Extreme Couponing – How to Start a Stockpile (New Video!)

*Click on the Video Above to Start Watching the Video 🙂

Note #1: Here is a similar shelf made by the same company on Amazon with Free Shipping.

Note #2: Here are the exact shelves I got from Home Depot. No longer carried on amazon.

Hello! I just uploaded a video that gives a sneak peek into my ever growing Stockpile on YouTube. 🙂  By the way, if you haven’t already, make sure to Click the Subscribe Button on YouTube to be notified when I upload new videos. And if you have any questions for me that you would like to see me address in a future video or blog post, go here to ask your questions.

Today, we’re going to talk about Stockpiling. I cover in detail the concept of stockpiling in the Couponing 101 – How to Coupon Stack lesson. Go there to learn more. But the basic gist of stockpiling is waiting for items to go onsale, stacking available coupons, getting items at the lowest possible price and buying enough of them to last until the next sale.

As you can see in the video, I went a little crazy with my stockpile, and it borders on the side of Extreme Couponing – which isn’t required, or even needed or even recommended. 🙂 Seriously, I had a lot of fun building the stockpile, but I’m not sure I would do it again to this extreme. I have 12 shelving units full like the ones shown in this video (you see 4 in the video) and it’s becoming a problem now that we are getting ready to move.

Where to Get Shelves?

The number one question I get asked related to stockpiling is, where I get my shelves from? The quick answer is: Amazon or Home Depot. If you find the exact same shelves on amazon that also sells at home depot, some home depot will allow you to price match amazon.com prices and give you an additional 10% over the difference.

I recommend investing in these metal shelves instead of the plastic ones. They are more sturdy, have adjustable shelves, and look nicer. Plus, the shelves themselves don’t bow as badly when you put heavy items on them.

You can also get metal shelves at Costco. Some of my friends got theirs from Costco and are happy with them.

Pros to Stockpiling

1. The obvious pro to having a stockpile is that you never have to pay full price for non-perishable items on which you can stock up. Things like laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towel, diapers, canned food, etc. It’s so nice when you run out of paper towel to be able to walk into your “personal store”. No more stress of needing to get to the store to pick up more.

2. Nice to look at – c’mon, I’m not gonna lie. I like looking at my stockpile. Call me crazy. But I love my cleaning supply stockpile. I actually found organizing my stockpile to be an enjoyable pass time. Some people sew, some people bake. Me? I organize my stockpile. 🙂

3. Giving Back – While its nice to save money and to have a beautiful stockpile, couponing and stockpiling also allows you the opportunity to easily give back. You can donate stockpile items to others in need, make a generous basket for a neighbor, or allow your friends and family to shop in your “store” for Free.

Cons to Stockpiling

1. Space – Depending on how extreme you get, stockpiling can take up a lot of space. I seriously started with one shelving unit in the garage, and somehow grew into 4, then 8, then 12. lol. I’m really embarrassed to admit, but now I have a storage unit for the extras. However, I am actively working on reducing the amount I coupon for and donating the extras I have in storage.

2. “You Can’t Use Anything” – This is a joke among extreme couponers. Because stockpiling can bring out the OCD animal in you, if you use one item from your shelves, you’ll be annoyed by the missing space where that item used to live. So often times, couponers will go out to get 10 things just so they can replace the one item. My Tip is: Don’t get too obsessive with replacing what you use. Move the items forward, so the missing space is at the back of the shelf.

3. People may call you a “hoarder” or  a “doomsday prepper”. 🙂 lol. As my friends make jokes about my stockpile, they continue to enjoy the benefits of my couponing by getting Free Stuff. To each their own!

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