Creating/Maintaining a Kitchen Stockpile

The number one most important thing I have learned from my year of becoming a frugal shopper is to create and maintain a stockpile. Now, don't think that I mean you must have a large amount of room and you have to have enough canned goods to last you for two years. My husband and I live in a 2 bedroom condo that has just enough space at the present. However, I have learned in the past year to keep my kitchen (and household!) running smoothly, it really helps to have a small stockpile.

First: Create a list of the products/recipes you use most.
For example, here's some of ours:
- Whole grain Pasta
- Brown Rice
- Beans
- Tomato sauce
- Chicken
- Frozen vegetables
- Taco shells
- Almond milk
- Oatmeal
- Raisins
- Extra virgin olive oil
Et cetera...I think you get the point.

Second: Make a habit of collecting coupons for those items.
Whether you subscribe to the Sunday paper or have your neighbors and friends give you their leftover inserts, find a way to get coupons for cheap.

Third: Begin to watch the grocery store flyers for sales of those items. Try to match coupons with sales.
I have to be honest. I am pretty much stuck on one grocery store (Publix). Usually, I do not venture outside of that place; however, I do keep my eye on the sales of other stores. Why? It teaches me what really is a good price for something and what is not. Publix has a great number of Buy One Get One Free products every week. When my stockpile items are on BOGO, I grab my coupons (always use 2 coupons for BOGO's!) and "stock up!"

This "mini-stockpiling" has saved us in the long run, and cuts down on the number of trips to the grocery store. Gone are the days of, "We don't have anything for dinner!" Also gone are the days of paying full price for items that were on sale just last week. If I want something and ran out, most of the time I make myself wait until it's on sale again. Publix seems to run the BOGO's on a fairly short cycle (I'm assuming the other stores do too).

For more great Kitchen Tip Tuesday ideas, see Tammy's blog.


Picture from Healthline.