I usually stock up when there's a sale, but not more than 6 items of any one thing, like real butter(I freeze it) or toilet paper.......except for white sugar..... .99cents/4lbs on sale.... for the hummingbirds. I have 20 bags. They start arriving in April...I'm prepared. :0)

Not to the extreme, but I do have tons of storage and keep an eye out for prices. I shop at Costco so always have several weeks worth of paper towels, TP. Kleenex. Cabinets in the garage take care of those. I've used the Costco coupons for dollars off and right now know I have 6 months worth of dishwasher pods in the utility closet, a years worth of Original Tide powder in my clean dry heated basement - those $6 off Costco coupons too hard to resist. Case of chicken stock since I haven't made my own this year. My freezer is full.

I think I've said here before that I loaded up on my favorite lip pencil, lip gloss, hair smoothing product when they were discontinued - I have about a two year supply of those three things ;0)

Nicole, our hummingbirds don't leave, they winter here. DH has been up before first light putting feeders back outside with our cold weather the last two mornings. With the snow yesterday, I had one hanging from a cup hook under my deep roof overhang, another from the bend in a downspout also protected, and a third from the light fixture near the back door. Otherwise, in their normal year around sites, the snow kept covering the feeding ports to my saucer style feeders ;0)

We have a family joke about this. SIL's husband stockpiled salad dressing. When he passed away and we had to clean his pantry, the dates were many, many years expired.

I have watched on occasion the extreme coupon shopping shows. I think it becomes more of an addiction to see how much they can get for how little. Do you really need that many bottles of ketchup stored?

That said, I don't like to run out of toilet paper or paper towels. I have a nice supply. Sometimes if I am at Costco and don['t need these items I seem to get them anyway!

I think if you have the room, then why not? A really good idea would be for those who do this to combine forces and share their bounties.

I don't have a stockpile but I do have a back stock of items I use frequently, only because I hate to run out. Usually just one or two in reserve. And I don't stock up at sales either unless it is something I use a lot of..........typically canned pet food :-)

nicole, I get the sugar thing........you can go through a lot of that feeding the hummers :-) But 20 bags!! You must have herds of them!! Mine are here year round but not in large swarms and I have a lot of year round hummingbird plants to keep them happy as well.

I've never understood how they do that. Where do they get all those coupons? I bought a Sunday paper recently that cost $3.00 and had no coupons in it. My local paper has the same old coupons and so does Kroger who sends me coupons constantly. I have multiple coupons of the same product but they are mostly things that expire too soon to stock up on, like bread.

I've never seen that couponing show, and I thought extreme couponing was mostly a thing of the past. However, I know that ten or so years ago my niece and her husband bought a house with an extra bedroom intending to use it as a coupon-acquired stock room. I could not see how the expense of the extra room was going to be made up by free or cheap toothpaste, canned soup, etc.

We do stock up when we find things on a super sale. I think 6 is sort of a common limit for us. For one, thing, I know there are others who need the bargain more than us, so I like to think we're giving others the chance to get the bargain. Other items, of course don't keep well over the months.

However, we do have probably four years worth of laundry detergent. My wife stocked up on Foca long enough ago that it has lost its smell but not its cleaning power. We keep it bagged inside of a big Rubbermaid tub, except for the bag we are currently using.

I guess you could call our home-canned produce, dried produce, jams, and fermented produce a stockpile.

I don't have a stockpile but I do like to have back ups of items I frequently use.

I don't understand this unless it's because an item you love is discontinued or you're giving the extras to charity.

Whatever it is you stockpile, you'll be able to get the same item at the same price within the month (for most items)....

Having so much would stress me out.

Some of these stockpilers look like they’re preparing for a zombie apocalypse or total civilization collapse, and I’m not even talking about those ‘preppers’.

I shop at Costco, and yes it sometimes can be difficult to resist putting things we don’t actually need in the cart, but most of the time I don’t have enough toilet paper and paper towels to handle a tsunami of liquid, a couple months supply for the typical usage minimum, sure. A quantity of Q-tips to clean the ears of a family of at least 4 people for a year? Yeah I probably have that in the house at this moment. Anything perishable I have to be absolutely certain we will finish before it isn’t good anymore and has to be tossed out - otherwise it’s not a purchase that saves us money in the long run.

I have seen the extreme couponers donate lots of food items like cereal and soda.

They never say on the show where they get the coupons as usually my Sunday paper no longer has coupons either. I heard they sign up and pay for coupon services.

