I get told by a lot of people that they just don't have the room to start a stockpile in their home. They either live in a small house, apartment, etc. Also most everyone says "Well I don't have a garage or basement for a stockpile". Well you don't need a basement or garage to start a stockpile for your family. And another important tip is you don't have to have a MASSIVE stockpile like most everyone sees on T.V these days.
Now if your like me and have little space to stockpile this means your not going to have just one area dedicated to your stockpile. Before you start stockpiling your going to need to be a little creative and figure out the little areas dedicated to stockpiling and what items.
Here are a couple tips to remember while starting your stockpile:
- You can not make the space bigger than it is, so don't buy more than you can store.
- Your stockpile should not overcome your house!! Stockpiling for your family should be a helpful thing, not something stressful that is taking over your house.
- Small plastic storage totes and drawers can be your best friend!
- STOP IMPULSE buying! If you have 50 tubes of toothpaste you won't need anymore for a LONG time so STOP buying or DONATE!
The most important thing to remember:
- This is a stockpile for YOUR family! There is no right or wrong way, whether you have a massive basement stockpile or a little closet. Stockpile to what best fits your family's needs! Do not stockpile to try and impress others!
Here is how I do my stockpile
I have three main areas dedicated for my stockpile and a few little things in my bedroom. I will tell you I am not one to take over the bedrooms or living room to store my stockpile.
*My Laundry Closet*
In my townhouse I don't have a full laundry room - which would be lovely but for now I just have my little laundry closet. I first started off using the shelf to store all my laundry products but that was short lived as my shelving wouldn't hold up! So now it's my lovely paper stockpile area. Toilet paper and paper towels are one of the biggest items to store if your planning on stockpiling those in large quantities. So tucked away on my top shelf fits just great!
*My Kitchen Pantry*
I am fortunate to have a small kitchen pantry, when I say small I mean it's not a full size closet, it's under my staircase. You all know those types of lovely closets with the sloping walls, which in turn means I can't put full size shelving inside. So I got a little creative and used 3 and 4 tier bookshelves that fit perfectly. I always promote being frugal even when purchasing shelves for your stockpile. One shelf was one of the kids old pink bookshelf they had outgrew so I used some free paint sample I had got awhile back, painted it and there you have it. Another great way to find cheap shelving is YARD SALES!! I've bought 3 of my shelves at yard sales and didn't pay over $5 for each one!
Now in my little pantry I store our food that of course won't fit in the kitchen cabinets and household products like Dawn, cleaning supplies that kind of thing.
*My Bathroom Closet*
Thankfully I have a full size bathroom closet fit with 3 shelving units so I didn't need to buy anything to store my beauty items. I also used one of the kids old plastic storage drawers to put underneath the shelves for my razors and toothbrushes. This is probably one of my favorite stockpiles!!
If you don't have a closet like mine a great way to maximize your space is buying the plastic shoe box storage totes to fit under your sink. I've bought several of these at the Dollar Tree for only a $1!! These are great to store your items in and stack nicely underneath your sink out of the way.
Another great option if you don't have limited storage space is to use the long plastic storage totes that will slide perfectly underneath your bed. You can fill those full of beauty items and they are out of your way. Now I personally don't use this method because I'm the type that will totally forget it's under my bed. Kind of the out of sight out of mind thing! But this could be something great for you to try and once again these storage totes are really cheap.
Now I get asked ALL THE TIME what do I do with all those little samples for the free travel size items we always get. Well this is the little part of my bedroom that I do use for such things. I have again a little plastic storage drawer that I put my free samples and what not in. I call this my "Gift Giving" section. These are items I know I'm not going to be using and I can either make gifts out of them or donate. This fits nicely in my closet, so it's out of the way and not taking over my bedroom. I also use the shoe box storage totes to store the same kinds of things.
I hope this post helps or inspires you to get creative and use and maximize the spaces you wouldn't normally think of.
