This coming Saturday is National Stamp Out Hunger Day...where you leave a bag of food/non -perishables by your mailbox for your postal worker to pick up. Well, as a mission to encourage more donating, not just of food, a great cause has started the week leading up to National Stamp Out Hunger Day! And I LOVE it, because it is right up my ally!
This whole week is known as Couponing for Community. I began couponing a long time ago before kids and put it on the back burner for a while during college and then when I had our first daughter. But for about 3-4 years now I have been practicing getting better and better at couponing and saving money. One of things you do to save money and avoid paying full price is have a little "stockpile" of items when you buy them dirt cheap or free with coupons. Well, as experienced couponers know, there are certain items you begin to NEVER pay for because they are ALWAYS on sale and free or dirt cheap with coupons. So, for quite some time now, I've been donating items as I get "too many" in my stockpile. But to be honest, I have neglected going through my shelves and donating for a while now...So when I heard about Couponing for Community Week, I was elated! The perfect motivation to clear some things out AND contribute to the cause's 10,000 item donation goal!
This is our dining room table covered with 160 items (that I paid zero for out of pocket) I'll be dropping off tomorrow at a nursing home, The Hospitality House, The Animal Shelter, and SAAFE House. There were so many other items I'd like to donate, but need to find somewhere to take them first! This is not intended to be a brag post, my hope is that readers will in turn be encouraged and motivated to give from our abundance! I love couponing as a hobby and as a way to save money for our family. It allows me to do things I love...SHOP...and MATH! LOL But one of the GREATEST joys of couponing is that it allows me to donate so much when otherwise we would not be able to. I really do consider it a talent and a ministry!
If you're new to couponing and want to get a better start, check out the links on my sidebar and my Monday Deal posts. These blogs ARE the main blogs I follow that basically hand the deals to you every week! It's that simple! Getting "hauls" like the ones pictured on TLC's Extreme Couponing show are just that....extreme! Experienced couponers know that those shopping trips are not realistic and are probably set up for the show. However, once you get into the blogs that lay the deals out for you, it is very easy to slowly build a stockpile and begin donating for little to no money!
Speaking of...I literally just finished this and checked my email to find that the Good Shepard Mission in Huntsville is in need of the following items: non-perishable foods like macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, canned meats, toilet paper and plastic bags to sack foods. :)
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