Can-solidator Cabinet Organizer Giveaway!!!

One of my favorite blogs, Life In A Shoe is doing a giveaway that has me all giddy. We all know that one of my favorite hobbies is couponing. And now, as my stockpile grows, the need for organization increases as well. I'd LOVE to have one of these can organizers. Wouldn't you? Over at Shelf Reliance they have all kinds of shelving units, from the large units you might see in a store to the small 20 can units that would fit perfect in your cabinet. Head over to Life's blog here and enter! Maybe this beauty can be yours!

What is a Good Price?

This was a big question for me when I started couponing. How do you know when the price is worthy of purchasing more than one of an item. I started making a list of things we typically buy (a list much longer than I originally expected) and started to write down the regular prices for these items. I listed the prices for these items at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, and if they were grocery items I listed prices for Kroger and Albertson's as well. This was SO tedious!
The idea was I could refer to the list, see who generally had it cheapest, and determine what I would consider a good sale price. If it was 75% off or more I'd consider it a 'stock-up price'. I searched the internet for some pre-made price lists but just couldn't find exactly what I wanted. I stumbled upon this good summary article by Clippin' with Carie . My comments are in BOLD.

"Now when it comes to stock up pricing…
That is always a tough question to answer as not everyone has the same store sales or coupons that I may have or you may have a greater “tolerance” for what you will pay for an item, but I am going to do my best to throw some numbers that I use at you:

Obviously when you can get something FREE…STOCK UP!!

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS:
Bar Soap $.25 or less
Toilet Paper (dbl roll) $.30 per roll or less
Body Wash, Deodorant, Kotex, Razors (disposable), Shave Cream, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes $.50 or less (I don't think I've paid more than a quarter for toothbrushes & toothpaste)
Shampoo, Conditioner, Mouthwash, Razors (like Venus or Fusion) $1 or less

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS:
Paper Plates, Liquid Hand Soap, Paper Towels (per roll), Fabric Softener, Liquid Dish Detergent $.50 or less
Dishwasher Detergent or Laundry Detergent $1.50 or less *

FOOD ITEMS:
(I haven't stockpiled any food items except for maybe some pasta and a few frozen meals. I do have some good cereal coupons I'm hoping to use soon since this is a quick and easy thing the big girls can get themselves which will be EXTREMELY helpful when #5 arrives and the littles need A LOT of my attention. I'm thinking of stocking up on some easy snack things as well, like granola bars)
Canned Veggies, Canned Beans, Cake Mix, Canned Soup, Salad Dressing $.50 or less
Pasta, Tub Frosting, Rice, Ketchup, Mustard $.75 or less
Cereal, Shredded Cheese (can be frozen) $1 or less
Peanut Butter, Jelly, Mayo, Fruit Snacks $1.25 or less (I don't think this is a good price for fruit snacks since Kroger usually has their store brand on sale for $1.39 and I can always find a national brand for $2.00 regular price at Wal-mart.)

Now when it comes to finding storage racks and shelving at good prices I personally have been able to get mine for as low as FREE to $25 by watching for businesses or retailers that are going out of business and they need to get rid of everything. (You can also try Craigslist or Freecycle)"
- http://www.savingmoneyinmissouri.com (Clippin' with Carie)

If you read my couponing posts you know that I love the Krazy Coupon Lady website. It's very well organized and easy to navigate. She has these handy little symbols she posts next to items to let you know that this is a good price. Yesterday she posted her own extensive stock-pile price list. Go here to print out a copy to keep in your binder. Now I have noticed a few discrepancies in what she's marked on her posts and then what she has listed in the list, but it's still a GREAT resource.

