Works for Me Wednesday- The On-Deck Circle

It's time for another addition of "Works for me Wednesday," as hosted by http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/

Ok, so I hate running out of things when I'm using them. Perhaps it's because I was raised pretty poor, and there were many days when we weren't sure what we'd be eating. Either way, there are certain things we use regularly that I like to keep on hand.
As such, we have created the "On-deck circle," aptly named by my cousin Lora. Staple items that we use all the time (ketchup, peanut butter etc.) we always have a spare. There is a designated place in the pantry where we keep the "on-deck circle." when we run out of the bottle of syrup on Saturday morning, for example, I am at peace knowing that there is a back-up syrup sitting on the on-deck circle. Once the item from the on-deck circle has been put into the rotation, we add it to the grocery list. We never have that crisis in the middle of a meal when we've run out of something, and I always know what I do and don't need at the store. The on-deck circle also works well for basic replenishment. For example, if you take a coke from the fridge, you get another from the garage and replace the one you took. If you take a new roll of toilet paper from the tube and put it on the roll (this in itself is miraculous), when you're done, you go get another roll to put back in the tube.
We have a mini on-deck circle in other parts of the house as well. For example, we always have a back-up pack of TP and paper towels in the garage...when that pack gets opened, we know it's time to buy more, and we never run out of TP...a true crisis. We have an "on-deck-circle in the linen closet with a back-up tube of toothpaste, new toothbrush, deodorant etc. If you take a new tube from the closet, you add toothpaste to the grocery list.
We're still working on things being replenished consistently (like the TP), and there has been an occasion or two when an over-zealous guest has opened an item from the on-deck circle, without checking with us first, leading to a minor snafu where we had two open mustards at the same time, but for the most part, we rarely run out of staple items. And I'm satisfied knowing I will never have to go to the store 10 times a week, because we ran out of ketchup on wednesday, and then I forgot to get toothpaste and we're completely out of that now, and is there enough toilet paper left in the bathroom?