Buying in Bulk, Stockpiling, and Organization

Lately, I have been exploring the ideas of small-scale extreme couponing and stockpiling.  I have had some luck, but I seem to quickly run out of room in my small (1350 sq foot) home.  I have an extra bedroom that is never used by guests (maybe once a year?) and I contemplated the idea of buying some shelving units at Lowe's to house my stockpile.  The problem?  Those shelving units are almost $100.  Kinda of defeats the idea of "saving money" if I'm out over $100 before I even get started.

Also, because of my school and work schedules, I rarely cook.  In fact, the people of Domino's in the town where I work, know my voice by now.  They say, "Delivering to the Maternity Center? 2 medium pizzas...one hand-tossed pepperoni and one thin curst cheese?"  Do you want to know how much the total for that order is?  $14.65, plus the extra $1.35 I give as a tip.  Total:  $16.00.  I split the food with my coworker so I'm only out $8.  But, I could easily cook a meal for Frank, my coworker, and I for less than $8...with leftovers.

Clearly, eating out all the time isn't doing any favors for my waist line...not to mention my checkbook.  So, I have been researching freezer recipes and slow-cooker recipes in an effort to eat healthier (physically and financially).  I have made an overt effort to curb my grocery bill to reflect my healthier eating regimen.  I just don't know what to do with all the extra stuff I buy in the spirit of stockpiling!  How do I know when I have enough toothpaste?  And, how many bars of soap does a girl actually need?!?  Furthermore, wouldn't the whole point of stockpiling be in vain if I was throwing out food that was past its expiration date?

So, the question is:  How do I maintain a current stockpile?  How do I organize this stockpile so I can easily see what I have that needs to be used soon?  How do I store this stockpile in an attractive and functional way?

Ideas, anyone?

Just a check in...

Hello!  It has been over two weeks since my last blog post.  I have been pretty busy lately but hopefully I will get a week or two of relative calm so I can do some projects around the house.  Last Sunday, I hosted a wedding shower for my sister and her fiance.  It surprised me how much work goes into something like that!  We had a cookout/wedding shower for 20 couples!!!  Great turnout.

I haven't been doing any special organizing projects around the house.  I have been doing good to just maintain what systems I already have in place.  The only real achievement that I did within the last two weeks was...I entered FIVE months worth of receipts into the checkbook.  It literally took me three hours, working non-stop, to get it all done!  I then set up a new system to deal with the dozens of receipts that enter our house on a monthly basis.  I hope to do a blog post on that system within the next month or so.

On a side note, I did clear my desk on Thursday night.  It actually has a clear surface now!  (Who knew?)  It is by no means "finished," but there's a huge improvement.

Hope y'all have a great day!

Summer Break!

I know I haven't posted in...forever, but I have been busy with working and studying for finals.  And, well, Anatomy and Physiology grades have posted.  Guess who earned an A.  ME!!!!  I did a little happy dance around the office and then I realized that I only have 4 weeks of summer break before summer semester starts.  I'm taking Statistics this summer.  Yay.

I have alot going on between now and June, but I am optimistic that I can effectively juggle work, play, and home clutter control and maintenance.  :)

My main area that I want to work on this next month?  The office.  My desk is embarrasingly cluttered.  Seriously, I couldn't find something on there if I wanted to.  I would do a before/after post for the blog, but truthfully, I can't bring myself to take pictures of this space until after I get it lookin' purdy.

So, hopefully I will be back soon with more interesting posts, but for now, I just wanted to check in and say, "HI!!!"