How to get started?

[Kathryn32]

I am very interested in learning how to stockpile but haven't a clue where to start. Anyone have some tips for a beginner?

Kate

[nvmommyx6]

Start with canned goods, when you can afford totes/bins, then add your bagged or boxed goods to those, I put rice, pasta, flours, sugars, oatmeal and anything else we go through in large amounts in 5 gallon buckets with the rubber seals in the lids!
These ladies here (and gents) will be full of awesome advice for you!
Happy stockpiling!
Mommy

[TheRootedNomad]

Start by sitting down and inventoring your cabinets/fridge/ect. Figure out what you have, what you use, and how much you need. keeping your eye open for really good deals on things you use freguently and then buy what you can afford to of that item along with your regular groceries.

Depending on how big of a stockpile you want you can figure out how much to get of an item based on your routine use of it.
Example:
bottle of ketchup lasts 2 weeks
I want to keep a 6 month supply on hand
that's 2 a month
or a total of 12 for 6 months

Then you can start keeping your eye out for things at a relly good price and buy extra.

You can also set a dollar amount out of you grocery budget to start stocking from even when there isn't a super deal.

Some of the easier things to stock are HBA items, spices, baking items and canned goods.

Keep a list of what you have and what you still need to get.

[WV_mom_of2]

Start by sitting down and inventoring your cabinets/fridge/ect. Figure out what you have, what you use, and how much you need. keeping your eye open for really good deals on things you use freguently and then buy what you can afford to of that item along with your regular groceries.

Depending on how big of a stockpile you want you can figure out how much to get of an item based on your routine use of it.
Example:
bottle of ketchup lasts 2 weeks
I want to keep a 6 month supply on hand
that's 2 a month
or a total of 12 for 6 months

Then you can start keeping your eye out for things at a relly good price and buy extra.

You can also set a dollar amount out of you grocery budget to start stocking from even when there isn't a super deal.

Some of the easier things to stock are HBA items, spices, baking items and canned goods.

Keep a list of what you have and what you still need to get.

I agree with this. Make a list of everything your family uses then decide which items you want to keep a stockpile of. Then how long do you want to be stockpiled for? Once you know how many you need watch for good sales and stock up by buying what you can afford at that time. Remember to watch expiration dates of your stock and rotate it so that you are using it up before it expires!

[dcompton]

From a less systematic stockpiler:

If it seems daunting at the beginning to calculate how much, for how long, of everything, you can just start gradually adding to your supply of your most commonly used items. Presumably at the beginning you wouldn't be buying massive quantities of something all at once anyway. Then really start paying attention to how much of these items you use and begin to plan from there. Decide which are "must have" items for your normal cooking and housekeeping, which are good to have on hand, but not essential. This can be a beginning guideline.

I truly admire all the stockpilers here who know, for example, a bottle of ketchup lasts two weeks. I'm afraid the most precise I can ever get for myself is "a lot", "pretty often," "sometimes," and "once in a while." But I find that's even a pretty good rule of thumb for a lazy person like me. If I end up with too many green beans, well, I'll just eat a lot of green beans for a while!

Also, I would work on getting a more or less balanced stockpile to begin with. It won't be perfectly even because of taking advantage of sales, but a goal to keep in mind is being able, eventually, to use the stockpile to "shop for dinner", and to shop at the grocery store to replenish the stockpile. But that will be a good ways down the road.

[Cricketlegs]

I agree with this. Make a list of everything your family uses then decide which items you want to keep a stockpile of. Then how long do you want to be stockpiled for? Once you know how many you need watch for good sales and stock up by buying what you can afford at that time. Remember to watch expiration dates of your stock and rotate it so that you are using it up before it expires!

This is what I did too

1. Gave myself a time~~12 months
2. Wrote down every food I could think that I wanted to buy in a nice notebook
3. Figured how many I needed to have for the year
4.Took that list and went to the store and wrote down the prices of the things I needed
5. Took the amount I needed and multiplied the cost of the item.
6. Bought(I got 2 and want 4 more) really big sturdy 5 shelf shelving units
7. Spent my first money put aside for stockpiling and arranged them in groups by type of item.


Next~~

My grocery budget is $300 but I have been getting by on $150 as I needed to use food in the deep freeze.


Grocery $300
Pets $100
HBA stockpile $30

So I pretty much am done with HBA except razors and more TP so once done with that the $20 will snowball into pets to stockpile pet supplies and the $10 left will go to replenish HBAs as used.

Pets will have $120

Since I have been getting by on $150 on groceries but am about out of meat I will roll $50 into the $150 for $200 for my grocery shopping.

