Couponing for Charity: Donation #3

My apologies for the delay in this post. I have been focusing on family and holiday memories the past few weeks. I will get back to the weekly suggestions for charity ASAP. But first, I want to share my experience with our third set of donations to Knoxville's Ronald McDonald House.

This from their website: The Ronald McDonald House of Knoxville provides a "home away from home" for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. The House provides a comfortable, supportive, temporary residence near the medical facility where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations.

In early December, Devin and Brooke joined me in delivering two huge boxes of goods to this gorgeous home located near the East TN Children's Hospital. Trying to educate my four-year-old about giving to others, I told him we were going to "play Santa" for less fortunate kids. He was a bit puzzled about where Santa and the kids were, but hopefully the concept that it feels good to give is being planted early.

You may recall that I tried to donate goods to them for our second round of donations. At the time, I was told they didn't need what I had. When I called this time, they said they could use our items and were very appreciative. Looking at their wish list, I added a few items from my personal stock pile that I didn't get for free but they were bargains. At the last minute, fellow Northwest Knoxville MOMS Club member Kelley Neal dropped off her box of goods (not pictured). They were thrilled to get items they could use to stuff stockings for all the residents.

Here are the items we donated:

• 1 big box Cheerios
• 4 boxes pasta
• 5 boxes granola bars
• 1 box instant oatmeal
• 4 cans soup
• 3 jars peanut butter
• 1 box hot chocolate
• 2 packs tuna
• 2 air fresheners
• 1 all natural multi-purpose cleaner
• 3 first aid kits
• 9 tubes toothpaste
• 1 toothbrush
• 1 dental floss
• 20 pens
• 4 lip balm
• 1 body wash
• 2 razors
• 2 shaving creams
• 1 lotion
• 3 deodorants
• 5 Clinique samples
• 1 bottle hand soap
• home baked cookies from our club cookie swap

I can't really give an accurate account for the value of the items and the money spent since half of it wasn't mine, I set aside some items for the next charity, and I had previously donated some items from this batch to Iva's Place. At last count, my totals since September were:

TOTAL VALUE OF PRODUCTS: $175.14

TOTAL SPENT: -$7.79 (that's negative nearly 8 bucks)

It's been nine months since I began Couponing for Charity, and I am looking forward to lots more giving in 2011!

Couponing for Charity 12/5-11

Hi savvy shoppers. Sorry if you missed me last week. I was on vacation and had no plans to shop after my huge Black Friday trips to Walgreen's and CVS. I think I had 4 or 5 transactions at both stores! Thank goodness I did not have the kids.

This week is not a thrilling week for bargains but if you need to spend your register rewards from Black Friday (they'll expire 12/10), get back out there. I managed to roll all but one $.99RR into other savings. They paid for an ink cartridge so I can print more coupons! :-)

Note: At Walgreen's, you can earn even more savings (currently called Jingle Cash) now through 12/18. For every $25 you spend (before coupons), you earn a $5RR. That's in addition to any other RR deals advertised, but you can only spend those between 12/12 and 12/18. Hope they have good sales then.

Walgreen's:

For the complete list of match-ups, go to Southern Savers.

For the paired down list, go to Coupon Katie.

I'll probably go for the free toothpaste, free nail polish (if I can find that coupon book), and the $.90 peanut butter (highly sought after item at food banks).

CVS:

For the complete list of match-ups, go to Southern Savers.

For the paired down list, go to Coupon Katie.

Nothing excites me much this week, but if you can get there tomorrow (12/7), you could get 10 candy canes for $.50 and M&Ms for $1.33 each. If you're going, there are two monthly freebies you might consider: Azo wipes and multi-purpose solution. By signing up for this coupon, you can also get 3 free Zhu Zhu pets when you buy 1. I was going to buy them as toys to donate, but I've read lots of discouraging comments about them. What do you think? I may hang onto my ECBs for another week or two.

Kroger:

For the complete list of match-ups, go to Southern Savers.

For some good tips for saving on cereal and Kellogg's rebates, go to Coupon Katie.

I will be picking up some cereal during their four day sale (12/8-11). They won't be free but many places appreciate cereal, like our next beneficiary: Ronald McDonald House. I'm taking a box of goodies to them on Friday.

Target:

Thanks to Katie and Gabrielle for the following tips about good deals at Target this week. It might be worth swinging by to get free Air Wick candles, $.49 Seventh Generation cleaner, free Suave shampoo, $.14 pantyliners, $.19 lotion, and $.24 eye shadow. Awesome deals.

You can also pick up some free to very cheap travel games at Target with Hasbro coupons: Hungry Hungry Hippo and Piktureka. Thanks, Katie.

I'll update my totals soon. There's just not enough time in the day!