I’ve mentioned Extreme Couponing in the past, and why I couldn’t do it. Since then, I’ve continued watching the show and have been able to relate to some of the people on there, as they were reduced to one income like myself, and were in somewhat survival mode. I’ve been paying more attention to coupons lately, saving ones I know I can use in our drawer in case we head out to get those things. They’re for fast food, for air duct cleaning, oil changes, water filters, etc. Those aren’t things we regularly shop for or use on a daily basis. I’ve also checked to see if the coupon websites people rave about had coupons for things I regularly by. Mostly not.
If I did work on building a stockpile, I’d do it with things I know we’re going to use frequently. There are items I constantly find myself getting at the store, and would love to just have our cabinets stocked with it. Those things are:
- Paper towels: Boy do we (mostly I) go through paper towels! Washing my hands, wiping the counters, cleaning spills during cooking. Paper towels just disappear around here.
- Toilet paper: You think paper towels go fast? We go through toilet paper ridiculously fast for a 2 person household. As a girl, of course, I use it more than Tej, but (TMI) he uses his fair share too. I try to buy 20 rolls at a time, and it lasts us a decent amount of time, but boy do I hate shopping for it.
- Laundry detergent: When we lived in our apartment, we dreaded washing clothes because we had to pay $1.25/load/machine, and go down the stairs and walk to the laundry room. It was awful. Since we moved, we wash clothes regularly. We like them to smell nice and clean, so we could really use a nice amount of Cheer.
- Cookies: I went through my cookie phase young, so I’m over it, but Tej religiously eats Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. It’s amazing really. We buy 2 packs at a time, and before discovering their cheaper price at Walmart, they put a bit of a damper on the grocery bill. I can do without them but Tej would love an enormous supply.
- Pickles: This is my weakness! I eat pickle spears 2 at a time. I am a pickle fiend! I put extra pickles on everything. A never ending supply of pickles? Oh I’m enjoying it already!
- Sprite: I know, I know, soda isn’t good for you. Have you had a Sprite lately? From a can I mean? And ice cold? We went through them so quickly over Memorial Day weekend, because we enjoyed it so much.
- Brita Filter: We use a Brita water pitcher to save money on water bottles, and it’s been great! I love the taste. It’s a great investment, and we usually get them 3 at a time. If we got a stockpile of 36 filters, we’d be set for almost 6 years, as 1 filter usually last about 2 months.
- Lotion: Smooth, moisturized skin feels good, not only to your partner, but to yourself! Tej loves the Vaseline for men while I have found a new love in Nivea body lotions. I would never go out with dry, scaly skin again!
- Toothpaste: Brushing your teeth is important, and we do it everyday! Toothpaste usually sticks around for a while though.
- Shower Gel: I hate shopping for shower gel because I get mesmerized. “You mean I can smell like anything I want to smell like?” Just grabbing one out of the cabinet would be so much easier.
- Air freshener: One thing I learned about my husband when I moved in with him is that he loves “smell good” (do people in your family call air fresheners and perfume the same thing, or is this just my family?). He sprays all day, and has the plugins. Safe to say our house always smells delightful.
What are the things that you would stockpile if you could do extreme couponing and get it for little to nothing?
Related articles
- Extreme Couponing: Don’t Be Scared of the Stockpile (blogher.com)
- Extreme Couponing? Come On! (declutterorganizerepurpose.wordpress.com)
- Extreme Coupon Prepping, by Y.M. (survivalblog.com)
Don’t forget to stock stuff like beer, cigarettes, or vodka. If you were stuck in a pinch and money was not to be found you would want stuff that people would want to trade for but couldn’t get in the empty super markets.
Hahahaha good point! You know, since the end is near and all.
For me, I used to go through paper towels like crazy and when my fiance moved in we decided to start using rag towels instead… and OH MY how much we save!
It took a bit to get used to it… but now I could never go back. We also use cloth napkins too. We maybe but paper towels twice a year.
I’ll have to pick up a few. It’ll be a hard transition but it’s a money sink.
We recently switched from using paper towels and napkins to using dish towels and cloth napkins. We still have paper towels, but it takes us a month to through one roll and we are a family of five. We also do a lot of laundry so I would see how it might not be for everyone, but we save a lot of money.
I am with you on pickles and toothpaste we go through these like crazy. That might be related though:)
We’re going to try but I know it’s going to be hard to transition. And pickles are a must!
You can make pickles at home using a boiling water canner. Find the Ball blue book, that should give you some great recipes. I switched to rags from paper towels as well, saved a ton.
I’m scared to ruin the perfection that is pickles lol but maybe I’ll give it a try.
This is the same thing I think about purchasing a Costco card. It’s only 2 and 1/2 of us so I’m not sure if I could stockpile stuff. I automatically think of Hoarders. lol. The items you mentioned are common sense though. I also go through paper towels like a madman.
Paper towels and toilet paper just disappears. We’re still considering a membership with Costco or Sam’s Club.
We say “smell good” too LOL