I’m terrible with coupons. If they are for items I’ll never use I just toss them. Also 80% of the time, either the store brand or brand I usually buy is cheaper than the couponed item.

I always buy things in 2’s. So I have a back up toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant etc.

When bath and body works has a handsoap sale,I stock up. Its an indulgence, but i really prefer their soap to any other. I like the different scents. I'll buy 50 or so. I like to have it at home and I'll take some to work as well. I don't know what that industrial hand soap they supply is but it smells like moldy cardboard. Since I share the bathroom there with only 2 other women and 2 men,the soap lasts awhile,especially as I don't think the men use it.

I do use the coupons.com app since its easier than clipping,and other apps like ebates,ibotta,checkout51 and savings star for cash back,as well as shopkick,receipt hog and fetch rewards. They are all free and given patience and diligence can really pay off.But I won't be making a career out of it. That show has been exposed as.......exaggerated, to put it mildly.

"This isn't Weimar Germany. I haven't experienced rampant inflation in my lifetime. We aren't in a war, living with rationing. I don't live 50 miles from stores. I don't need a mini-supermart in my home."

This and the rest of it - BEST POST EVER!!!!!!

My response that is humble after chisue's tour de force:

No.

And for the same reasons. No stockpile of anything. We have plenty of storage space but don't want the clutter and see no need. Stores are 10 minutes or less away. We don't monitor sales or use coupons so there's no need to have more than one backup of anything and often not even that because if something is used up, it can go on a shopping list for the next store trip.

No stockpile of anything here except I seem to have an over abundance of baking sprinkles and decorations for cookies. haha I buy them thinking I am going to make and decorate cookies but I don't think that is ever going to happen any time soon. But they are pretty.

I have a stockpile of gold bars. They changed the formula of Dial Gold when the government stuck it's nose in the efficacy (no danger was found, merely not sure if it worked) of the ingredient used in antibacterial soaps. Because the old Dial helped me so much with my mystery eczema/rash, I went out and bought what they had left at Target. My stockpile isn't huge. I am experimenting now with the new formulas.

I buy paper towels and toilet paper at Costco and we always have emergency water on hand. Earthquake country. But I no longer stock on up very much else. I try to follow the rule of two in the pantry one in use except for things that are difficult to come by or are seasonal like candied fruit for baking. For most frequently used household products it is often one in use,one in reserve.

Except for buying the large pack of Costco toilet tissue, I don't stock up on anything. I throw the coupons that we get in the mail straight into the recycling bin as there's rarely a coupon for anything we use. I do use ebates for online purchases, loyalty cards for various stores, and a cash back credit card. That's my form of couponing.

I have never understood the extreme couponing either. I have no idea where in the world they come up with all those coupons and manage to buy an item for pennies. I have never seen that possible where we live.

I used to stock up on things but realized that much of what we buy is perishable. Even if you buy shampoo and conditioner, it can and will go bad after a while. If I see a really good deal on paper goods, I will stock up. I just bought 4 toothpastes of the kind we like because it was on sale plus a couple coupons were in the ads (packet of coupons) we get in the mail.

Not right now. In times past, I kept my freezer fully stocked but right now I just have a side by side and it doesn't hold that much, so I try to use up every month the things I have bought. I do have a larger freezer but it needs a new gasket and when it has been repaired, I will go back to keeping more food on hand. My husband often doesn't work for 6 months at a time, so having food on hand, is a help to us. I don't stockpile large amounts of anything else either.

Pennydesign, that is interesting that having much would stress you out. Do others here have similar feelings?

If you just can put your extras away, why would it feel stressful? Would it impose on your thoughts and plans? Like-- as in my case, if you had a lot of laundry detergent would you feel as if you must do extra laundry or something? I don't feel that way. We still do our laundry at a normal rate, and I don't think of the stockpile at all unless I need to open a new bag or if someone asks on Kitchen Table about whether we stockpile. Where would the stress come from?

Hi matthias...

I wouldn't feel an obligation to use it, no. I just feel as if "stuff" weighs me down. I would be very happy living a minimalist kind of lifestyle. Unfortunately others that live with me don't have the same mindset...

FWIW, I have no idea where this came from as I wasn't always this way. Actually maybe I do and it might be a little strange to some (you'll have to follow along...). I have a very low self-esteem. Therefore, I don't want to be a bother to anyone. So it follows that I would like to just disappear unnoticed from this life. Having someone go to the trouble of cleaning up after me when I die bothers me. A lot.

