Let me clarify. I am, by no means, Honey Boo Boo's Mama June (anyone remember that TLC show?!). I don't have the intention of clearing a whole room out and using it to stockpile hundreds of food and household items- not that I see a thing wrong with that.. more power to the extreme couponers out there!
I'm a mom and a wife of a hard-working man who's looking for small ways to optimize life for my family. I consider this part of my job as a stay-at-home mom. As for my personal reasons-- it is part of my journey in learning as much as I can about being grateful for all the things, big and small, that I DO have and to not focus on what I don't have. This lesson has been something that I've been almost forced into since becoming a one income family and with grocery prices skyrocketing, but now it is something that I am absolutely choosing. I've already seen a major difference in my own outlook on material things, the world around me, and my appreciation for things that I once wasted so easily-- shame on me!
When I started on this couponing, money-saving kick, one of my best friends sent me an awesome meditation with a message attached: "If anyone gives you crap for couponing.....just tell them you are doing God's work :)" Love her.
Here is a snippet of the meditation that she sent me from The Journey:
"All we know and enjoy is not just the fruit of our God-given human ingenuity, but, properly said, also a gift from God. May we then not turn to rubbish what God has given us, but use everything as He intends: to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him and our neighbor."
--Donna Raye Nelson, OCDS
So here I am doing God's work (hehe!), learning to appreciate the things that my husband works so hard for, figuring out how to be less wasteful, and maximizing my kids' quality of life. After all, why spend money on something I can get for free when I can spend it on that gymnastics class that rocks Ty's world? No question.
I've read several places that having a "grocery store" in your home is an easy way to cut your grocery bill. So I tried some small-scale stockpiling of the things we use. I try to get these items at their rock-bottom prices and keep them handy, so I don't have to pick them up when they are so pricey. Here is my FOOD stockpile list. It's what we use. It's not outrageous. It cuts my grocery bill in a big way!
- Nonstick Cooking Spray: 5 cans
- Canned Beans: 10-12 cans
- Canned tomatoes: 10-12 cans
- Boxed Cereal: 5 boxes
- Granola/ cereal bars: 6 boxes
- Chicken Broth: 5 cartons
- Jelly/ jam: 5 jars
- Macaroni and Cheese: 10 boxes
- Pancake Mix: 4 boxes
- Pasta (variety): 15 boxes
- Peanut Butter: 6 jars
- Re-fried Beans: 5 cans
- Rice: 10 bags
- Pasta Sauce: 12 jars/ cans
- Coffee: 5 boxes (K-cups)
- Chips/ crackers: 10 bags/ boxes
- BBQ Sauce: 5 bottles
- Ketchup: 5 bottles
- Mustard: 5 bottles
- Salsa: 5 jars
This list shows most of the things that my family eats that can be stockpiled without spoiling. Yours may look a little different than mine, but what a great way to save a few bucks in one place that you can use in another! After all... waste not, want not, right?
What are some items that you keep stocked or that you'd like to keep stocked for your family?
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