Consumer inventory management

[coldshowersuperpower]

Hello everyone,
I've been lurking for a bit, and I see that many of you have sizable collections of kratom. I'm very curious of how you manage your inventory, anything around how you store it, how you document what you have, etc. Any tools, devices, or tips that you can share?

I've been having kratom daily for the past couple of months or so (about 8gpd), and my collection has been growing so I started managing it a bit more deliberately recently. Organizing objects and information is kind of a hobby of mine (probably side effects of having ADHD and living in a single-bedroom apartment, haha), so I think I have a good thing going. Perhaps this will give some of you guys ideas but looking forward to what you can share as well!

This is my supplements shelf; kratom is mainly on the left in the spice bottles. Color and letter coded (blue is white, didn't have a white label), purple is kava. Very satisfied with this setup; quite compact and uses vertical space well, lets me fit a lot in a very shallow cupboard.

shelf.jpg

This is my "cold" storage, the left box is full of kratom, and the one in the center has a little bit. Those are Sidio crates which I'm absolutely in love with. Not cheap but very well worth it; the quality feels like something of an heirloom my descendants will keep using, haha. I have many more of those crates for various purposes around the apartment.

crates.jpg

I document my inventory in Coda. Coda is an alternative to spreadsheets which is much better for many purposes, similar to Notion, Airtable, and other tools which have been becoming more popular in the last several years. I haven't used the other similar apps much, but I like Coda, and I highly recommend it. I have been very busy lately so the data doesn't include a large part of my kratoms (and doesn't reflect well on my preferences, my favorite vendor is RVA), but it gives you an idea of how I use it. If you want to play with the sliders, you can copy my docs to your own space if you register with Coda (you could also start using it for your own collection then).

• Invetory table

• Single-variety contaminant comparison - compare how much heavy metals, microbes and yeast the different kratoms have.

• Daily contaminant intake calculator - shows mcg of heavy metals based on the types and amounts of kratoms that I would consume on a given day

I have some color-coding in there alongside percentages of recommended daily maximums of contaminants (definitions and sources are listed in a linked page you can find in the documents above). I'm planning to introduce the ability to compare against multiple maximum recommended intake definitions as well since there are so many, and they can vary a lot.

The contaminant focus is partly due to my liking to analyze, and partly due to real health concerns. I believe anyone who has kratom daily needs to be very aware of the contaminants because even the small amounts can add up over time. There are studies that show that even supposedly safe amounts can have meaningful detrimental effects on health. I do not take any kratom that doesn't have a cold hard CoA attached to it with satisfactory numbers, and I try to take less of the stuff with satisfactory numbers but on the higher end. But this is a whole different topic, I'll probably create another thread on it.

[Kelleytoons]

I have around three times the number of strains you have, so your setup wouldn't work for me.

What I do is I have two trays of 11 bottles each (I make capsules) in the kitchen. Then I have five "11 bottle strains" rows on my bookshelf in my computer room. As I take my Kratom I take the bottom out of the tray on the left and put it in the back of the tray on the right upside down, while taking a bottle from the tray on the right and putting it in the back row of the tray on the left (if this all makes sense). As the week progresses the try on the right has all bottles upside down, at which point I bring it into the room and place the upside down bottles (still upside down) on one side of the row and fill up the tray with the right side bottles on the other side of the row and put it back next to the left one in the kitchen.

In this way I get a rotation of all my strains for around six-seven weeks, at which time all bottles on the bookshelf are upside down. I turn them right side up and start over again.

Each bottle has a color coded label like yours (although I do have white - I use blue for mixed or custom strains and I also have yellow and gold labels for those strains). But the label on the bottle is right side up since that's the side it sits in the trays. Once I've set my line up (once every six or seven weeks) I don't really care what the name of the strain is anyway (and I vary the lineup so I'm not taking the same vendor or color more than once every three or four days).

I used to have a database but it was more work than the payoff anyway (because, let's face it, doesn't pay to keep track of a strain when the next one, even named the same, won't BE the same anyway). I do put ratings on each bottle, though - just a very rough 1-5 system that gives me an idea what to expect (although even that I find isn't too helpful, as every single time I take a dose is different).

