How to Create a Backstock System Without a Huge Home or budget
We’ve all seen the beautiful photos on social media and in magazines showing shelves of cleaning supplies organized by color. Now, I do love a color-coded shelf, but I also understand how unrealistic those beautiful backstock shelves can be.
We can’t all go buy a year’s worth of supplies and store them in massive pantries. But we can have a backstock system that works for us.
Here’s why I love having a simple backstock system in my home:
I can stock up when the budget allows or when things are on sale.
I’m never running to the store just to buy toilet paper because we ran out.
It brings so much peace of mind to know that we have what we need at all times.
There are many ways to manage a backstock system, but I’m going to go over a few methods and share which one is my favorite.
Method #1 — Automatic Delivery
Sites like Amazon and Chewy will send you your order on a set schedule. For example, you can get skincare delivered every six months or dog food delivered every two weeks. You set the quantity and timeline.
PROS
It’s automatic — no remembering to buy something
It shows up right at your doorstep
It often gives you a small discount
CONS
Out of sight, out of mind — for some people (myself included) it feels like having less control over your budget because you can’t compare brands or sales and it’s easy to forget everything you have on auto-delivery
Method #2 — One Out, One In
This is where you add something to your list as soon as you use it up and take out a new one. You’ll always have one item in backstock. Let’s say you do this with shampoo. You have one open bottle in your shower and one new bottle in the closet. When you use up the bottle in the shower, you grab the one out of the closet, and add it to the list to replace that backup bottle.
Pros
You’ll always have a brand new product waiting
You can switch up brands if you want to try new products or buy something on sale
Cons
It can be easy to forget to add something to the list once you’ve used it
Method #3 — Checking Weekly
This is my preferred method, because I don’t have to remember to add something to a list when it runs out. Instead, I have one list with all of my household products (organized by room) and when I do my weekly grocery shopping I just run through that list to see if I need backstock of any of the items.
Pros
By checking on things weekly, you’ll always be maintaining inventory levels
You can switch up brands if you want to try new products or buy something on sale
Cons
It is a bit more time consuming than the other options
I hope one of these systems works perfectly for you!