Thought Provoking Thursday

Thought Provoking Thursday

It didn't take me long, once I began spending coupons, to discover that I was able to collect A LOT of grocery and household items for FREE or nearly FREE.

Some products that I've purchased in multiples (stockpiling), my family has enjoyed using, and other products have just not worked well for our uses/needs.

So for as long as I've been spending coupons, I've been looking for ways to share the bounty of my coupon purchased goodies.

I keep a box in my pantry for items that I have purchased that I know that my family will not use, but I know that someone else can benefit from me donating them.

At the beginning of 2009 I was really disciplined about taking my donations to a food pantry every 6-8 weeks. But as the year rolled on, we found that many more people that we knew personally could benefit from the excess of what we have sitting on the shelves in our home. So I began giving more to those in our social circles and less to a food pantry.

The problem with choosing one way of giving over another, is that those who we have been sharing with didn't actually need all of the things that I have been bringing home... and so I was still overloaded with with goods needing a home.

This year, I plan to keep up on making donations to a local food pantry, and I thought that many of you may want to join me!

Here are a few great tips for getting prepared to make a donation:

1. Gather all of the plastic bags that you have floating around your house.
*You can either single or double bag your goods! Food pantries often need a huge supply of plastic bags to allow their clients to bring home goods in.

2. Sort your items to donate. Place like food items in the same bag, and make sure to keep cleaning supplies and hygiene products separate from consumables. *This helps the volunteers at the food pantry to get your items ready faster for distribution.

3. Tie your bags closed with a single knot. *Keep your items from spilling around in your car, but allow the bags to be easily opened and reused!

4. Mark "D Day" (donation day) on your calendar. *If you make a plan, you'll actually get your items into the right hands!

If YOU are looking for a local area to share your goodies with other who can put them to better use than keeping them on your shelves... visit pantrynet.org. Search by your zip code to find a close and worthy location close to home! (*You'll also be able to see the donation location's address and hours of drop off. **Some donation locations even offer a tax write off credit for your donations [similarly to donating clothing to a thrift shop].)

Keep in mind that food gathering dust on your shelves- especially if it is nearing its expiration date, may be better served at someone else's table!

What do YOU do with all of your extra grocery and household purchases?