I've recently watched some shows on extreme coupon clipping and saw hoards of products. (And I realize that it is TV and supposed to be crazy and extreme- not meant for real life."

My idea today is to gather ideas and tips for stock piling. Is there a reason or time that you would gather extras of something?

If so, how do you know when you've crossed into hoarding too many things? How do you set limits to your stock pile?

I personally like to have one or two extras on hand- such as an extra bottle of shampoo, toothpaste, deoderant and so on. I've never seen a need to have more than one extra- although I have on occasion had a few when my brand had a by-one-get-one free sale. I don't want to have to run out to get something. When I bring out my extra, it goes on my shopping list.

Do you have extras? How do you organize them? Is it worth it?

I actually keep a fair amount of extras because I have the room. My house has lots of storage and when things are on a great sale I will buy a handful. For instance, my shampoo will be $7. off at Costco a few times a year. That's a huge savings if I buy 3 or 4. All 3 of us use it.

The deodorant we like I buy online so when I order, I get like 10 (DH and I both use it) to qualify for free shipping. Probably order it like 2x a year. They fit easily under the bathroom sink.

For food items, I might buy a lot but only if I know I will use it up within a year. For instance, cranberry sauce is over half price around Thanksgiving so I will buy 10-12 cans, enough to get me through a year.

I have a lot of extra pantry storage room so it makes sense for me. I'm careful to not buy too much that I won't use. If for some reason I think I won't use it up before the best by date (which is only a guideline btw), I will donate to the food bank or give to my mother.

Stuff like toothpaste I buy at Costco and it comes in a 4 pack. I will buy when it's on sale and by the time it's on sale again I probably will be close to needing it.

Be sure if you do stockpile that you are able to store things where they won't go bad. Most garages and attics aren't temp stable enough to store food or pet food.

I too buy the things i use regularly.....mainly groceries and toiletries. When my hair color goes on sale is also usually when there's an added coupon. I will stock up and buy six or eight at a time as I color my hair every 3 to four weeks, and this way I buy twice a year.

for example, I bought a bunch of ramen noodles on sale for ten cents each when they usually sell for 17 to 25 cents each. I bought several cases. I dont generally use the seasoning mix, but the noodles are great for anything(I even use them uncooked for a speedy lasagna prep!)

I also just got a food saver system so when there is a crazy good sale on meat I can stock up. the insulated bags actually keep meat fresh about 2 years(not that they last even half that time!), but also never have problems with freezer burn either.

I do a certain amount of stock piling. I consider it to be a part of my emergency preparedness. Living in So. Cal., earthquakes are a fact of life and if there is a major earthquake, one needs to be self-sufficient for at least a few days if not weeks. Stores might be damaged or not open due to lack of electricity; or there might not be any goods available for sale, especially if roads are damaged and new stock can't be shipped to stores.

For these reasons, I try to keep 3-6 months' supply of various items - water (although I am no where near a 3 months' supply of drinking water), food, toiletries, household goods, etc.

In general, I do a quarterly stock up, although some things are bought only once or twice a year. Costco is great for such stock-up items. I store household supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, powdered cleansers, etc. in the garage. My general rule is: one opened pack/box and 1 unopened pack in reserve.

Toiletry items and food are stored in the house. Being a 2-person household, the quantities are not that large. A 6 months' supply of toiletries might amount to 8 pieces of soap, 4 tubes of toothpaste and 3 bottles of shampoo - easily stored in the linen closet or medicine cabinet or the cabinet under the sink.

As for food, I try to stock pile things that do not require refrigeration - if an earthquake knocks out the electricity, a freezer full of food won't be of much use to me. I stock rice (keep an unopened 25 lb. bag of rice on hand at all times; opened one for daily use in containers); flour (10 lbs. is plenty for me); sugar (buy whenever it goes on sale for $.50/lb - keep 20 lbs. or so on hand); canned items. I make room in the kitchen cabinets for the food items.

Just bought 3 44oz bottles of the shampoo at Costco which were $4 off each bottle and 2 44oz bottles of conditioner which were $7 off each bottle. DH doesn't usually use conditioner so that lasts longer.

We use Grana Padano cheese (similar to parmagiano-reggiano but slightly sweeter and not as sharp) and there was a huge earthquake in Italy the last few days and over 300K wheels were destroyed. There will be a global shortage coming up. I bought 5 1.5lb blocks of it. They're dated to October which should be no problem. We use a lot of it (Italian family!) and they're individually vacuum wrapped.

I buy flour, sugar and rice in 25+lb bags as well so I always have those on hand.

Wow, and I thought I was good with an extra deoderent!

An extra deodorant (or two) is a good thing to have on hand!

This week, one of the grocery stores is having cane sugar on sale, for $1.99/4 lb. package, which amounts to $.50/lb. That's my cue to buy sugar to stock up. The store is having a limit of 4 packages per customer, so, I'll buy 4 packages (if they didn't have a limit, I might have bought 5 or 6). And add it to what I already have in the kitchen cabinet.

Stocking up this way, when something is on sale, means I don't have to pay "full price" for something I use on a regular basis. It enables me to stretch my grocery budget (currently set at $150/month for food items only, for a household of 2).

Bless, Take DD with you and she can buy 4!

I've done that at a different store! But, at this particular store, the sale price is good only with their rewards card, and only I have the card. If I really need more sugar, though, I could try going a 2nd day - I pass by this store (or one of their many branches) all the time.

Bless- Seriously you buy 16 pounds of sugar? I can't begin to imagine such a thing! I've probably had the same bag of sugar for 2 years.

See, we all have such different needs that sometimes it is hard for us to imagine the needs (or stockpiles) of others. I can't imagine what I'd do with a bunch of Ramin Noodles- which is why groceries have thousands of items to make us all happy.

I did stock up on jam the other day. The store isn't going to carry a selection of fine imported jams from Belgium or Germany any more. They had them greatly reduced. Usually $4.99 a jar- out of my budget- but were $2 each, cheaper than the store brand and of a very good quality so I bought 8 jars.