I have been wanting to start this blog for awhile now, and my experiences over the last week have motivated me to finally do it! I started what I call "moderately extreme" couponing this Summer in an attempt to save some money for my newly expanded family. It quickly turned into something much greater than that. I am a therapist and one day a week I work at the Santa Barbara Mental Health Assocation Fellowship Club with adults with severe mental illness, many of whom are homeless. We have a wonderful "Care Closet" that provides clothing, shoes, etc. for free or $1 to our clients. I recognized a need for hygiene items such as deodorant, soap, shampoo, etc. Items like this can make a huge difference to someone who is homeless and trying to find housing or employment. Our clients are always asking for simple things like this and we just never have any to give out. I realized that I could use my couponing "skills" to acquire toiletry items for our clients for free or minimal cost. And so, my couponing passion really began!
I have been collecting hygiene items for a couple of months now in anticipation of the MHA Holiday Party. On Monday I brought everything I had collected, and this is what I got in just 2 short months:
- 15 bottles of shampoo
- 6 tubes of toothpaste
- 12 deodorants
- 4 bottles of body wash
- 1 toothbrush
- 3 rolls of dental floss
- a few miscellaneous items
All together, these items are worth over $200, and in total I paid about $20 for them by matching up coupons with store sales (I'll tell you more about my process later).
This is not to the same level as some of the extreme couponers you see on the TLC show, but I feel really good about it. The best part is that these items will be put into holiday gift bags for our clients who really need them. I may not be able to change the world, but this is a way for me to use my abilities to help others in the small way I am able.
