Stock Inventory

[mommas2moody]

I'm on a mission to better manage my stockpile! But I need a little help / advise.

So I dug out everything in my cabinets and took an inventory. (easy for me because I don't have alot of storage space) I created a hand written list of everything that I have stashed which also included stuff in the refrig and int he freeze.

Now my question is, do I keep this as a hand written list or take the time to type it up?

Any and all words of wisdom is appreciated!

[kval07]

Well, if you type it up, it will be a lot easier to manage! You could print it and post it in your kitchen/stockpile area and make notes as things as used and added and update your list weekly/monthly etc.

[jen276here]

May I suggest, whether you keep it hand written or typed, you place tally marks of the number of items you have on hand - but when you get to the 5th one, don't mark it across the first four, keep it as a separate tally (like this I I I I I I). As you use an item, use a highlighter to cross a tally off, then as you add an item just mark a new tally in. If you type it you could every so often go back to the original file and add new items and redo the tally's. HTH!

[mommas2moody]

Thanks girls!
That's pretty much what I was thinking. The biggest reason for doing this is so that I don't keep buying stuff I am ready have a ton of..... like maxipads! Yes I have enough of those to last me for about a year.

Is there anyone that does actually keep a list or do most people store it in memory?

[to1drland]

I don't keep an ongoing list- I do however make a list of items that will need to be replenished soon whenever I organize the stockpile. that way I have a point of ref. for when a deal comes along for that item. hth

[anaj06]

I keep mine pretty much in my head. I have a lot of things that I don't buy unless they are free so those are easy. I do mess up from time to time though, but I'd never be able to keep up with a complete list so I'll have to just have mess ups. Good luck to you with yours; I hope it works well!

[sadlady12]

I'm on a mission with my stockpile as well.

I have started with a list (handwritten) of non-food items that I'd like to have a year's supply of stocked. Some things I have already, for some, I have a few and some I don't have any. Then I will take an inventory and fill in how many of each I have. On my list I have 2 columns for numbers, one for how many I have, and the other for how many I need for a year.

My goal is not necessarily to keep up with how much stuff I have but to be able to look at the list and see which deals I need to go after when they come along. In the past, I've, like I'm sure most of us do from time to time, gone crazy getting lots and lots and lots of one thing, when I could have better used my time and whatever oop I had to go after the deals that I really need to stock instead. Cereal comes to mind, lol... yes, I got them really cheap but I didn't need it but I do need a better supply of coffee and tea.

So my goal right now is to come up with my list of what I KNOW we like to have all the time, like coffee, trash bags, etc., then I'll fill in my numbers and when the deals come along I will hopefully know which ones I need to go after rather than just winging it, lol, like I've been doing a lot of in the past. Hoping to change that and try to more target my deals with a purpose in mind.

And for the record... I am actually making 2 lists. One for Food and one for Non-food. After I get it all figured out I will likely put it on a spreadsheet but I'm still trying to figure it all out on how I want to organize the lists.

I want to be able to look at a glance and see how far apart my numbers are.... if it's half of a year's supply, then I know I'm okay but need to try to get that number up a little... if it's less than half, that's where my priority is for deal finding.

I'm all for hearing other's ideas, methods, strategies, etc. I keep a lot in my head but honestly, it's feeling like it's a little full at times. I need to make room for other stuff, lol!

[hbaqueen]

Originally Posted by jen276here May I suggest, whether you keep it hand written or typed, you place tally marks of the number of items you have on hand - but when you get to the 5th one, don't mark it across the first four, keep it as a separate tally (like this I I I I I I). As you use an item, use a highlighter to cross a tally off, then as you add an item just mark a new tally in. If you type it you could every so often go back to the original file and add new items and redo the tally's. HTH!

What a good idea!! Im reorganizing and taking stock right now so gonna do this.

[cma2a17]

Originally Posted by jen276here May I suggest, whether you keep it hand written or typed, you place tally marks of the number of items you have on hand - but when you get to the 5th one, don't mark it across the first four, keep it as a separate tally (like this I I I I I I). As you use an item, use a highlighter to cross a tally off, then as you add an item just mark a new tally in. If you type it you could every so often go back to the original file and add new items and redo the tally's. HTH!

Great idea!

[enginerd]

I don't know how many different things you are tracking but if there weren't too many, you could use a dry erase board to keep track - that is what I used to use. The problem I had was that DH would take something out and not mark it off so I finally gave up trying to track.