Being prepared



I like to be prepared for a variety of things. This means that (among other things) I often have a decent-sized supply of household goods and non-perishable foods on hand. I think I picked up this habit from one of my grandmothers.

I remember being at her house as a kid, and needing (for example) some toothpaste. First we’d check the hall closet, which was richly stocked with a variety of household goods. She had everything from towels to baking soda in there (which incidentally can be used in place of toothpaste in a pinch). Sure enough, most of the time there would be a couple of toothpaste tubes there, just waiting to be used. On the rare occasions that what we needed wasn’t in the hall closet, it would be down in the storage room in the basement. The same kind of thing applied to food. Mention something you’d like to eat, and chances were she’d have it in the deep freezer or the fruit room.

Now I have to admit that as a kid I was both fascinated and frustrated by this. I liked the idea of having everything you needed neatly organized and there for the taking. But sometimes I really just wanted to go to the store, which was rarely actually necessary.

As an adult, I’ve emulated her in many ways. While I don’t have a basement storage room, a fruit room, or a deep freeze. I do have a hall closet, a pantry, and an under-cabinet storage box. I don’t store a whole lot of things, but I do try to keep at least one or two extras of each frequently-used item.

I love not running out of things, and not feeling pressured to stop at the store because we’re out of contact solution or toilet paper. (Every now and then we do run out of something, but it’s usually just an oversight.) This kind of buying is also great because it allows me to take advantage of sales. I don’t have to buy toothpaste at $2.59 or $2.99 a tube because we’re out — I can wait until it goes on sale for 2 for $2 and stock up. We just make sure to use the oldest products first, and not to buy too many even if I come across a great deal. I know that the great deals will come again, and that it’s not a deal if you don’t use the item before it goes bad.

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Posted in Money saving ideas on Jul 16, 2008

6 Responses to “ Being prepared ”

  1. # 1 fitwallet Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 7:13 am

    This is always a struggle for me. We live in a city where prices are high and the big box stores like Target and wholesale clubs aren’t easily accessible (at least from our side of the city). It’s all too easy to walk into CVS and buy ridiculously overpriced items, rather than waiting until the weekend and driving across town. I think I need to come up with a stock list of common items and find a system that works better for our household. Thanks for giving me the kick in the pants to do it :)

  2. # 2 ConnieB Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 7:19 am

    I struggle with this too. It goes right along with having the emergency fund. I was not trained to do it growing up, and it has been a real challenge for me to master myself enough to pre-stock as an adult.

    The best part of me realizes though, that it’s one of the smartest things I can do for my family. You never know when there will be some sort of emergency, and those who are prepared, and have some things set aside will do much better!

    The few times I have actually done this I have been able to capitalize on sales as well, and you are right, you can save a lot of money.

  3. # 3 Ted Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    It may not be cheaper to drive across town to the bigbox stores at current gas prices. Just for argument’s sake, $4 gas in a vehicle that gets 20mpg is $0.20 per mile (feel free to adjust for your location and vehicle). If it is 10 miles round trip, that’s an additional $2 you are paying, so you’ll want to combine trips as much as possible. Walking to CVS might be cheaper for the 1-2 item trips, just remember to stock up next time you drive to the bigbox.

  4. # 4 Nan Patience Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm

    I’m pretty good at this, though I do get stuck paying full price once in a while…

  5. # 5 Brooke Allen Says:
    July 18th, 2008 at 10:57 am

    Been doing this for about 5 years now. Almost always have extras and when I run out of something, I go “shopping” in my pantry or closet. Sometimes I end up with too much and I end up giving my extras to the homeless or something.

    I actually ran out of dish soap the other day, and that was a strange feeling. I don’t know how I managed that, since I usually have 3 or 4 of them sitting underneath the sink.

    I’m always surprised at how much people spend at the grocery store. About 5 years ago I used to spend about $40 a week on everything, including toiletries and diapers. It’s gone up to average between $60 and $80 a week now, but talking to my friends who are spending about twice that amount, I don’t feel so bad.

  6. # 6 Marci Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    Winters in NW Oregon are hard on employment… even if self-employed, the
    hours are fewer and the money slow to trickle in. I learned about 30 years ago
    to stock up in Aug/Sept/Oct so that I could make it thru the winter without having
    to buy much.

    Too this day, I still do it. I’m sure I could eat for a year on what’s in the house,
    and I think the only other thing I might run out of is TP – but there’s about 4
    month supply… and it takes a lot of room to store :)

    Watch the sales and stock up – they seem to go on a 3 month rotation of what’s
    on sale. Buy enough for at least 3 months, and you’ll soon get everything on it’s
    sale rotation and there won’t be any more paying full price for stuff.

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