Another helpful link:
This is a price list from SouthernSavers that compares stock-up prices to the regular bulk prices at Costco : http://tinyurl.com/5tr87uv

* Kroger is currently having a sale on Wisk laundry detergent with the 32 load bottles marked down to $3.99, but they are also part of a "buy 10 participating items get $5.00 off" (or .50 an item) making these $3.49 each. I also had 2 $2.00 off one bottle which would make these $1.50.... BUT they were all out. So I went to the service desk to get a rain check and the kind sales man marked the rain check price as $3.49 WITHOUT the stipulation that I'd have to buy 10. So, for the first time ever I used a coupon clipping service (BlissCoupons) to order 8 more coupons. So in a week or so when they've restocked I can go back to the store and get 10 bottles of Wisk using my coupons AND the rain check to get them for $1.50 each. 320 loads for $15 bucks! This is very exciting to me :) I've never used Wisk before so I'm hoping it doesn't suck. ;) But we go through so much laundry soap I figure the price is good enough that it's worth a try.

Stockpiling with a Purpose

After two months of avidly couponing I feel like I've got a healthy stockpile of personal care items: Shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, body wash, etc. At least enough to get us through the summer. I snagged all of these at extremely low prices and I know I don't have to worry about purchasing them for awhile so I can just replenish my stash when these items are free or almost free. There are a few things I'd like to add: Diapers, Wipes, kids shampoo, & paper products. We can NEVER seem to have enough of these around. I had happened upon a good deal at Walgreens awhile back on some kids shampoo and wouldn't you know the Littles got a hold of a bottle and used almost the entire thing to make bubbles in the tub. :( And a week later did it again. But I'm still keeping my eye out.

So, What do you do when you don't need anymore toothpaste or razors but that deal is just too good to pass up? I like to call it 'Stockpiling with a Purpose'. A purpose beyond just our personal everyday use. Here are some examples of other 'purposes':

* Stockings
My kids (& hubby) always get toothbrushes in their stockings. I've gotten most of them already. CVS & Walgreens constantly have candy deals like the TIC TAC one a few weeks ago. I got some of those. Gum is constantly a good deal too. I've thought about chocolate but I'm afraid if I know it's there I may hit up the stash, defeating the purpose. Now my girls aren't old enough for make-up and razors but those would be great ideas too. Chap stick, cartoon bandaids, fun school supplies all are great. Razor cartridges & shave cream work well in 'The Man's' stocking. I've already started a stash of these so at Christmas time they are ready to go and my gift budget can be focused elsewhere.

* Gift Baskets
A few years ago I got this really cool book on gift baskets. It has basket ideas for EVERY occasion and lists of what to put in them. Each list starts at a very basic price point of $25. Then it gives items you can add to bump it up to a $50 value and then some even go up to $100. I usually do a couple of these at Christmas time but they would be great for baby showers, birthdays, and a get well gift for a friend. Almost anything could work for these. If you have a nice healthy stash then it's easy to bless some one even though your funds may be low. A book I read recently suggested finding baskets at yard sales for pennies and then having them available for those gifts.

* Charity
I've seen a lot of 'extreme couponers' donate a large amount of their stockpile to a local charity like the food bank. Our church has a clothing closet as well as a food pantry and some of those food items that we don't normally eat but are always on good sale would be PERFECT for this. Think Ramen, cereal, & canned goods. Also, some of those soap, disposable razor, and sample size freebies might work well as donations. Be sure to check with your charity/church first.

*Ministry Opportunity
My dad recently share a story about a man he runs into at a transit center in our city. This man shouts offers of "free burgers" which of course gets a lot of attention. He says the interested parties must answer a question in order to get a free What-A-Burger voucher. (I have no idea where he gets these) He starts out by asking basic bible knowledge questions like "Who built the Ark?" and slowly builds up to the real probing questions. By the end of his encounter he's usually pricked the heart of at least one passerby and is provided an opportunity to share the gospel. Now I know soap/razors/shampoo may not be as enticing as a burger but FREE stuff always gets someone's attention and this would be a great way to giveaway some of those freebie food items and share Christ.

Just some of my thoughts on how to make a good use of some fabulous finds... If the item is free or almost free and it's not inconvenient to snag it, why not? If you've got the space to store it then it could come in pretty handy.