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According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal “Stocking up on food may… may make a sensible home for some of your shorter-term cash. ”  Reading (and forwarding) this article provided me with a measure of vindication because some members of my family have implied that I am a bit on the crazy side after seeing my full pantry.  It also made me very glad that I have been building a stock pile of food for almost a year, so we not as impacted by the price of groceries as many others are in these tough economic times.  However, while the Wall Street Journal Article touched on the idea of buying in bulk, it fell short of explaining the how of buying and organizing your stock pile.  Here is a basic step-by-step introduction for Stockpiling.  How To Effectively Stockpile Food

It doesn’t do you very much good to hoard a large supply of food that you will never eat, yet it also won’t provide you with much of a savings if you buy a large quantity of a food you do eat at a high price.  The best and most ideal way to stockpile food is to identify what you eat and how much of it, identify a rock bottom price, and then buy enough of the item at the rock bottom price to last you until the next time it hits that price.  

• Identify what you need to stockpile and how much of it

You can stockpile pretty much all non-perishable items, so explore your pantry and your fridge to see what you need.  Think of the meals that your family eats, and consider what ingredients you need to make those items.  Don’t forget about stockpiling condiments (pickles, ketchup, relish, etc.) and other things you bake with or use as ingredients.  Also, be sure to include toiletries, paper goods and pet products on your list.  Finally, don’t forget that many staples can be frozen in order to be stockpiled (milk can be frozen right in its gallon jugs, just pour out a little bit first; and I have 3 1/2 gallons of orange juice in my freezer as I type this).  

Make a list of all of all the commonly used items you want to stockpile, including anything specific to your household (diapers, baby wipes, pet food, etc.).  A composition book works well for this list, so you can bring it with you to grocery stores.   

• Identify How Much of each item You Need to Stockpile

Grocery store sales cycles are usually 12 weeks, so most items will hit their rock bottom price every 12 weeks. So, if you want to be stocked up, you should plan to buy a 12 week supply of each item when it hits its pricing low.  If you go through a jar of tomato sauce a week, for example, then when your brand hits its pricing low, buy 12 jars of it.  

In the composition book where you made your list of items you want to stockpile, put a number next to each item (in the margin perhaps) of the amount you will use in a 12 week period.  

• Identify the lowest price for each item on your list

It may take you a while to identify what really is a good price and what is just an OK price.  The best way to do this is to use a price book.  Each time you buy an item on your list, write the price you paid next to it in pencil.  If you see the item at a lower price on another date or at another store then erase the price and write in the new low price (if this price is at a store other than your regular store or if you shop at a lot of different stores, then make a note of that in your book).  Eventually, over time you will learn what the absolute lowest price is and you will know to only buy that item when it goes down to (or close to) that price.

Of course, if you want to start stockpiling right now, you won’t have time to build a price book before you get started.  Fortunately, there are online resources that can help you.  Check out sites like Couponmom.com or Hot Coupon World.  Couponmom.com matches up grocery store sales flyers and unadvertised sales with coupons and lists the items on sale by percentage off.  My rule of thumb, before I had my price book, was to buy an item only if it was 50% off or greater on Couponmom.com.  

You can also ask questions or read forums on hotcouponworld.com where master shoppers are willing to share their experiences, and perhaps even their price books, so a beginner stockpiler can get a good idea of what rock bottom prices are.  

Keep this list, in your composition book, constantly updated and soon you will know exactly when to buy your 12 jars of tomato sauce to achieve the biggest possible savings.  

• Be willing to shop at a few different stores & clip (or buy) coupons for the products you use

I get groceries for my stockpile at all sorts of different stores.  If I get a Rite Aid flyer (or see on a coupon forum) that something I use is really cheap (or even free!) at a different store, I will go to that store and buy however much I need of that item to be fully stocked up.  I also will watch for Loss Leaders (items grocery stores sell at a loss to lure you into the store) and run into the store to buy just that item if it is something I have on my list of needed items.  If you are hoping to build a stockpile quickly (to beat the rising cost of groceries that is occurring now, for example) you should be even more willing to be flexible about where you shop (and perhaps even the brands you use.)

