Sensible Stockpiling

Okay, many of you have learned some of the fundamentals of the art of couponing and you have gone HOG WILD! Suddenly you are stockpiling vast quantities of FREE (or almost free) stuff. However, you might also find out that you are quickly running out of space for storing all those freebies.

Welcome to the club. When I first began couponing in a big way nearly 2 years ago, I went overboard in the couponing department. Suddenly I had like a year's supply of toilet paper covering my walls. However, after a few weeks I had to ask myself whether I really enjoyed sitting down to dinner next to a wall covered with TP. The answer was NO. Therefore, after my TP supply began running low after nearly a year, I only stockpiled a modest amount which was completely hidden from view. My couponing skills have grown to the point where I never worry about running out of TP so I keep no more than about a 3 month supply on hand. Trust me, my tush will never do without TP because there are FREQUENT deals on TP as well as paper towels.

So do you really need to stockpile? On a modest level, yes. I have about a 6 month supply of BO sticks which has the advantage of being stored in a very small space under my bathroom sink. Ditto the body wash, shampoo, hair conditioner, etc.. I have Colgates aplenty to last me until this summer. Sometime before then, I have every confidence that I will once again score more Colgate to last me until next Autumn.

Anyway, this was one of the reasons why I had to laugh when watching that "Extreme Couponing" show on TLC a couple of months ago. I mean, come on, a woman who gets all emotionally full of pride over the fact that her walls are covered with rolls of toilet paper? Scoring free/cheap TP is NO big deal and can be done over and over again. The only thing I got slightly emotional about this past year (other than getting a laptop for FREE via coupons) was scoring really cheap milk to the tune of 76 cents per gallon. It was Lactaid. The coupons at the store were Blinkies for $2 and no size restrictions which meant I could buy quart sizes of Lactaid for just 19 cents each ($2.19 minus the $2.00 coupon) or 76 cents per gallon. I didn't mind the lack of lactose especially at that price. My refrigerator size sort of put a limitation on the amount of milk I could stockpile but since this deal lasted about a couple of months, I ended up with about 3 months of incredibly cheap milk.

So go ahead an stockpile but do it sensibly. Remember, almost all the good deals return again so you can relax and live in a home without TP lining your walls.