Household Inventory Management

In my career I spent time in all aspects of Inventory Management. In various roles I was responsible for-

Purchasing Product, including supplier management

Purchasing is responsible to determine the main source and backup with good price and quality

Inventory Control, is product availability

Inventory Control ensures the product needed is available at all times

Storage Systems to ensure product quality

Storage Systems creates an area that can store safely and will not harm quality

Cost of Inventory as it affects cash flow

Cost of Inventory must work within the confines of the budget

When I retired, I realized this knowledge could be applied to managing items needed in the home and have been doing that for years. I decided to share with others what I have learned by applying the knowledge in our home. It has all but eliminated emergency runs to the store. We now go shopping when a given item is with a day or two of being out and then buy the other back up items that have made our list.

There is an inventory management technique in the manufacturing world called kanban. It consists of three main inventory stages in the product inventory cycle. For example, we will use a household cleaner like Comet.

First there is the container that is open that we will call in use, typically stored under a sink.

Second there is a backup in storage we call inventory, typically a cleaning closet or area.

Third the product is available at your supplier, typically the store where you shop.

In the case of Comet, we have an open can under both bathroom sinks and the kitchen sink. There is a backup can in our cleaning supplies closet. We only need one backup because it would be unlikely to run out in two places at the same time. Where we shop always has Comet, but if they run out, we know other stores that carry it.

When we empty a can, we just pull the can from storage and add Comet to our shopping list. A key step is to not remove anything from storage without writing it down. In our world whoever removes the empty can sets it on the kitchen table so the inventory guy (me) can get it written on the shopping list.

That system works for all items that are used frequently. I define frequently as items normally used again in less than two weeks. If you use up an item that you won’t need for another two weeks you don’t need the interim storage inventory. Just add it to the shopping list.

There are multiple backup storage areas in our house including the refrigerator, the freezer, the pantry, the cleaning closet, paper products and Ziploc bag storage. We will use Ziploc bags as an example. An open box of bags setting in storage is in use. A full box setting in storage is inventory. At our house they are on the same storage shelf, but opposite sides. This includes all varieties like sandwich, quart, and gallon. We include aluminum foil, wax paper, etc. in this storage area. When the open box empties, we set the open box on the kitchen table and place the full box on the “in use” side. My job is to add it to my shopping list and recycle the empty box.

Now let’s think about refrigerator or freezer items. We buy milk in quarts. We have an open quart (in use) and an unopened quart (inventory) sitting next to each other. The same happens with butter, eggs, coffee creamer, etc. When a container is emptied it is placed in the sink instead of the kitchen table. Then the process is the same for me to get it on the list. In the freezer the same works for bags of frozen vegetables and fruit.

Paper products work the same. At our house in the towel closet there is a shelf for toilet paper, Kleenex and paper towel (inventory). Toilet paper has a backup roll in a drawer in each bathroom (in use). We buy packages of six rolls. When the inventory package is opened it is considered “in use”. We then add it to the shopping list. We buy Kleenex in packages of four boxes. We buy paper towels in packs of two. When opened they are added to the shopping list.

This system works for any item that we buy repeatedly. I go to the store a couple times a week. There is no panic or temptation to buy what is on sale and end up throwing away items that go past their best by date. I hope this information is helpful. It sure has made our grocery shopping easier.