All my backup bottles (each holding around 250 capsules, or around four years worth) are stored in a container under our bed. Since my rotation trays hold two years worth of Kratom I don't have to refill often (haven't done it yet).

[Arob1000]

McKratom420 posted his collection here a bit ago, I was impressed by his collection/storage solutions. viewtopic.php?p=99616#p99616

I have my stuff in 3 drawers. It started in one drawer and has grown...gonna need a better storage solution soon!

[coldshowersuperpower]

What I do is I have two trays of 11 bottles each (I make capsules) in the kitchen. Then I have five "11 bottle strains" rows on my bookshelf in my computer room. As I take my Kratom I take the bottom out of the tray on the left and put it in the back of the tray on the right upside down, while taking a bottle from the tray on the right and putting it in the back row of the tray on the left (if this all makes sense). As the week progresses the try on the right has all bottles upside down, at which point I bring it into the room and place the upside down bottles (still upside down) on one side of the row and fill up the tray with the right side bottles on the other side of the row and put it back next to the left one in the kitchen.

In this way I get a rotation of all my strains for around six-seven weeks, at which time all bottles on the bookshelf are upside down. I turn them right side up and start over again.

Each bottle has a color coded label like yours (although I do have white - I use blue for mixed or custom strains and I also have yellow and gold labels for those strains). But the label on the bottle is right side up since that's the side it sits in the trays. Once I've set my line up (once every six or seven weeks) I don't really care what the name of the strain is anyway (and I vary the lineup so I'm not taking the same vendor or color more than once every three or four days).

I used to have a database but it was more work than the payoff anyway (because, let's face it, doesn't pay to keep track of a strain when the next one, even named the same, won't BE the same anyway). I do put ratings on each bottle, though - just a very rough 1-5 system that gives me an idea what to expect (although even that I find isn't too helpful, as every single time I take a dose is different).

All my backup bottles (each holding around 250 capsules, or around four years worth) are stored in a container under our bed. Since my rotation trays hold two years worth of Kratom I don't have to refill often (haven't done it yet).

Thanks for sharing! I tend to agree that maintaining a database starts to feel like more work than it's worth after a while, especially when you have a good physical organization system in place. I'm also realizing that I remember most of the parameters that matter to me to a good enough level of precision. Though I'll probably still refresh my list when I get the time.

I have around three times the number of strains you have, so your setup wouldn't work for me.

For what it's worth, that setup is extensible; those are 2 spice racks that I put next to each other; I will probably add another one soon and might start putting the rest of my supplements in the same bottles. Really only limited by the pantry shelf size. But probably wouldn't work for capsules because they take up more volume anyway. Speaking of capsules: I'm curious how you make your capsules. Do you have some tools to ease the process? Every method I'm seeing so far appears very tedious. I'm lucky not to find kratom taste objectionable, but capsules are still appealing from the pure efficiency standpoint (no time spent weighing, mixing, or washing the shaker bottle since capsules are pre-made).

McKratom420 posted his collection here a bit ago, I was impressed by his collection/storage solutions. viewtopic.php?p=99616#p99616

I have my stuff in 3 drawers. It started in one drawer and has grown...gonna need a better storage solution soon!

Thanks for linking, haven't seen that thread; yeah, pretty impressive. Speaking of a better solution: the key realization for me was that I could separate "cold" storage from easy access storage, and the letter can be made very compact with small containers. Also, not having to deal with all those zip bags is such an improvement (they just don't work well for fine powders I find).

[add to descartes]

I'm not fortunate enough to afford as much kratom as other people in this thread, but one thing that I adopted early on that really helps, is using tupperware and labeling it with a dry erase marker. I usually take about 100g from each bag and put it in a sealable container, which I put in the kitchen cabinet for daily use. the remaining leaf stays in the bag it came in, and I store those bags away in the bedroom closet. I hated having to open and close the ziplocs every time I wanted to dose, and the tupperware makes it a lot more convenient. I don't bother buying special storage bins, color coding bottles, and creating a spreadsheet. sounds like a fun hobby I guess, but not really practical, unless you're lucky enough to be able to buy excessive amounts of kratom, to the point where you can't even keep up with it.

