What are your goals for stockpiling?

[kittensqueak]

I'd like to have enough items to ride out anything this economy can give us. I like to have enough of an item so I will have enough (but not any waste) before it all expires. If it is 3 mo or 3 years, whatever the shelf life of the item is how much I stockpile, that is my general rule of thumb.

I went to get some canned goods from my storage room and was shocked at how many there "aren't." I really thought I had done a pretty good job, but I guess not.

[indesign88]

I started coupon shopping and stockpiling because things were shaky at my work. We are a small company, but we have let one person go. For us, that was huge. I am hoping that by being prepared, stockpiling things we use consistantly and putting money into savings, I can make us through if the job goes until I can find another one. I am feeling better about all of that now, having a great time saving and learning so much here and at this moment still have my job. I am blessed!

I stockpile anywhere from 3 months - 1 years worth depending on the product.

[jjrogers]

Originally Posted by lmncc2003 My son is only able to drink soy milk as well, and I didn't know you could make your own soy milk. I looked some up on ebay and they were running around a $100 like you said, but is it really worth it? I was wondering how long it takes to make it? And what kind of store can you go to to purchase soy beans?

We own one. If your family drinks soy milk it is definately worth it. We have had our beans for 3 years.

[sarahlovesmickey]

we have a good size stockpile, but I feel like we need to stockpile more. It's just not enough at this point. Not as big as some of the stockpiles here.

[neelia]

I think my goal is not to stockpile too much! Sadly. We live in an apartment and I've only been couponing a couple of months and we're already running out of space.. oh well :)

[Bonniem]

I've been stockpiling for just a couple months and I have mostly HBA... I'd love to have more canned goods/cereal/snacks/pasta stocked up. Unlike a few others I read here...I DO have the room...lots of storage in my house, just waiting to be filled up.
My goal this year is to save enough to buy a freezer. I have a worthless side-by-side freezer that holds next to nothing... :sad: So along with the other dry items mentioned, Freezer food is my goal for this year!

[Mothernature]

Eight months later. Our stockpile outlasted a lay off for 2 months in fall; did not make a dent. Two weeks ago, I threw out four bags of expire food, 10 2L's and 3-12 packs of expired soda. I went through our home and organized everything to see what we needed to purchase.

We still have quite the extensive stockpile. I've added to the HBA; the items were absolutely free. We are working on replenishing the food end; we eat at home frequently these days. I always stockpile Coke codes and keep restaurant.com codes on hand.

I am stockpiled with gifts until 3/2011.

I am starting to slowly stock pile forever stamps. While I only mail 3-4 pieces of mail a month (a bit more recently with a train and trades), I am concerned the USPS will privatize. The cost of mail will skyrocket and the stamps must be honored.

I'm learning how to be more self sufficient. I just made two microwave pads. I plan to stockpile what I make. I am in the middle of knitting presents too.

My immediate stockpiling is money and gift certificates. I feel one can not have enough in an emergency savings nor gift cards. We did not pay for gas during our unemployment; eating out was very cheap thanks to gift cards.

[akrenek]

Originally Posted by Brokemom My stockpile is pretty low right now except for Dawn and cereal. I live in a hurricane state, and lost everything I had in my fridge and freezer during this last wave of storms and have vowed not to have that happen again, so I'm stocking non-perishable items only.

I'm doing the same. Only soaps, shampoos etc. Cleaning stuff. I live in Tx and we lost 2 freezers full of ribs, brisket and chicken with good ol' Ike! I just started stockpiling this January, but decied early on anything but food. You never know what's going to happen when you live in hurricane land. I do however have 8 months of toothpaste, a year of razors and at least 3 months of TP and PT not to mention 8 to 10 months or shampoo and deoderant. It's hard to pass on when it's next to nothing or free

[FrankRyan]

Our family has been budget purchasing for 6+ years, we've tried just about everything from couponing, to growing our own, to co-ops to you name it!

We have turned our first floor master bedroom into a 'pantry'. Our upstairs closet is full of toiletries and our laundry room is full of cleaning products. Not only do we buy with coupons, we also buy in bulk by ordering 50lb pails of food. Wheat berries, oats, and beans. At warehouse clubs we purchase large bags of rice and bread flour.

We live in a very wet area so water isn't as scarce as some other regions. Our water level is so high it floods part of our backyard half the year. We do have a water purification set up in the basement. Though we did get a sale not to long ago for free 3ltr bottles of water, when we purchased 45 of them.

I do believe we have enough for a family of four for a year or more.

FR

[htlgrl]

I have several goals for my stockpile:

1. Organize- right now it is pretty messy, and I have to start moving stuff around to organize and consolodate better. I can do a quick organize in a couple hours, but who's got that amount of time? so I'm doing 15 minutes at a time.

2. Build- right now I have 7 months' worth of laundry needs, plus the basic fixings to make my own laundry detergent if need be. I want laundry and cleaning supplies to be at 18-24 months, so that I can just not worry about them at all, and only buy when I see "free".

Personal care: I am working on aspirin, advil, and allergy meds (I gave away a 3 month supply to both my sister and a friend, now I'm down to about 2 months of alavert and a 3 month supply of benadril). I'm also working on having 2 full first aid kits- one for each car, a "super" kit for the house, and a mini kit for each diaper bag. We have a years' supply of toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shampoo, conditioner, shave gel, facial cleansers, and enough makeup to make me look like Mimi from Drew Carey for a good year.

Food wise- we have enough soup, rice, cornmeal, oatmeal, cooking oil, and salt for a year. 4 months of granola/meal replacement/nutrition bars, dried milk, cake mixes, beans, baby cereal, yeast, and popcorn. 2 months of baby food (that's really going to be the last of it, DS#2 is almost done with regular baby food), cereal, flour, and sugar.

The next thing I'm working on is paper/plastics/foil- ziploc bags, garbage bags, plastic wrap (though I am brand loyal on plastic wrap), foil, and parchment paper. I can't seem to find deals on these, though! Or, maybe I don't really know what a good deal is.