I have a confession… ready for it? I have not coupon shopped in 7 months!! I know, crazy right?! Now I have of course picked up a few misc. deals here and there if I happen to be in the store getting something else but my coupon binder hasn’t even gone in store with me half the time and I have weeks worth of inserts not clipped!!

Now I do grab my binder when I run into the grocery store for my regular shopping but even then I have not been 100% hard core with it sadly and rarely looked at stocking up on anything! Now for most this is actually normal (okay, maybe not 7 months…) but I actually took a small break when we found out we were pregnant and it has just somehow continued on until now, at 31 weeks along and I definitely don’t feel like running to store deal shopping this far along!

But the good part, the saving grace… my stockpile!! There is a reason i’ve stocked up so well over the years so I can take a break and not feel pressure to run out to Walgreens when there’s free toothpaste one week. In fact just to give you an idea of how well you can build up your own stockpile, I have been couponing for 4+ years now and never made any “huge” purchases, I just picked up items along the way (2 or 3 here and there) and gradually built up a very decent stockpile that’s regularly rotated!

Check out how to build up your own stockpile here!

So, over 7 months or 31 weeks we have lived off the basics of my stockpile and it barely looks touched! When you think about it the detergent, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. lasts quite awhile for any regular person so I may have taken 2 or 3 of each item in total over a 7 month period leaving me still with plenty of stock to hold off on couponing for a little while longer or at least until the baby is born!

This is why I stockpile, this is why most people stockpile… to store up for hard times or be able to take a break here and there and not feel pressured to run out for deals. So if you’ve considered starting your own stockpile this will hopefully be the push you need!!

No more running to the store every week to catch every single deal, build up a decent stock and then take your time.. take some breaks and enjoy your hard work otherwise you can and will get exhausted quickly trying to keep up with everything!

(ignore the messy closet… it’s a work in progress!)

I got this great idea from my lovely friend The Frugal Free Gal on how to organize with an over the door shoe organizer! Which as you see, can be used for much more than just shoes!

We are short on space in the baby’s nursery so I have been trying to come up with ideas on how to make the most of what we have which includes getting bins for the bookshelf and other things to keep it organized but what about all the misc. items I have no space for?

That’s where this organizer came in! I ordered it for just $12 and it fits all the misc. things I have no “home” for including thermometer, rash cream, washes, toys etc. It’s not full of course because we are just now starting to really stock up on baby gear.. but I see it getting there pretty quick!

I may even order a second for the back of the main door to include toys and other items as well. I am super excited about this and love making use of such a cheap item to organize!

During spring break hubby and I took the weekend to visit Pigeon Forge, TN to get away for our baby moon part 1! If you’re wondering what the heck a baby moon is it’s a little vacation before the baby gets here, to enjoy your last bit of freedom and boy did we need it!

When thinking about where we’d go my first thought was to head to the mountains in Tennessee and the obvious choice (for us at least) was Pigeon Forge, TN! It is FULL of attractions for families to enjoy with so many activities and shows to do, you can definitely fill up an entire week!

We stayed for one weekend and plan to go back in a few weeks for part 2 of the baby moon, because like I said, there’s a LOT to do and with it being so close to home for us in GA it’s worth the 3hr drive to split it up and really enjoy. It is honestly the perfect destination for any family to travel to and enjoy a vacation in the beautiful mountains!

There are so many options on shows to visit, both dinner and breakfast, along with miniature golf, shopping, indoor skydiving and tons more including 17 Pancake houses (never knew pancakes were so popular).

And there are so many ways to save money while on vacation there you just have to know where to look and how to plan!

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