Benefits to couponing...

If you are into couponing, you know how much fun it can be... but you also know that you can end up with a lot of stuff. I enjoy sharing my deals with friends and family that don't coupon and showing them what I was able to get for free or close to free.

I have a friend who was living in Tokyo for 2 years for her husband's job. After the big earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor drama, she decided to come back to the states for four months with her two girls while things settle down and her husband stayed in Tokyo to work. She rented a furnished apartment and when she moved in a few weeks ago, I was able to put all the above pictured household and personal care items together in a box to help get her started. I figured that the retail cost of all of the items I gave her was around $65, and for everything in the picture I spent less than $10.

If you have any upcoming weddings or housewarming parties... think about using some of your stockpile items to make a gift basket of household or personal care items.

Stamp Out Hunger reminder!

Tomorrow is Stamp Out Hunger day! I'm not sure if everyone got a bag in the mail today like we did, but fill a bag with any extra groceries you've purchased and put them by your mailbox. If you're a couponer, you have probably "bought" some extras or have some foods you normally wouldn't buy but you got for free or made money "buying" it (like the Splenda packets pictured) in your pantry and now is a great opportunity to clean out. I went through my pantry and filled my bag today so I'll be ready in the morning.

Are you planning on donating? I love the Stamp out Hunger food drive because I don't have to leave my house to donate- how easy is that?

A stocking for a friend...

The other day, one of my friends/coworkers was asking if I had any good coupons or knew of any good deals on men's razors for her hubby's stocking. I told her that I'm always getting men's razors for free, and that I have tons of them at home and I'd just bring her some. I asked her if her hubby used men's body wash also and told her I'm always getting that for free as well so I said I'd bring some of that in too. I said last week it was time to clean out some of my stockpile so I figured this was a good start!

Everything in the bag was either FREE or I got paid to buy it! 4 different kinds of men's body wash, 5 men's razors, 2 Right Guard deodorants, 2 containers of Reach dental floss, Crest toothpaste and Gain dish soap! From looking at the price tags, if I would have paid full retail for all of this I would have paid around $42.00!

I still have tons in my stockpile- and tons of samples I need to get out to donate to Kalamazoo Community in Schools. I'm hoping I can get to that this week since last week flew by. This month their focus is on personal care items and I have plenty of those to share!

My coworker was so excited! And, I'm excited because I told her not to give me any money but to just give me her extra newspaper inserts each week so I can get more freebies!

Stamp out Hunger Food Drive- THIS Saturday!!

This Saturday is the Stamp out Hunger Food Drive- all you have to do is put a bag with non-perishable items in/on/next to your mailbox and your mail carrier will pick them up. Clean out your pantry and get any extras out for donation.

I know the past couple months I've gotten a few freebies/ cheapies grocery items at the store that I probably don't really need. This is a great way to clean out my pantry AND I don't have to find a place to take it! Do you have anything you can donate? Send me pictures and I'll post them!

Doing some good with couponing

Several other blogs I follow have a section in their blog about donations. Heather at Spectacular Savings took a bunch of her freebies and cheapies to Ministry with Community in Kalamazoo today. I looked on their website and found the following list of items they need:

Emergency Needs
The following items are urgently needed. We are either out of these items or our supply is extremely low.
Brushes and combs
Coffee
Deodorant
Feminine hygiene products
Lip balm
Lotion
Plastic grocery bags
Razors
Spiral notebooks
Boxed Tissue
Coffee Mugs
Pitchers
Commercial size pots
Serving Bowls
Vaseline

Ongoing Needs
The following items are needed in all sizes; however, the trial/travel sizes (if available) are most helpful.
Band-aids
Bath towels and washcloths
Dish towels and dish rags
Laundry detergent
Salt and Pepper
Shampoo
Shaving cream
Soap
Metal Flatware
Sugar
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
(trial size)

Meat
Peanut Butter
Butter
Bagged/Ready-to-Serve Salad
First-Aid Kits
Plastic Rain Ponchos
Tall Narrow Plastic Laundry Hampers
Gloves & Mittens
Bread Baskets
32 quart cooking pots
Blenders
Stand and Hand Mixers
Kitchen Spatulas
Manual or Automatic Can Openers
Cake Pans
Muffin Pans
Hot Chocolate Mix
Tea

Holiday Needs
The following should be new items that will be given as gifts. Items are needed in adult sizes. Children’s items are also welcome.
Winter hats
Blankets
White socks
Scarves
Underwear
Sweaters & Sweatshirts
Flannel Shirts
Thermal Underwear
Undershirts/T-Shirts
Sweatpants

When you find that you can get things for free, like the travel size Dove I just posted and the toothbrushes and floss at Walgreens this week, consider getting them and tossing them in a box to donate to this organization or a similar organization in your area. I plan to go back to Walgreens to get 4 more toothbrushes/ dental floss to add to my donation box and also would like to find the travel size Nexcare bandages at Target. It's so much fun to get freebies in the store so why not get as many as you can and share the items with people who really need them.

Does anyone else want to start doing this?