My stockpile and tools of the trade

Last Monday was my birthday and my mother-in-law sent me a Target GC, so I used it to buy what I've really been wanting lately...shelving for my stockpile!

Above is my non-food stockpile. Clockwise from top left: cat food, paper products, skin/hair/eye care, cleaning products, dental care (in box), medicine (in box), stuff to sell at flea market (Mr. Coffee box), and miscellaneous other stuff.

I am pretty lucky that we have a big basement for all my stuff. It is always cooler than the house, even during summer, but doesn't freeze during winter. Of course it would be nice to have a huge dedicated pantry on the main floor, but this is the next best thing.

Below is the (mostly) food stockpile with my homemade shelves: old closet doors and empty kitty litter buckets! Not the prettiest, but they hold a lot and were free!
I am only super-stocked on a few things (Club crackers or CVS candy canes, anyone?!), but I've started being more aggressive trading for hot coupons when something will be free or really close. We also have full cupboards in the kitchen. You'll also see my flea market-destined shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the boxes on the ground.

Here is how I clip/organize my Q's:

I clip every single coupon in my home delivery copy of the Philly Inquirer. The stuff I'm almost certain I won't use (joint supplements, Depends, etc) I file into an envelope that stays at home just in case it becomes a moneymaker or someone wants to trade for it. All the rest gets sorted and filed in my coupon files:

For food:

For everything other than food:

These both fit in my large couponing purse. I'm surprised I have never been questioned about possible shoplifting since I'm constantly taking these in and out of my purse (unless I have a cart to put them in the child seat...my little coupon babies!).

I flip through any additional inserts (from additional paper purchases or retrieved from the recycling center), clip and file the coupons I'm fairly certain I'll use, then "file" the rest of the insert in one of my coupon baskets:

You can see me already in violation of my organizing system. The basket on the right is supposed to be for whole inserts and coupon booklets only. The one on the left is supposed to be for ads, receipts, and unlikely-to-use coupons. The whole "inserts in a basket" is not really an ideal system...I am going to be switching to a mini file cabinet fairly soon. But the basket is what I've been using so far.

And lastly, my pretty bags that I use at the grocery store:.

My kitties say, "Hey, there's a big kitty on this bag!" I bought these from Superfresh last year for $1 each (and proceeds went to charity). I'm slowly making that money back because Shoprite credits you $0.05 per reusable bag you use (so do a couple other stores, but I usually use self check out when I can to avoid coupon-unfriendly cashiers). I love my bags- they're so colorful and hold a lot more that the boring solid color Acme or Shoprite reusuable bags.