Stockpiling: My Stockpile and How I Keep Order

I'm going to take a minute today to talk about something that a lot of people forget when they start couponing and building a stockpile.   And that one thing is ORGANIZING your Stockpile!!   I've seen tons of people jump into the idea of stockpiling without properly planning their space for the bulk of such an endeavor.  Stockpiling requires both space and planning in order to be a functional part of your household.   For Example: If you purchase 24 boxes of pasta in week 1, put it into your stockpile, and then in week 6 (after using only 3 boxes of pasta), you see another sale on pasta and buy another 24 boxes.  You really didn't need to purchase more, but because you got excited about the price being a "Stockpile" deal, you purchased it.  :(  There is NO WAY that a family of 4 can use all of this pasta before it expires!!   Now stop for a minute and think about this: If you are buying things (all be it cheap) that you don't need or can't use in time, then you are THROWING away that product and the money that you are trying to save!!  Now, if you bought both times with the intention to donate it, that's different, and I will talk about that in another post.

I recently went through my stockpile and re-organized it.  It tends to get chaotic as things are used and added to it, and I hadn't been monitoring the situation as diligently as I should have.   Here is my stockpile before:

  And here is the "AFTER"

I know that neither one looks a whole lot different, but look at them side by side. (After on left, Before on right.)

Now I can see where everything is, and I have instituted a new "facing" procedure on the stockpile.  Meaning that each time something is taken out, the rest is pulled forward so that when I start running low, I can SEE how many are left and start planning based on my Sales Cycle data.  :)

The baskets on the top shelf have been labelled by the way.  I had to wait until I had a chance to find the miniature chalkboard plaques that I knew I wanted from World Market.  This way, I can change out the basket easily with new products without having to peel off a sticker type label.  (I hate the mess of that!!)

I would love to hear and see more of how you stockpile and keep it organized!! Leave me some comments so that I can leave you some love on your blog or page!!

Hope you have a Frugal, Clean & Organized Day!!