I've wondered about this. I try to only buy what we will eat/use, but sometimes I do buy in bulk to save, causing me to ask "where will I put this?" I wonder if I just bought "as needed" if it would be easier.

My husband has hoarding tendencies: he takes advantage of sales, has difficulty throwing things away, always wants to sell them or keep them for later use. We have a tiny house. We are working together on his self-control, and his understanding that no, we don't need to buy a dozen of whatever's on sale, because we can afford to buy smaller quantities of whatever it is regularly, even when it's not on sale.

And I do NOT want a bigger house - the problem will be even worse then, because DH will just have more space to accumulate.

I don't buy extras of things like food, etc. Mostly just when brands I actually use of products are at a good deal on bulk, but those are stored neatly in the linen closet. And it's only brands and stuff I use, like two extra bottles of the shampoo, extra 12 packs of toilet paper, etc. And I would never buy more than the linen closet shelves can hold.

My relatives who are into buying huge quantities of things just because it's on sale end up wasting tons of money because they forget to use the items before they expire.

I think it makes them "feel" thrifty but they're really buying trash that makes their house cluttered and messy. Not to mention the extra time it takes to occasionally go through all the expired stuff and throw it away. You have to be willing to spend a lot of money and time to get the "high" of being a "smart" shopper.

I would rather buy what I need and live in a clean house.

Not at all. I only buy what fits in the designated storage space for the item (toilet paper, paper towels, whatever).

I also think OP is stuck in a mindset that buying large quantities is the same as being thrifty. If you were truly thrifty, you would be buying less, not more.

Anonymous wrote:Is very organized and I refuse to buy knock knack type stuff because it is a waste of money.

I am close to a minimalist.

I don't think you are experiencing a "thrifty" person, I think you are experiencing somebody that compulsively buys cheap stuff,probably as a coping mechanism for anxiety.

This is my mom to a tee. She still hasn't figured out that it saves her more money to NOT buy things just because they're on sale or she has a coupon. And it's absolutely a coping mechanism for anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You wouldn't be posting if your house was "a little cluttered". If your house is a mess because you buy more than you can store, you're buying too much at once.

No, it is just that: a small amount cluttered.

Then buy one or two shelving units from Ikea to store your small amount of clutter.

I consider myself to be a thrifty person. I compare prices, buy on sale, and will buy a larger package if there's a cost savings. I do not buy many large packages because there's no real advantage. Sure, there might be great savings because you have a coupon and it's also on sale, but there will always be coupons and sales. You don't need to buy that much at once.

Is very organized and I refuse to buy knock knack type stuff because it is a waste of money.

I am close to a minimalist.

I don't think you are experiencing a "thrifty" person, I think you are experiencing somebody that compulsively buys cheap stuff,probably as a coping mechanism for anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:You wouldn't be posting if your house was "a little cluttered". If your house is a mess because you buy more than you can store, you're buying too much at once.

No, it is just that: a small amount cluttered.

You wouldn't be posting if your house was "a little cluttered". If your house is a mess because you buy more than you can store, you're buying too much at once.

Absolutely the DEAD opposite. I buy what i need so i dont waste money on what I dont need now. I'm skeptical that a pack rat eho buys 20 jars of tomato sauce actually remembers to ise that sauce before it expires. How do you even know what you havebit you have a ton of stuff.

I think needing to accumulate stuff for the sake of a sale is pathological.

I am thrifty, but also realistic. I won't buy 10 jars of tomato sauce just because it's on sale. It'll be on sale again by the time I need more than a few jars. I do buy paper goods in bulk, but I divide the TP between all the bathrooms, so that's not a big deal, and I keep extra paper towels above the refrigerator since that cabinet is not used for anything since it's hard to reach. I also have a strong desire to clean (trash) everything in the house about once a month, so things leave the house at the same rate that they come in.

Sometimes I just toss bags into my pantry, so that might be a mess if you open that door. Otherwise, no. The rest of my house isn't messy.

That pantry/storage room is huge though. It's the only way I could buy ahead the way I do.

If you buy more than you immediately need because of sales prices, is your home more cluttered than it could otherwise be? Or are all extras neatly stored?