[Kelleytoons]

Speaking of capsules: I'm curious how you make your capsules. Do you have some tools to ease the process? Every method I'm seeing so far appears very tedious. I'm lucky not to find kratom taste objectionable, but capsules are still appealing from the pure efficiency standpoint (no time spent weighing, mixing, or washing the shaker bottle since capsules are pre-made).

I've been using CAPSULE-IT (after first buying "The Capsule Machine" - TCM is still good for samples as I can make 24 capsules, but for bulk nothing beats CAPSULE-IT, which does 100 at a time and does them SO easily):
https://www.herbaffair.com/collections/ ... ule-filler

It's interesting to note the price on that machine has gone WAY up (I bought three of them for around $30 a piece). But then, so has it on everything. In any case, I usually sit down and make 500 capsules in about an hour. I put on a movie (we have a 85" TV in our kitchen/dining area) and I can ALMOST do it without looking now, so the time passes quickly. For me, someone who can't stand the taste (or even the smell) of Kratom, the machine is essential. But, yes, convenient as well and enables me to take my dose with me to, say, Disney World (which we go to a few times a month) and then have some in the afternoon after my morning dose has worn off. Can't imagine trying to manage this with powder but I guess you could but in my case I only need five pills and I'm good to go.

[Kelleytoons]

sounds like a fun hobby I guess, but not really practical, unless you're lucky enough to be able to buy excessive amounts of kratom, to the point where you can't even keep up with it.

And there you have it - you have hit the nail on the head. I can't keep up with the number of strains I have (at this point over 100) let alone manage it unless I had my system in place. What I didn't mention (in addition to what I wrote above) is that I have two or three "can't miss" strains I keep separate out, just in case. Like when I felt like crap recently (thought I had a virus but no fever and the next day I was fine) - I went to my Herbal RVA Red Bali because, well, it's magic and an hour later I was feeling no pain.

And it kind of IS my hobby, I guess (although it drives my wife crazy. Well, crazier :>). I'm a completist to boot, so it's a VERY dangerous hobby (in terms of - you can never get it all).

[coldshowersuperpower]

sounds like a fun hobby I guess, but not really practical, unless you're lucky enough to be able to buy excessive amounts of kratom, to the point where you can't even keep up with it.

And there you have it - you have hit the nail on the head. I can't keep up with the number of strains I have (at this point over 100) let alone manage it unless I had my system in place. What I didn't mention (in addition to what I wrote above) is that I have two or three "can't miss" strains I keep separate out, just in case. Like when I felt like crap recently (thought I had a virus but no fever and the next day I was fine) - I went to my Herbal RVA Red Bali because, well, it's magic and an hour later I was feeling no pain.

And it kind of IS my hobby, I guess (although it drives my wife crazy. Well, crazier :>). I'm a completist to boot, so it's a VERY dangerous hobby (in terms of - you can never get it all).

Agree 100%; there is no practical reason for me to have even as much kratom as I have today (and I have less than many), though I don't intend on stopping. It's a hobby not unlike collecting stamps to me, with the benefit of being able to consume some of the items from time to time, haha. If I was only doing the practical thing I'd probably just buy the 3 Sakti strains and a few things from RVA (ditto on Red Bali!)

Speaking of capsules: I'm curious how you make your capsules. Do you have some tools to ease the process? Every method I'm seeing so far appears very tedious. I'm lucky not to find kratom taste objectionable, but capsules are still appealing from the pure efficiency standpoint (no time spent weighing, mixing, or washing the shaker bottle since capsules are pre-made).

