Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What do you DO with all that?

"What do you DO with all that stuff?"

This is the question I get asked most often when I show pictures of my shopping trips, stockpiles, etc.

First, I want to say I don't owe anyone any explanations.  I started my facebook page and this blog to help others save money, to educate them to shop smart, to show them how to get freebies, samples, and great coupons, and to show them how to have fun while doing it. 

Yes, I have a large stockpile.  It's not overwhelming (in my opinion), as it's all confined to one space of our home.  Some "extreme couponers" let their stockpiles take over every room of their house - in their closets, under their kids' beds, etc.  In my opinion that has crossed the line of a stockpile and would be considered hoarding.  My stockpile is confined to our pantry, which is a good sized room, and we have cabinets and shelving to hold our inventory.  My stockpile has no business being in other parts of our home.

Ok, so back to the original question.  What do I DO with all this stuff?

Well, it's simple, really.  We use it.  Yep, I may have 60 bars of soap, 100 bottles of dishwashing liquid, and 30 boxes of laundry detergent.  Why is it so surprising that someone might have this much in stock?  These things do not expire.  We go through about 2 bars of soap a week.  So technically, 60 bars of soap will last us about 7 months. Which in reality is not very much at all.  (Geez, I better start shopping for more soap!)  I would prefer to have at least a couple of years worth of soap on hand.  I got about 20 three-packs of Ivory soap for FREE last week.  How much will you spend on soap over the next 7 months?  If I didn't coupon, and a 2-pk of soap costs $1, then I would have spent $70.  Yeah, I like free better.

Regarding food - we do buy a lot of this too, when we can.  For instance - we bought 18 packages of Ball Park hot dogs yesterday for dirt cheap.  I know what you are thinking - they will expire!!  Newsflash:  They can be frozen for at least a year, as long as you freeze them before the expiration date.  And when we want a hot dog, we just take out what we need, let them thaw out and cook them.  I bought 12 tubs of "I can't believe it's not butter"  for 25¢ each and also froze them for over a year and they were as good as the day I bought them.  

What else do I do with my stuff?   Well, I do give some away to other family members when I have a lot or they need something.  And, I have sent several care packages overseas to the troops through the website "anysoldier.com".  I've also received many letters back from soldiers and it is very heartwarming knowing you've put a smile on someone's face who is fighting for our country!

So please refrain from telling me what to do with my stockpile.  First and foremost, comes my family.  If I think I have too much for my family to use then I will do with it what I see fit.  I'm not greedy, I'm not selfish, and no I should not go through all this hard work couponing (and yes, it is hard work - try it sometime and you'll find that out for yourself) - just to donate it.  My main purpose is to take care of my family.  If you don't like what I do with all of my purchases, feel free to click on the "unlike" button on the left hand side of your facebook page.  You "liked" my page for a reason - because you, too, wanted to learn to coupon, or learn more about it, or to get freebies, samples and great deals.  I do the same, just on a larger scale.  So don't judge.
So for those of you who feel you need to be judgemental about what I'm doing for my family, you will get no further explanations from me.  

For those of you enjoying what you are learning from my site, and who have been supportive, I truly thank you!  You are the reason I love helping others save money! 

Now let's get back to saving some money :)

1 comment:

  1. I totally agree with you. If you are doing all the work do with it as you see fit. I am a new coupon shopper and hope to get bargains like this. I also love big crumbs and have made a lot of money using this site and Mr. Rebates when I shop online.

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