Captain’s Log 5,930
So I was watching the program about coupon nutzoids the other night. I just don’t get it. It is such an obsession. And then, where do you put all the stuff you supposedly get for free? And then, think about the quality of the food you are buying to be stored in your hoarded cache for months and months. Nothing fresh, I can guarantee you that. 90% of what those people use coupons for is stuff I would never eat. Microwave mac and cheese? Ramen? Kids drinks loaded with sugar and preservatives? I think not. Anything that has a shelf life that long simply cannot be good for you.
The light bulbs I can see. But 12 cases of green beans? What the hell? Are they expecting the Prussian army for Thanksgiving?
And think about the space it takes in your house to store this stuff. Some people have their caches in their garages. No thanks. I would never eat food stored in a garage (except maybe canned soup). And that would all depend on how hot it gets inside the garage in the summer. People in cold climates must store their food in heated garages. If not a garage, then how about the guest room? Truth be told, I would rather have friends come and stay with me than walk into my guest room to gaze at shelves of Country Time Lemonade mix and 800 rolls of toilet paper. I’m funny that way.
True that!
I must confess, I store two cases of water on the floor in the guest room closet. I don’t have room for them in the kitchen and I refuse to put them in the garage.
I also buy the big packs of toilet paper (24 rolls), but I wait until I am almost out and buy ONE big pack to replace it. Imagine that. I have survived this way for years.
On the other hand, I cannot understand it when people go crazy when there is a storm approaching and they think they need food for a few days. They rush out and buy six loaves of bread and 12 cases of water. Don’t most people have at least 2 days worth of food in their homes? What am I missing? I could probably live a month on what is stored in two small cabinets in my kitchen. Then again, I don’t have kids and I consider popcorn a gourmet meal. I certainly know I wouldn’t panic if I couldn’t leave my house for two days.
So there it is. Another puzzling human quirk that does not resonate with me. I grew up in a very organized home. Mom would organize her canned goods like little soldiers. All labels facing the same way. All in alphabetical order. So I was given a taste of it, but I never did it myself when I grew up and moved out on my own. I like knowing where things are in my house. I put tools and things away immediately and wash my dishes every time I use them. I wake up in the morning to a house that is ready to go, but I don’t go over the top. This whole OCD thing with coupons is beyond my grasp. Those people seem chained to their obsession and unable to cope in what most of us would consider the real world.
And….I know for some it’s about money. I get that. I have known some very miserly people. I don’t resonate with that either. Another journal entry for that one. Another time.
Life Aboard the HMS Pie Rat 
It would be great to use extreme couponing to help the less fortunate. That I could get behind. I’d enjoy watching a program where the couponer gives the massive amounts of stuff to the down and out.
I only hoard books.
And sweatshirts
I got stuck on ‘heated garage’ – do people do that? Weirdos xxx
Oh yes. Heated garages are common in places where the temps can fall to below 60 degrees. Not sure what that would be in Celsius, but it’s cold enough to freeze the air in your lungs. I lived in a place like that. Moving made so much sense!
My daughter does extreme couponing. There’s not a buttload of stuff stored at our house, because anything beyond what we need is sent to friends and family
Yikes! First-hand for you!
Yeah but she isn’t as crazy as some of the people on TV. Her friend is, though, and as a result we’ve gotten some legitimately good deals for things we need. For the things she gets that we DON’T need, there
is almost always someone we know who can use it. We don’t just hoard the proceeds. Either friends/family get it or it gets donated.
I’m like you: get the ginormous TP package but only when we’re close to out. If we have a coupon, great. If not, oh well. Same goes for other stuff, too.
Hoarding can be sad. My elderly SIL lived alone for years…and kept secrets. We did not know she was hoarding food and household supplies. But OH, what we found after her death! That was in February 2010 and I am still using my share of what we found: aluminum foil, waxed paper, paper napkins, small plastic bags, and the like. Between her memories of the Great Depression and WWII plus the warnings about Earthquake preparedness things had gotten away from her.
I can see how that might happen. Poor thing.
Long before the days of ubiquitous coupons, I knew a man who read the supermarket ads regularly for stuff to stock up. (Vacuum packed coffee, for example.) He would tell his wife he was going to go to this or that sale, and he would build new shelves whenever they got full.
I always thought it was a reaction to the shortages we all suffered during World War II. Fortunately, they couldn’t stock up on eggs and butter. But sugar??
Holy momacita!
There’s only two of us here. I keep extra bottled water, enough Costco canned goods for a week or so in the car, truck, and garage, and when the big one hits, I won’t remember any of it. LOL
Seriously, we rotate the food and water regularly. 🙂
Sensible and reasonable.
I always thought there was something very weird about the whole extreme couponing thing too. I think there are some people who can’t abide paying a few cents more for some green beans than they have to. Sure, it’s great to get a deal sometimes but when it becomes a part time job, why not just go get a part time job and still have room to park your car in your garage or have guests in your guest room instead of 489 rolls of toilet paper? Oh, and eat FRESH food. Also, if Dangerspouse invites you over for sushi, don’t go. Not that you would eat it anyway.lol
I like the fresh food idea. And I am very leery of that Dangerspouse dude.
I’ve often thought the same thing…..who wants food stored for months past the expiration date? I do know some people do this and then donate to food pantries and rescue centers….that’s a great idea! But, I, too, have limited storage space so I buy one large package of TP or a couple of boxes of canned cat food at a time. I do buy VitaminWater Zero Lemonade about 2 or 3 packages at a time because sometimes I can’t find it and it’s all I really drink besides water and cranberry juice. I also donate canned and boxed foods twice a year to the Post Office pickup.
Many people have obsessions so I guess this is just another example. I get lots of books from the library and then renew and then return them often without even reading them…but at least the books get to circulate! LOL
Circulate. Indeed.
Any these types all shop at Walmart which isn’t always cheaper!!! Hate Walmart!
Pen Pen
Despise Walmart!
Boycott Walmart.
With a sign
So I’m guessing you don’t approve of my 7 year emergency stockpile of sushi….
Gads! You scare me!
LOL Oh, good.