I've been using CAPSULE-IT (after first buying "The Capsule Machine" - TCM is still good for samples as I can make 24 capsules, but for bulk nothing beats CAPSULE-IT, which does 100 at a time and does them SO easily):
https://www.herbaffair.com/collections/ ... ule-filler

It's interesting to note the price on that machine has gone WAY up (I bought three of them for around $30 a piece). But then, so has it on everything. In any case, I usually sit down and make 500 capsules in about an hour. I put on a movie (we have a 85" TV in our kitchen/dining area) and I can ALMOST do it without looking now, so the time passes quickly. For me, someone who can't stand the taste (or even the smell) of Kratom, the machine is essential. But, yes, convenient as well and enables me to take my dose with me to, say, Disney World (which we go to a few times a month) and then have some in the afternoon after my morning dose has worn off. Can't imagine trying to manage this with powder but I guess you could but in my case I only need five pills and I'm good to go.

Thanks for the recommendation, seems like it should do the trick for me too, just ordered it. Good point on portability, I'm not about to go weighing my 2 grams on my scale in the office kitchen, haha!

[Kelleytoons]

Agree 100%; there is no practical reason for me to have even as much kratom as I have today (and I have less than many), though I don't intend on stopping. It's a hobby not unlike collecting stamps to me, with the benefit of being able to consume some of the items from time to time, haha. If I was only doing the practical thing I'd probably just buy the 3 Sakti strains and a few things from RVA (ditto on Red Bali!)
Thanks for the recommendation, seems like it should do the trick for me too, just ordered it. Good point on portability, I'm not about to go weighing my 2 grams on my scale in the office kitchen, haha!

I think you'll really like that machine. A couple of tips - get yourself some scotch tape on a roll and keep it nearby. After you "roll" the capsules into place (you'll see what I mean) a few will end up the wrong way. Pressing down on the frame you can then touch the top with some tape and easily lift them out and put them back in the right way. I wish I had figured this out for the first few times I was using it. Also - if you use a tablespoon (one to eat from, not a "real" tablespoon) you can put three or so heaping helpings onto the frame for your first pass. Then it will be only one tablespoon two or three more times as you compress. Doing it this way (and you'll get a feel for it) it's VERY quick and you don't deal with having too much powder all at once (which then sticks to the compressor thingee). After you've done it two or three times you'll be an expert even though the first time you try it it might seem a bit tricky.

I think of "collecting" Kratom like I think about my daughter and her wine collection. She already has hundreds of bottles which she clearly will never drink in her lifetime, but that doesn't stop her from buying more. And then, of course, she consumes the same way we do, with "special" bottles and vintages for special occasions. And certain wines (strains) go with certain occasions as well. For some reason my wife doesn't see her daughter's collection as a big deal even though it takes up a TON more room (she has a special wine cellar in her house - imagine if I told my wife I needed a special room for my Kratom!), but sees my Kratom collection as very annoying (it doesn't help that she gets no particular good effects from Kratom - the three times she's tried she got very ill).

[terposton]

Hello everyone,
I've been lurking for a bit, and I see that many of you have sizable collections of kratom. I'm very curious of how you manage your inventory, anything around how you store it, how you document what you have, etc. Any tools, devices, or tips that you can share?

I've been having kratom daily for the past couple of months or so (about 8gpd), and my collection has been growing so I started managing it a bit more deliberately recently. Organizing objects and information is kind of a hobby of mine (probably side effects of having ADHD and living in a single-bedroom apartment, haha), so I think I have a good thing going. Perhaps this will give some of you guys ideas but looking forward to what you can share as well!

This is my supplements shelf; kratom is mainly on the left in the spice bottles. Color and letter coded (blue is white, didn't have a white label), purple is kava. Very satisfied with this setup; quite compact and uses vertical space well, lets me fit a lot in a very shallow cupboard.
shelf.jpg

This is my "cold" storage, the left box is full of kratom, and the one in the center has a little bit. Those are Sidio crates which I'm absolutely in love with. Not cheap but very well worth it; the quality feels like something of an heirloom my descendants will keep using, haha. I have many more of those crates for various purposes around the apartment.
crates.jpg

I document my inventory in Coda. Coda is an alternative to spreadsheets which is much better for many purposes, similar to Notion, Airtable, and other tools which have been becoming more popular in the last several years. I haven't used the other similar apps much, but I like Coda, and I highly recommend it. I have been very busy lately so the data doesn't include a large part of my kratoms (and doesn't reflect well on my preferences, my favorite vendor is RVA), but it gives you an idea of how I use it. If you want to play with the sliders, you can copy my docs to your own space if you register with Coda (you could also start using it for your own collection then).

