For years I have been a coupon shopper, and sometimes have a excess of a certain food I got on a good sale. I called it my backstock.
While I still do this when I can get a great price on something (I check the expiration date and calculate how many I will use buy then to decide how many to buy)
I have started to expand it.
I am trying to have a backup of every item we use. I have been working on this for a couple months, and look to have 2 of everything. When something is on sale I buy at least two.
So there is always in my house extra package(s) of toilet paper, plastic bags of every size, flour, sugar peanut butter, rice, salad dressing, meat & a loaf of bread (in the freezer), eggs, butter, cereal, toothpaste, shampoo... pretty much everything milk and fresh produce that expire too quickly
Since I have made this attempt, I am loving that I am doing this. It is so nice that when Kevin says "ugh, we are out of tinfoil or mustard or whatever, I can say OK hold on, and walk into my pantry and pull a new one out. It is so nice not to run out of much. I can pick out a new recipe when the kids are asleep I can likely make it without having to wait for them to wake up and drag them to the store.
Occasionally I still run out of something, but it is becoming a rarity in our household.
I have also tried to do this with clothes and shoes. Will is easy, there are always clothes and shoes in the next size waiting for him, but with Westley, if his shoes get too small, he would have to wear him until I had time to get him some new ones, which could take days.
So now I do the same, I look for good sales on shoes and clothes in the next size or two up. This way, when I need them they are there.
Besides the convenience of having things readily available, I also think there is another good reason to do this - disaster preparedness. If something happened temporarily, I have a bit of a cushion by having the house well stocked.
I encourage you to consider doing what I am doing, and try it out. Let me know what you think!
Just start by paying attention to sales. When things are on sale, buy 2 not one, and build it up.