Strange but true. :)

Most of my "stockpile" are the items I have canned myself. In addition to tomatoes, green beans, red cabbage, and beets, I make pea soup, lentil soup, tomato soup, potato soup, sweet and sour cabbage soup plus chili. Add in the goulash and Bolognese sauce the selves are rather full. For the store-bought items, I have laundry detergent, bleach, fab softener, paper towels and TP. Then there is flour, sugar, packets of rice and pasta. Yes, I stock up on sale items for us and for the food pantry at a local church.

Why may you ask? If I grow it, we eat it and I hate running out of something. Running to the store for one item is a waste of my time and money. I know too many couples where a spouse is sent to the store and the spouse resents the lack of planning.

My niece does extreme couponing and posts about it on facebook. I'm not a fan. Besides, things do have an expiration date. I thought things like laundry detergent lose their effectiveness after a year, I don't know.

My Mom was a semi-hoarder. I cleaned out a pantry she had when she was still alive, found a pasta mix with an expiration date of 1977. She was mad when I threw it out, said it was still good. I graduated high school in 1977! I also found a burst can of pineapple on a top shelf in the back that had seeped all the way to the bottom. Don't even let me tell you about her freezer. Frozen meat with maggots, how does that happen?

So in a word, no. I do not stockpile.

No stockpiles here. We have a few large stores that are open 24 hours. Let them store it and I will only bring home the freshest items they have as I need them.

One story I heard about Weimar Germany is people would fill a wheelbarrow with cash to go buy groceries, and they'd run to the store pushing it, because if they walked, the prices would be even higher when they got there.

There are a few things I'll stock up on when they're on sale, especially things that will keep a long time. There is one Ginger Miso salad dressing that I use in making "Asian Noodles" that is only available at one specific store that I don't frequent (Whole Foods) so when I have to get more, I'll usually buy 6 bottles or so, about a years worth.

I rarely will use coupons. About the only time is when they are affixed to the item to which they apply, even then I sometimes forget to use them. If an item is only a good buy with a rebate, I will avoid buying it. I dislike the whole idea of rebates, which are designed to entice you with what seems like a good deal, in the hopes that you will miss a step or not follow through and effectively pay full price. If you want to entice me with a lower price, stamp that lower price right on the item.

As a Costco shopper for a household of 2 that does have more storage than we need, just thought I'd mention (Chisue) that I am 50 miles from stores. I'm 55 to the nearest Costco, Trader Joe's, Macy's, Pier I, a garden store that carries pots and implements as well as plants, a dedicated appliance store not box store - my list can go on and on. I'm even further from the nearest Nordstrom ;0)

I never leave town without a cooler, love the wider selection in bigger grocery stores than are available to me here.

Right now I'd like a yard of nice velour to make a couple of microwavable flax seed pillows. Walmart carries some fabrics if one is desperate. I'm not that desperate yet. Nearest fabric store, 55 miles. It's snowing.

Coupons stink anymore. Most are products I don't use and the ones I do have a very short expiration date. I basically only use them for pet food. I do always have extra bags of cat and dog food. The expiration date is a year away if not opened. Another thing I stockpile is paper towels and to an extent Tide. (if you call five bottles stockpiling)Other than nothing else. We're stopping our paper soon as coupons are next to none existent. I do stockpile my pet food when I get Target gift card.

The LDS religion suggests a year's worth of food/supply storage. I think that is an excellent idea.

In my earlier post I forgot two things. The 2 cases of plastic t bags I buy on Amazon (bag ban area) and light bulbs. When the incandescent light bulb ban came along I started to stock up. I have them organized by wattage in bins with just a few in a single drawer in the house. They tried to push the plan as if they would always be available, but today especially in California we know that was a big lie. So I have enough light bulbs that should last for the remainder of my life. BTW PG&E sends me smiley faces in their how green are you letters. We use less power than similar homes who have gone to "energy saving " bulbs.

Life’s too short to clip coupons. I can walk to a grocery store so my stockpile can stay on the shelves there. I do go to Costco once in awhile so am forced to buy more than I currently need. I don’t buy perishables there. I love not having stuff around.

Years ago I did use coupons. But, I never seemed to get in on the double ones.

They started to annoy me when you had to buy 2 or 3 of the item to get the coupon.

That is when I stopped. I don't want 3 salad dressings!

There are other ways to save money.