• Invetory table

• Single-variety contaminant comparison - compare how much heavy metals, microbes and yeast the different kratoms have.

• Daily contaminant intake calculator - shows mcg of heavy metals based on the types and amounts of kratoms that I would consume on a given day

I have some color-coding in there alongside percentages of recommended daily maximums of contaminants (definitions and sources are listed in a linked page you can find in the documents above). I'm planning to introduce the ability to compare against multiple maximum recommended intake definitions as well since there are so many, and they can vary a lot.

The contaminant focus is partly due to my liking to analyze, and partly due to real health concerns. I believe anyone who has kratom daily needs to be very aware of the contaminants because even the small amounts can add up over time. There are studies that show that even supposedly safe amounts can have meaningful detrimental effects on health. I do not take any kratom that doesn't have a cold hard CoA attached to it with satisfactory numbers, and I try to take less of the stuff with satisfactory numbers but on the higher end. But this is a whole different topic, I'll probably create another thread on it.

I love your set up.

[coldshowersuperpower]

Terposton, thanks! Yeah, I have to say, it ended up being very convenient. I actually expanded it since last time:

updated-rack.jpeg

Kelleytoons, thanks for the tips, will report back with my impressions once I give it a go. Had it for a couple of weeks now but didn't get a chance to use it yet. Speaking of the analogy to wine collecting, I would agree it's similar in nature. I would argue it's more benign since, as you say, it takes much less room; I would also add that kratom is a much softer drug than alcohol (not that I don't partake) in all respects. Sorry to hear kratom doesn't work for your wife; my girlfriend is in the same boat (interestingly, she liked it the first several times, but it seems to have stopped working after).

[uspatriot995]

Terposton, thanks! Yeah, I have to say, it ended up being very convenient. I actually expanded it since last time:
updated-rack.jpeg

Kelleytoons, thanks for the tips, will report back with my impressions once I give it a go. Had it for a couple of weeks now but didn't get a chance to use it yet. Speaking of the analogy to wine collecting, I would agree it's similar in nature. I would argue it's more benign since, as you say, it takes much less room; I would also add that kratom is a much softer drug than alcohol (not that I don't partake) in all respects. Sorry to hear kratom doesn't work for your wife; my girlfriend is in the same boat (interestingly, she liked it the first several times, but it seems to have stopped working after).

For long-term storage of larger amounts, I like keeping it in original packing (where possible), and double vacuum sealing including 1 food grade silica dessicant for moisture control, along with 1 separate food grade oxygen absorber packet. Prepper style I suppose.

[Kelleytoons]

Terposton, thanks! Yeah, I have to say, it ended up being very convenient. I actually expanded it since last time:
updated-rack.jpeg

Kelleytoons, thanks for the tips, will report back with my impressions once I give it a go. Had it for a couple of weeks now but didn't get a chance to use it yet. Speaking of the analogy to wine collecting, I would agree it's similar in nature. I would argue it's more benign since, as you say, it takes much less room; I would also add that kratom is a much softer drug than alcohol (not that I don't partake) in all respects. Sorry to hear kratom doesn't work for your wife; my girlfriend is in the same boat (interestingly, she liked it the first several times, but it seems to have stopped working after).

Do you have a link to the spice rack? It *looks* like it could hold my capsule bottles which, if true, would be a MUCH better way of organizing them (I already have the colored labels as you do, and I would have the vendor printed on the top so I think it could work for me).

