Take stock before you restock

You might be able to use what you already have

The scenario: You stop by the grocery store to buy milk and eggs. While you’re there, you walk the aisles and you see Cheerios. You think, hey — do we need those? We often need Cheerios. I’ll grab a box, just in case!

Net result: you have six giant boxes of Cheerios in the pantry.

Yes, they’ll get eaten eventually. But to avoid overbuying — and to help with meal planning and household management in general — it’s wisest to take stock before you restock. Before you go shopping, figure out what you already have, so you can figure out how to use it and not wind up with stuff you don’t truly need.

The ‘Do Not Buy’ list

In my family, this overbuying comes up most commonly with Costco. The Costco packages of frozen waffles are gigantic, but our freezer space is, alas, limited. So a few years ago, I started creating a “do not buy” list for Costco, based on what we already owned. Before a Costco trip, I’d scan the pantry and fridge for any items that we usually bought in bulk, but that we still owned in considerable bulk. That way we wouldn’t wind up with three more cans of cooking spray when we already owned 2 (more than enough to get us through to the next trip).

I think it’s a good idea to do this sort of scan before any sort of household resupplying trip. Not only can checking inventory ahead of time save you money, it can also spark ideas. Maybe, thanks to a pantry scan, you find that coconut milk you bought months ago. You note that you have rice and chicken. Now you can just look up a recipe (Thai red curry?) that involves these ingredients and add whatever ingredients you don’t have to the shopping list. You save money, and have an idea for Wednesday night’s dinner.

Use what you have

Taking stock before you restock is also less wasteful. One of my kids went off to an academic camp for a few weeks this past summer and they gave us a list of school supplies to procure. My first thought was to go to Target. But then I realized that I was having this conversation with my kid while he was sitting at a desk with an unused three ring binder sitting on top of it. We hunted around and were able to pull together almost everything he needed by checking what was unused from the school supplies we bought last year.

I’ll note that taking stock can also mean taking stock of what other people own. If you’re throwing a party and your dining room table is the same size as your parents’ dining room table, maybe they have a nice tablecloth you can use. No need to go shopping.

You can avoid acquiring things you don’t need if you discipline yourself to see what you have–and perhaps what you can borrow–before buying anything new. No need to spend money or bring in clutter. You just have to be more organized.