I would not say I have a stockpile but I do keep plenty on hand. I seldom use coupons, don't take a paper to get them. I shop mostly myself in Aldi. My girls shop for me elsewhere. I do order from Sam's Club and many things are shipped right to my front porch. I like to get the bulky or heavy things delivered, toilet paper, paper towels, and nutritional drinks and other things. Most of their Member's Mark brand is shipped free. It is not possible to just run to the grocery any time I run out of something, so I try to keep things on hand.

Sue

I've never been into coupons. For items I use frequently, I generally have two or three extras on the pantry shelf. When butter is on sale I will buy extra -- maybe as much as 8 pounds -- because the price fluctuates so much. The only item I "stockpile" is toilet paper -- I NEED a 2 or 3 month supply of TP in my house to feel comfy.

Years ago (over 20?), I decided I liked Number One leaded pencils. So I bought a case of Ticonderoga's ... 144 pencils ... figuring it would be about a lifetime supply. I'm down to my last two boxes (24) ... maybe I should lay in at least a few more, lol!

Seldom use coupons. I do use them at Target sometimes. They often have a Target coupon that can be stacked with a manufacturers coupon.

My biggest saving comes from using reward type credit cards for just about everything I purchase.

watchme on your comment about light bulbs. I have a three light floor lamp. Was using CFLs but one just did not turn on one day. I replaced it with a LED. I watch my usage where I can and since then my use has been higher on the days I use that lamp. I know that all three bulbs should be the same so no comments. Advice on stockpiling light bulbs do not store any in an unheated garage then immediately turn them on. They may only last a few seconds.

About the middle of October I start stockpiling the things that I use knowing that some years we have massive snows and ice storms. Mostly papergoods but also things that can be opened and eaten without any prep.

I quit couponing several years back. I don't need that much junk food. I do the free Friday download from Kroger and select online coupons at that time. I don't pay attention to those unless it is free so it's usually just luck if I do use one.

I have a stockpile of toilet paper, paper towel and laundry detergent and dishwasher soap. Those would ruin my day if I ran out. I keep a pantry full of food. I like to buy when it is on sale. I know I won't starve in an emergency. When we had the hurricane, I had the three day emergency water supply already. We bought another two storage containers just in case and filled them up. There were people running out of food before three days and some people lost everything. I was happy to have extra. I'm in the process of trying to use everything up, but will restock again after I do that.

My husband stockpiles canned goods. He doesn't coupon though. The last time I cleaned out the pantry I found twenty-five cans of soup; the problem? No one in this house eats that soup, so why do we have it?! Drives me nuts.

I will stockpile certain things (paper products mostly because in addition to being a food hoarder my husband uses paper towels like nobody's business) - but usually not months worth.

CFL bulbs use ~75% less energy than an incandescent equivalent so a 100 watt bulb equivalent, as an example, would use 23-25 watts. Larger and smaller scale linearly.

LED bulbs use ~85% less energy than an incandescent equivalent so a 100 watt equivalent would use 13-14 watts. Also scale linearly. If not experiencing that, there's something wrong with the bulb.

watchme, give LEDs a try. If you buy good quality ones (like Philips or Cree) I think you'll find the quality of the light is quite excellent. Much better than either incandescents or CFLs. I've replaced all my bulbs in fixtures with glass covers and we find the light much more satisfactory than either the old incandescents or CFLs. They turn on bright immediately too and most stay quite cool and give off very little heat.

Maybe he was stockpiling all that soup because what if someone *did* eat it, or it was aspirational soup buying...he intended to, wanted to, hoped to, eventually be the type of person who eats that kind of soup.

;)

No, Jenn. He makes his own soup and would never eat that soup. All I can figure is he got a "deal."

Because of my mobility issues, I am ordering via Amazon prime and stockpiling cat food and cat litter. I got a mud room where I can store items. I do stockpile cans of sardines and tuna. In case of extreme emergency, the cat and I can survive for a while. I am considering having water delivered too.

I see no reason to switch. I am happy with my incandescent lighting. I have plenty of bulbs to last and plenty of fixtures. I like three way lamps. The only equivalent is an LED that only gives goes to 100 watts and gives out early according to reviews. They rest marketed a 150 version but try to find one in California. Where I have a lot of light everything is on dimmers so I can control it. The only place in this house that will have other than incandescent is parts of the kitchen and the fan lights in the baths and the tube florescent shop lights in the garage.