[coldshowersuperpower]

Terposton, thanks! Yeah, I have to say, it ended up being very convenient. I actually expanded it since last time:
updated-rack.jpeg

Kelleytoons, thanks for the tips, will report back with my impressions once I give it a go. Had it for a couple of weeks now but didn't get a chance to use it yet. Speaking of the analogy to wine collecting, I would agree it's similar in nature. I would argue it's more benign since, as you say, it takes much less room; I would also add that kratom is a much softer drug than alcohol (not that I don't partake) in all respects. Sorry to hear kratom doesn't work for your wife; my girlfriend is in the same boat (interestingly, she liked it the first several times, but it seems to have stopped working after).

For long-term storage of larger amounts, I like keeping it in original packing (where possible), and double vacuum sealing including 1 food grade silica dessicant for moisture control, along with 1 separate food grade oxygen absorber packet. Prepper style I suppose.

So far my cold storage is just all original bags in crates. Probably not ideal. Uspatriot995, do you put original bags in individual vacuum-sealed bags? I have a vacuum sealer, now that I think about it, this will also be more compact and I'm about to run out of space in my cold storage. Will try this but will probably skip the original bag for extra space savings.

Terposton, thanks! Yeah, I have to say, it ended up being very convenient. I actually expanded it since last time:
updated-rack.jpeg

Kelleytoons, thanks for the tips, will report back with my impressions once I give it a go. Had it for a couple of weeks now but didn't get a chance to use it yet. Speaking of the analogy to wine collecting, I would agree it's similar in nature. I would argue it's more benign since, as you say, it takes much less room; I would also add that kratom is a much softer drug than alcohol (not that I don't partake) in all respects. Sorry to hear kratom doesn't work for your wife; my girlfriend is in the same boat (interestingly, she liked it the first several times, but it seems to have stopped working after).

Do you have a link to the spice rack? It *looks* like it could hold my capsule bottles which, if true, would be a MUCH better way of organizing them (I already have the colored labels as you do, and I would have the vendor printed on the top so I think it could work for me).

Here it is: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1
I just measured it for capsule capacity: it seems that each bottle holds just under 30 AAA ones.

[Kelleytoons]

Thanks - too small for my needs but it did inspire me to order a couple of other spice racks (coming tomorrow) to see if I can use those to organize my containers.

[uspatriot995]

For long-term storage of larger amounts, I like keeping it in original packing (where possible), and double vacuum sealing including 1 food grade silica dessicant for moisture control, along with 1 separate food grade oxygen absorber packet. Prepper style I suppose.

So far my cold storage is just all original bags in crates. Probably not ideal. Uspatriot995, do you put original bags in individual vacuum-sealed bags? I have a vacuum sealer, now that I think about it, this will also be more compact and I'm about to run out of space in my cold storage. Will try this but will probably skip the original bag for extra space savings.

Yah, depending on vendor packaging. Some lend themselves more to vacuum sealing than others. Some are already vacuum sealed, which is nice. Where ever possible I keep the original packing, it's just a personal preference, nostalgia more than anything. When it works correctly, you end up with a hard brick that's flat and can be stacked and stored nicely, and with the added dissicant and oxygen remover I think it could potentially last a very very long time. Question is what to do with the 200/250 packs that come NOT vacuum sealed. Do you open them slightly, then seal as described, or do you just vacuum seal the bag as is. No perfect way, and then you have to consider how long is this going to sit. And then how all that fits with your batch rotation, etc. For active rotation sequence I like the airtight amber jars. It's all a bit of a job but once organized, you're good.

[Kelleytoons]

For those bags I put aside (like if I buy 500 grams but only make 250 grams into capsules) - I don't worry about sealing them if they haven't been opened, as nearly all small vendors do a really good job with their sealing. For not full bags I just vacuum seal but I don't worry about the air left in the bag - just like with those vendors who seal their stuff in (with or without removing all the air) I feel like the tiny amount of air that's in there has already oxidized as much as it ever will (there's a limited amount of oxygen in there to begin with - ideally ALL stuff would have the oxygen removed and be stored in nitrogen).

Folks have done tests here that pretty well convince me that even years old kratom, stored under MUCH less than ideal conditions (opened bags even left in the sun) have not deteriorated at all. Based on that I suspect every single thing the rest of us do is overkill.

[Adorable45Deplorable]

I envy some of ya'lls ambition.