03 Jan 2007 05:17 PM

Adventures of the Stockpiling Queen (1)

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

     

fifty pound note This blog is about how a desire to save money and be prepared for anything creates a kingdom onto itself.

Are you stock-up royalty? Take this test:

Do you have at least a six-month supply of shampoo? Are you still getting through the extra toilet paper you bought for Y2K? If the neighbor came over to borrow a cup of sugar, could you oblige? What about 5 pounds of sugar? What about the entire makings for a cake that serves three hundred?

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If you answered yes to the above questions, then congratulations my friend. By the power vested in me and grocery stores everywhere, I wave my magic roll of extra-absorbent paper towels and declare you an official knight of the kitchen table. If you answered no, don't worry, click here for some great practical tips to get you up on that horse in no time.

Me? Well, I'm the Queen of course. Just ask my husband, as he makes his way past the castle gate, constructed by my toddler out of 22 boxes of chicken helper. "Honey," my husband pleads. "Do we really need more boxes of toothpaste than we have relatives?"

Some women buy expensive clothes or shoes and sneak them into the house when their husbands aren't looking. I hide Cherrios. I tuck them into odd places in closets, between kitchen furniture and in corners where they won't be noticed. On rainy days, the kids from the neighborhood could come over and play "I spy" with built-in snack bonuses.

Why do I do this? My logic is simple: price and convenience. Our grocery bill is consistently under $100 a month and we save on unnecessary trips to the store. I simply go shopping in my pantry.

There is a method to my madness. I take advantage of coupons, sales, warehouse club deals and rebates. By combining multiple offers, I often get the groceries we need for just pennies. The infamous toothpaste, for example... I would rather buy the brand we use at three cents a tube than $2.27 cents a tube. Plus, I know I'll never have to run out to the store in my pjs and fuzzy tiger slippers, seeking fluoride with whitening agents just because someone, who shall remain nameless, decided blue gel makes a great finger-paint.

Look for tomorrow's post, the Adventures of the Stockpiling Queen (2). In it, I'll share the rest of my crazy stockpiling life, including the reasons why I stockpile.

Related Articles:

8 Practical Stockpiling Tips: Save Money!

Free Sample Stockpile: Creative Uses

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

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Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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7 comments so far

sbombria (329) 16 Feb 2007 07:43 AM

Your house sounds like mine...toilet paper & paper towels under beds. 2year supply of Shampoo, and a lifetime of kotex....LOL

Andrea Hermitt (4920) 16 Feb 2007 07:55 AM

I used to stockpile food, but it turns out that preteens will consume everything in thier sight... now we only have items stockpiled that they don't like.

Mary Ann Romans (20819) 16 Feb 2007 08:01 AM

sbombria, that is why we are moving to a new house!

Mary Ann Romans (20819) 16 Feb 2007 08:02 AM

Andrea, I have young kids, but we have still graduated to a jumbo size pizza when we order out. I just know we are going to have to get a bigger fridge. Any recommendations?

Andrea Hermitt (4920) 16 Feb 2007 08:08 AM

I have a chest freezer in the garage... they are less prone to mow through things they have to cook. The same goes for concentrated fruit juice that they need to add water to. I always buy frozen cookie dough to make them put some effort into comsuming it. Nothing easy to eat and prepare stays around here for long!

Mary Ann Romans (20819) 16 Feb 2007 08:49 AM

Ah, those seem like good strategies. We have an upright freezer in the basement (I was worried the kids would climb into a chest freezer and expire). Do you go through a lot of milk? What about cereal? My kids are cereal hogs, and I try to restrict that.

Andrea Hermitt (4920) 16 Feb 2007 09:57 AM

My kids outgrew milk and cereal around age 9. My husband and I eat more cereal and consume more milk than the kids. They prefer cranberry juice, capri sun, and gatoraide. I don't purchase carbonated soft drinks (soda). My kids devour pop corn, pop tarts, and hot pockets, and frozen pizza... anything that goes into the microwave or oven and comes out quickly. I keep bags of salad around to balance it out, but alot of it goes to waste.

I am going to attempt learning to bake muffins and such from scratch to make thier diet healthier.

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