Hahaha, well it seems like all husbands have a ‘thing’ that they are irrationally and singlemindedly driven to do - mine will mysteriously have hardware odds and ends when he gets home from work that he used to keep in ziplock bags - I’m all for keeping a supply of these things, like the barrel nuts that neither of us know the origin of but came in handy when the drawer/cabinet pulls were a bit loose and only on the 5 drawers in the kitchen not the more numerous cabinet doors. We’d used all but the 5 screws in the pack and didn’t want to go get another size so I dug through the bags of bits and bobs for the solution. After that I said no more ziplock bags, we’re going to use appropriate storage containers divided into sections so we don’t have to dump everything out anymore just to find something needed. The stockpiling continues, I don’t think he even notices when he’s putting these random screws, nuts, bolts, and brackets into his pocket while he’s working. They just keep mysteriously multiplying. ;)

A simple answer...No. pretty much what Chisue and Jenn said sums it up. I buy what I need and buy a large pack of paper towels and TP because I have room to store it. Otherwise, my time is more valuable than spending hours a day figuring out where the best deals are and finding coupons for the items I might need. Yes, I use the digital coupons my favorite grocery store offers. But that is it. I don’t like to have loads of stuff hanging around we won’t use before it expires.

Elmer, we are hooked on the LED bulbs. Glad to hear they are so efficient.

We have a garden every year so I can and freeze vegetables and fruits, and FIL provides beef to all the families from cows raised on the farm. I buy the big packs of paper products, baking supplies, and some canned items from Sam's. I always have an extra pack of bath soap, lotion, toothpaste and shampoo on hand but not a stockpile. Just an extra bottle. I do tend to stockpile wine occasionally!!! LOL!

Oh. My big stockpile lately. Vitamins and other supplements. I take advantage of the two for one sales on them at Walgreens.

I don't practice "couponing", and as some have mentioned, although I do get a lot of coupons in the Sunday paper, very few are for products I want to buy. However, I will use coupons, especially the Kroger coupons sent to me for things I have purchased in the past, for things I do like to have; and I will buy extras of things I know I will use and won't spoil, or to donate, if on sale + coupon.

I don't stock up on things that aren't at a remarkable price, but if it is, I certainly do! I have not had to buy dryer sheets for a while because I stumbled across a major brand being clearanced out at about 75% off. Bought many boxes of laundry detergent at Ollies for the same reason (yes, they are effective for a long time). I picked up a dozen or so Progresso canned soups lately on sale+ coupons because I often take a can for lunch to work (I eat 2 or 3 meals during my shift), and I wanted to get the ones that have BTFE coupons on them before they are gone -- so I currently have a stockpile of that. And I have several boxes of pasta, the kind made with veggies and other grains, because, again, they were on sale, with coupons, and I got each box (usually well over a dollar) for $0.33. They will keep in the cool basement in an airtight container. Unfortunately I need to eat less pasta now, so most of them will likely be donated.

Pinching pennies like that is a long ingrained habit from my less wealthy days.

Stockpile? Who me?? Little story.

As some of you know I collect laundry detergent. ..US or foreign and discontinued, vintage..it makes no difference. Most of my stash was given to me as gifts. Well I was thinking one day a few years back about the space and how I'm out of space..lol. I thought about the big walk in closet in the back hall that hubs ( Mike) uses to store his......old bowling balls, poly leisure suits in every color imaginable, western hat, blue suede shoes, stuff he hasn't worn or used in 40 years and never again because I won't be seen with him in a red white and blue striped polyester leisure suit...or his tee shirt saying **its not a bald spot, its a solar panel for a love machine**

Anyway I had a great idea....LOL. I packed it all up in black garbage bags while he was at work and than I had him drive and drop it off at the thrift store. He never questioned what was in the bags. So I have a empty closet but it needed something...shelves and that ment Mike would have to install them...it also ment I was going to have to confess my sin to him. I clearly remember that day...I cooked his favorate dinner chicken-a-la-king and made his favorate fluffy tapioca pudding for dessert. During after dinner coffee I said Mike how hard would it be to put shelves in a closet...he said...depends....I said the walk in in the hall....I than explained it would be a great place to store my detergent....his eyes got that look that questioning look that made me squirm with guilt..haha. I suppose my eyes reflected my guilt because he went straight to the closet...CHERYL WHERE IS MY STUFF...I took a few deep breaths reminding myself I know how to handle this man. Well to make a longer story short...the shelves worked out great, my detergent is in a safe, dry area, and I have room for even more. Mike calmed down and agreed he really had no need for his old stuff and even considered getting rid of it himself.

Don't worry he did get even with me....he decided to prune my rose bush...in December. LOL.

I'd rather run out of ketchup than toilet paper.