love?