Help! How Do I Keep 90 Days of Supplies at Home?

We get it.  Trying something new is difficult.  We're just regular people like you, and we stumble and falter at this storage stuff, too.  If you're not sure why you need 90 days of 'stuff' in your house, click here.  Start small.  Here are three ways that we, at Everyday Providence, keep everyday supplies on our shelves at home.

#1 Buy an extra one.  If you have items that you don't purchase frequently,  try buying one extra to keep on hand.  If you have room, just keep it with or close to the package that's in use.  My shampoo lasts me about two months, so I keep an extra new bottle in the bathroom linen closet. Bam! I have 3+ months stored.  I buy a new bottle when the first one is low or gone.  (Or when it's on sale!) 90 day goal achieved! Other ideas: household cleaners, over the counter medication, some cooking items (baking soda, etc.) or school supplies.

#2 Keep a back-stock.  In order to keep a 90 day supply of some household items, I need to store several packages somewhere.  I have shelves in the basement, but a closet or some other nook in your house will do.  (We don't have a garage, but that works well for some items.)  There are some items that I buy every time I shop, until I get a large (pre-determined) number on my shelves. Batteries, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry and dishwasher detergent are a few items I store this way.  You can also take advantage of coupons, good sales and bulk pricing using this model.


#3 Auto-ship!  Amazon.com* now has a "Subscribe & Save" functionality to receive regular shipments of an item. Diapers? Soap? Trash bags? Most of these household items can be set up on subscription to arrive at your door at regular intervals. Check your local pricing, consider the cost of gas, and the add in value of convenience.  You should continue to keep a 90 day stock of these items at home.  (Remember a materials shortage or transportation delay could still leave you short and desperate.)  And you can still use sales and coupons locally to save money on these items.  As we juggle our insanely busy lives, a few gimmes just might save us if we're 'in a pickle.'

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*Other retailers may offer automatic shipments.  Amazon.com is the one we happen to use.  We receive no consideration from Amazon.com.