I also buy papers (several a week) and clip coupons because I am an active CVS-er.  If you simply want to build a stockpile of the food your family uses, you might be better off buying coupons on ebay or getting them at a site like thecouponclippers.com.  Not only will this save you time sorting and clipping, but you will be able to have a large supply of coupons for items you buy (ex: if you have decided you need 12 Skippy Peanut Butters in order to last your family 12 weeks, you can buy 12 coupons for $1 off Skippy Peanut Butter, if said coupon exists).  By purchasing coupons only for items you want, you’ll get them in larger quantities without buying huge amounts of inserts you won’t use, and you will be able to take advantage of all the available coupon savings even if you don’t have a huge backlog of inserts.  This will help you if you’re just starting now and want to build your stockpile quickly.  Just be sure that the expiration date on the coupons you purchase is long enough out that it won’t expire before a deal becomes available in your area to match the coupon up with.   

• Buy The Products On Your List When They Are At Their Rock Bottom Price

Wait until there is a coupon or a good store sale on each item on your list.  When this happens, buy the number on your list that you determined will last you until the next sale.

Yes, this is a slow process.  Salad dressing may be on your list, but it may not be on sale for its rock bottom price until 9 weeks from today because you may have just missed its cycle.  But, be patient.  You aren’t any worse off buying salad dressing as you need it while you wait out the sales cycle, because that is what you would be doing anyway if you hadn’t started your stockpiling life.  Or, if it goes on sale but not a great sale, buy 2 or 3 bottles instead of your standard 1, to create a mini stockpile until it reaches its rock bottom price.

Over time, if you consistently purchase your required quantities of each item at its rock bottom price, you should have a constantly refreshing supply of every item on your list.

It is also gentler on your budget to go slower, even apart from the fact that you will be buying at the rock bottom price.  It would be economically impossible for most of us to go out and buy a 12 week supply of everything we use, all at once.  However, almost everyone can work in an extra $12 a week to buy 12 jars of spaghetti sauce when they go on sale for $1 (or less) after sale and coupon.  And, bonus, you may end up getting things on your list for free by combining coupon and store sale… so you’ll be stocking up on an item without making any dent in your weekly grocery budget at all!

• Organize and store the products effectively so you will use them

A stockpile of food doesn’t do you a lot of good if you let most of it go bad before you use it.  In fact, it would be quite a waste of money.  So, you have to make sure you are aware of what you have and store it in an efficient and accessible matter.

I move older cans and items to the front when I buy new ones, so I am using the oldest stuff first.  I also write expiration dates in sharpie marker on the side of everything so I can quickly see what is expiring.  If I freeze an item, I look up its “freezer shelf life” when I put it in the freezer and write that date as the expiration date.  When I come home from the store and add new items to my stockpile, I do a quick glance to see if there is anything expiring imminently and then make a note (in my book or on stickies on the fridge) to use that item up.

I also keep track, in that same trusty composition book, of how much of each item I have on hand.  For example, I have a “12″ in the left margin next to Spaghetti Sauce, because I like to have 12 jars on hand all the time.  In pencil, next to that 12, I write the number I have on hand.  When I take a jar out of the pantry, I’ll erase the number that is there an reduce it by 1.  When I buy 2 jars, I erase the number that is there and add 2.  Other members of my family are trained to leave a note on the fridge if they open a new jar or bottle or bag of something so I can keep the book updated.  That way, I always know when I am running low, but I also always know what I have on hand.

Obviously it is easiest if you can keep your entire stockpile in one place.  We have shelves in our basement that are lined up and organized like a mini supermarket.  Some people may not have the space for that.  But, get creative.  Use under-bed organizers; or get storage ottomans, or even cover up some Sterilite drawers with pretty cloth in your living room to function as end tables.  Use closets, get over-door organizers, and store things wherever you can.  Try to keep like products together (i.e. put all your cereal in plastic drawers in the same plastic bin in your bedroom closet) and make a note in your book next to the item specifying where it is stored.  

• Use the savings wisely!