I know what you are thinking...what does organization have to do with frugality?
My answer: A LOT!
Staying organized with your stockpile and knowing what you have can save you a lot of money:
Case in point:
I think I have a can of refried beans in my stockpile.
I plan a recipe based round those refried beans.
I start making the recipe.
I can't find those refried beans.
I go to the store to buy some refried beans.
I find the refried beans behind some canned tomatoes a week later.
Staying organized would have saved me $.99 that day, not to mention my time and energy!
Staying organized has many benefits - for frugality's sake I would include the following:
- You will not purchase things that you already have (like refried beans)
- You will not become overrun with stuff because you know that you can only use so many bread bags, baggies, plastic shopping bags, etc.
- You keep a grocery list and don't overspend because you stick to the list.
- You always know what coupons you have :)
I'm sure there are plenty more benefits, but those are just a few that I have found helpful. I am not writing this because I am the most organized person in the world - on the contrary. I like to be organized, I am striving for organization, and I see the many benefits of it.
For more of my thoughts on this, read this article I wrote few months ago. How about you? How has organization helped your frugality? Please leave a comment!
4 comments:
This is so true! I haven't done a pantry inventory in a while. But earlier this month, I wrote down what I have as far as health and beauty supplies. I found I had 7 bottles of shampoo, but not a single bottle of conditioner! Now I know to watch for good deals on conditioners for a while, but it will be several months before I buy shampoo again.
Being organized and knowing what I have on hand keeps my grocery list as small as possible, and sometimes even lets me cook without spending gas and time shopping first!
I spent all day Saturday and part of Monday morning reorganizing my pantry.
For shopping, I have master lists for each store. I print them off and highlight the things I am running low on with a quick walk into the pantry. It saves me a lot of time; I don't have to write down and remember what I'm out of and need to buy; I can just see what we're running low on, and when we get paid enough to buy groceries (we have an ever changing income) I know that the wisest use of my money would be the things I am running lowest on (and not the things I might just want).
I took new pictures of my pantry on Monday; you can see it here: http://theprudenthomemaker.com/awellstockedpantry.aspx
Organization does help to save a bunch of money! Ways I can think of quickly that organization has helped in our home is buying gifts ahead of time (on sale) and have a special place where we keep all of our gifts at, Having a menu so that I don't have the "I don't know what to cook and want to order pizza problem" (at least not too often!!), Having to big kids clothes labeled and accesibly stored for when I realize on the spur of the moment that the childs current pants are way to short. There are so many ways that organization helps to save money.
Another one is keeping track of everything in your fridge so that food doesn't go bad before you can eat it.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks everyone for your comments! Great stuff!!
Prudent Homemaker - your pantry is AMAZING. Come over to my house and organize mine, please :).
-Michelle
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