Then my monthly food stockpile will be $100 a month. From there I will shop sales, use coupons and other deals.

Hope this helps!

[HappyMama]

I think the most important thing to do is go over your budget , menus and start a game plan. As a few have said take an inventory of not only what you have but what you need to make your plan work for menus etc. Start collecting coupons , watch sales flyers, make a price book. I cook from scratch and still use coupons over the past year I have gotten toothpaste, soap, cereal , pasta , toothbrushes, cat food and tons of others free so even if it is things I don't use I donate. Though most everything I take the time to get I use.

So get a budget and game plan
Inventory everything you have and what you might need
Start collecting coupons for things you would use ( then watch the sales flyers, start a price book)
If you cook from scratch buy in bulk your staples it will save you tons ( but they must be packaged properly once you get home to not only keep them fresh but bug free ) You will need totes and food grade buckets, glass containers etc
Designate an area for shelving that you are going to put your bounty...lol believe me adds up fast.
Can your own convenience foods and mixes not only cheaper, but you avoid Msg and preservatives etc.
Start an excel program or notebook to detail what you have and have a plan. Eat what you store and store what you eat...lol so plan out your menus for what you mainly eat as a family so you would know how much you need per the time you are stocking for. For example I know how many jugs of olive oil I go through in a year, how many cans of tomato products to make my soups, sauces , pizza sauce etc . How many jars of homemade jam and sauce my family goes through. I stock from the left and take from the right for my storage so even my family knows if they are stocking the pantry put the new box on the left take from the right to rotate.

[Goodwin17]

I'm so impressed at how organized some of you ladies are. You have more organization skills in your little finger than I do in my whole body. I totally envy and admire that. Kudos to you all. I hope I can get to that point sometime!

[Jerseygirl]

I'm a bit different. My budget isn't very tight, so I use stockpiling to save and for simple convenience. Because I have more play in my budget than most, if I find a great deal and need to lay out a more than expected to take advantage of it, I do.
Typical month for me was October: A&P had hamburger helper on sale at half price it was 3/$3, we don't eat it often (once a month or so at that price), but I had 6 coupons for .75 off 3, with double coupons that took me down to $1.50 for 3 boxes - at that price I bought 18 boxes, we use 2 boxes per sitting and I put a few on the side to donate, so they will last about 6 mos.
Last week Shoprite had Windex, shout, X 14 and a few other cleaners at $1.75- $1.85 each, roughly half price or less - I had a stack of .75 coupons for each of them which for me double, I bought 8 bottles of windex, 5 shout, 4 X-14s, a few scrubbing bubbles and 3 fantastics. For an outlay of less than .50 each, except fantastic, those were .99 I got a year's worth of cleaning product for about $12
I've also been picking up Marcal paper products for the past 3 months, napkins 250 count were on special for $1.25, I had 5 $1 off coupons, so yes I now have a year's worth of paper napkins (dh laughs until he realizes that if I paid full price it would have been $10), I have collected 15 rolls of the paper towels for .19 each, again, that is 6 mos worth for us, but I know the deal will eventually come to an end. I just try to get as much as I can for as little as possible, and what we don't need, I share. Last week I got 10 pkgs of wisker lickins cat treats for .19 a pkg, they are typically 1.60 each, they were on sale for 1.19, I had 10 $1 off coupons, I don't have a cat! The stray my mother feeds will be a happy boy this month.
This is what works for me. After a few months of doing this I found I wasn't running out of things, wasn't making needless trips to the stores and I was saving a huge amount because literally everything I was buying was a loss leader plus a coupon. I am also willing to do without certain things if I run out, but keep in mind, sales and coupons tend to come in cycles and you'll learn as you watch it. I know that if I buy 8 big bottles of detergent when they do a special $1.65 promo, this will get me through to the next big detergent promo, stuff like that. Good luck

[wuvsnoopy]

I recommend starting out by going through your cupboards now and seeing what you already have and organizing things so that like items are with like items. It will be easier to take a visual inventory. (While you're at it check the expiration dates and sort your items so those with closer dates will be used first - it's a habit you'll want to get into for stockpiling).

Next I'd let the weekly sales & current coupons guide the rest of your stockpiling. This takes time, no doubt. I'd fill the kitchen cupboards first and then you'll probably want to pick up a shelving unit or other storage piece depending on your space/layout. Using vertical space is more efficient at least for me.

Soon you will start to repeat sales cycles ~ the key is to just keep at it. Even if it's just an extra couple of canned soups etc per week it will start to accumulate.

Good luck ~ you'll sleep better knowing your home is well stocked.

[Kathryn32]

Wow! Thank you all for this great information.I'll have a great stockpile going in no time.