Running to the store for bread and milk? Not me.

Know what’s a drag when a big old storm is barreling towards your part of the world?  Having to load up the kids and brave the hoards at your local store for the staples you’ll need if there’s a real whopper coming at you.  Milk, bread, cereal, Pop Tarts (mmmm, Pop Tarts), batteries, canned goods, etc.  And don’t forget how much more there is to worry about if you have a baby in the house.  Formula, diapers, baby food.  And what about pets?  There’s a lot of ground to cover if you’re going to be off the grid for an unkown amount of time.

So do you know what a huge bonus to couponing is besides ALL OF THE STUFF saving money?  Stockpiles.  Big, honking, stockpiles.  I’ve touched on this subject before.  No need to fight the throngs at Walmart for the last box of Devil Dogs (I’ll totally fight you for those).  With what I’ve got here at home, we’d be good for at least two weeks (much more with the non-perishable items) with two adults and two children and that’s just food.  We’re stocked for about 6 months to a year in household goods.

Watching these poor folks down south getting hammered by one storm after another and having no resources to cope, I take a look around the house.  Food?  Check.  Propane?  Check.  Prescriptions?  Check.  Full tank of gas?  Check.  Hahahahaha..that’s a lie.  I run that car on fumes 6 days out of 7.  Mark eventually gets his hands on it and fills it for me.  Awwww, isn’t he the best of the best?

It’s just another bonus to couponing, in my opinion.  Knowing that we have pretty much anything my family needs, whether it’s first aid supplies, meds, food or water.  We’re totally not going to have to kill and eat depend on the neighbors when the zombie apocalypse big storms hit.  Here are a couple of snaps I took this afternoon of some of the stockpile.  I haven’t done a big shop in several weeks and we’re still ok.

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Fist picture…health and household. Mind you this is just the overflow that we don’t have room for inside without it getting cluttered. I don’t do clutter well. OCD, anyone?

 

 

Dry goods &, shelf-stable things like pb and cereal last just about forever.

Dry goods &, shelf-stable things like peanut butter and cereal last just about forever.

 

Soaps, detergents, toothpaste and a whole lot of tp.

Soaps, detergents, toothpaste and a whole lot of tp.

 

Extra freezer is a Godsend for stocking up on things.

Extra freezer is a Godsend for stocking up on things.

 

Kitchen pantry.

Kitchen pantry.

 

And it doesn’t happen overnight.  Each trip I made to the store starting back in July, I’d get one or two extra items.  Canned goods.  Gallon of water.  Box of cereal, just what I could afford.  It’s been a double blessing, because not only did I save money by couponing, but I’m saving money now months down the road by not having to run to the store every time I need a box of Cheerios, or a can of soup.  So there you have it.  Saves money, keeps your family from eating the neighbors.  Win-win.

 

 

 

Allyson Sorenson

About Allyson Sorenson

Bangor mom. BDN blogger. Volvo lover. Coffee drinker.