Couponing FAQ: storing your stockpile and keeping it fresh

Sharon emailed with a question about stockpiling:

Do you have any tips on how to organize items that I stock up on when there is a good deal so that I am sure to use them before they expire? Or is it a sign that I’m stocking up too much of an item if they are expiring before I get to them?

There’s a couple of things I would suggest Sharon consider when stocking up on items:

First, check the expiration dates on food before you stockpile it.  I’m personally not a huge “expiration date watcher” – we’ll eat non-perishables several months expired, no problem.  But, let’s say you stock up on an item and don’t intend to use it for six months.  If that product expires a month after you purchase it and you’re not going to use it for six months, that means the item will be “expired” by five months when you finally pull it out to use it.

So, it’s not a bad idea to check the food that you’re buying to make sure that it’s got an expiration date a ways out if you’re planning to store it for awhile.

Second, keep in mind that many sales come around every 3 months or so.  There are definitely once or twice a year sales, but most sales do typically come around about once per quarter.  So, on a lot of items, there’s no need to buy a year’s supply.

Third, make sure that you actually like the product you’re stockpiling.  There’s no need to take up room in your pantry if it’s a product you don’t even like!

And finally, consider how long it will take you to use up your stockpile.  If you go through a tube of toothpaste per month, and you have 24 tubes in your closet, you have a two year supply of toothpaste!  There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but you may want to reconsider buying more toothpaste for awhile, no matter how cheap it is.  Once we’re talking about having more than a one-year supply of something, you’re going to need to start watching expiration dates a little more closely.

Got any tips on stocking up on items and making sure they stay fresh?  Any horror stories about stockpiles gone bad?