OK, you’ve scored major deals, you’ve bought enough for at least three months to tide you over until the next great sale…now what?

If you’ve watched that couponing show on TV, you’ve probably seen the homes these people live in. It kind of looks like a slightly more organized home on Hoarders. Harsh? Yes. Sorry, I’ve watched the show and I’ve seen how those people live. Saving money is supposed to make your life better. How are you living a better life if you can’t live in your own home because there are 400 Powerades sitting under your coffee table and 600 boxes of Yakisoba filling your guest bathroom? (For the record, I’ve never bought sports drinks or ramen with my coupons. You don’t have to eat like crap to save money…really.)

If you were to come to my home, you’d see that there are no products sitting on our bookshelves in the middle of our living room, we don’t have a toothpaste room (yeah, that’s a real thing on that show…not kidding), and we certainly don’t have diapers for a kid we don’t have yet (also a real thing). Sorry, that’s nuts. So how do you store your sensible amount of stockpiled stuff? Here are my tips:

  • Stick to the space you have in your kitchen or under your bathroom sink. – You may have to get creative, but don’t be tempted to store toilet paper under your dining room table.
  • Buy only what you’ll use in 3 to 6 months. Sometimes that means holding back on a fantastic sale and limiting yourself to only what you’ll use, but you’re still saving money and you won’t need to clear out the powder room when you have friends over. If you have a super small space (We did in our old apartment.) stick to a three month supply of what you purchase. 
  • To further control your stockpile, assign baskets for each item or group of items. When it’s full, buy no more. Take a look at mine:
My pantry is full of these inexpensive baskets you can find at Target and Walmart. Once I fill it, I buy no more. Oh and most of the baskets aren’t “full”. I’m constantly reevaluating my storage system and eliminating or combining baskets to be even more sensible about it.
To control my stockpile of body wash and other personal care items I use these clear acrylic shoe drawers from The Container Store under my bathroom sink.

I only store food items in the pantry. That’s more than enough of a stockpile for the two of us. Our kitchen cabinets are full of our kitchen tools, plates, etc. We’re foodies, so we love our gadgets.

In the bathroom, I’m really careful about only filling those acrylic shoe drawers and nothing else.

You do not need to give up valuable real estate in your home to save a lot. Follow my lead and be a sensible saver…not a hoarder. 😉

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