Hoarding or Stockpiling?I have a special corner of my basement devoted to my growing stockpile. My stockpile is a source of pride. As a homemaker, I see my stockpile as an indication that I have provided for my family while being a frugal steward of the monetary funds the Lord has entrusted to us.
A stockpile can take up to 9 months to get to a point where it can sustain the family that will draw upon it for sustenance. My stockpile took approximately 9 months to get to this point. In fact, the photo does not show the extra set of shelves to the far left.
But is this hoarding or making provisions for my family? I first heard about stockpiles as a little girl 50+ years ago growing up in the Nation's Capital. It was the era still reeling from the atomic bombs unleashed on Japan. During the cold war with Russia and the Cuban missile crisis, I also remember renewed interests in stockpiles of food stores as a way to live through the wake of a nuclear holocaust.
My grandmother had a stockpile in her root cellar in a little hamlet in Virginia about 5 miles from Luray. She had canned goods that could have fed our family and several others for months. Canned jars of vegetables, pickles, jellies, apple sauce, apple butter, hanging salted pork hams, bacon, sausage, sacks of root vegetables, and other curing meats were all stored as a source of food for our family. She did not store anything just to "have it". Grandma did not can anything we did not or would not eat.
Like Grandma Ada, my stockpile consists of only items we use on a regular basis. I am able to save because I use coupons and stack them with store coupons and sales. Also, I no longer pay $25 to $150 for a loaf of bread or carton of juice.
How many times have you stopped by the store just to get one or two items and end up with a cart full of groceries. Each time I pull as item from my stockpile instead of stopping by the store, I save at least $25 to $50. It is impossible for me to go to the grocery store and buy only one item whether I use coupons or not.
Back to the hoarding question. My stockpile is not hoarding because I use everything I have in my stockpile and my stockpile exists to feed my family, give to my church ministries, and save money. Nothing goes to waste.
I must admit that I am addicted to couponing and would continue to coupon even if I were a millionaire. I would be able to help so many more people and save even more money because I could buy lots of newspapers.
Happy Couponing!
ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee 
