Jan-July charity donation.... dun dun dun....

[Isisedenia]

Not sure how interesting this is to anyone, but I spent 4 hours playing with it all and wanted to post it somewhere so it seems like I had a point rather than just organizing all of my personalities in my head before sending my products out to those who need them. So here goes:

I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to organize my donations for the first part of this year. I pulled out all of the boxes and bags, my file of receipts and started writing and organizing. I had no idea I'd accumulated so much stuff or that I'd spent so *little* doing it.

First- I forgot to get in touch with the group I normally donate back packs to before school starts in time this year. Too much going on in my life, and too little time to remember it's THAT time. So I now have 18 back packs to donate at Christmas instead. 13 of them are completely full, each age appropriate school supplies ranging from glue/glue sticks, crayons/color pencils, loose leaf paper, spiral notebooks, Mead marble composition books/decorative composition books for elem. age kids journals to pencils and pens, 3 hold punchers, pencil sharpeners, erasers, scissors, day planners and pencil cases and at least one 3 ring binder in each of the older kid's bags. Very cute collections that I can't imagine a child not adoring.

Second- my donation collection started the week after Christmas and accumulated until the last week of July. Wow. I didn't do an exact add up of how much the regular retail would have been, or exactly how much I spent, because that was just too many numbers. The estimation is coming at the end though! Here's the random assortment of stuff I have to mainly go to a women's shelter and some to go to a Christmas donation I do annually:
*38 assorted shampoo/conditioner [Pantene, Dove, Tresemme, Infusium, John Frieda and Renpure]
*19 assorted hair stylers [John Frieda, Pantene, Garnier Fructis, Tresemme & Real Solutions]
*14 Men's body wash [Nivea mainly 2 Dove & 2 Axe]
*46 Women's body wash [St Ives, Nivea, Soft Soap, Suave & Aveeno]
*4 Venus Embrace razor starter kits [comes w/razor, 2 refills, shower cady and 2 oz shave gel]
*13 Venus refill cartridges 8 ct [Vibrance mainly, 2 Embrace and 4 Divine]
*8 Venus refill cartridges 4 ct. [Embrace, Divine and Breeze]
*8 Schick quattro for women razors
*19 Schick quattro refill cartridges [12 women's 4 ct, 7 men's 4ct (+4 bonus)]
*27 packs disposable razors [Schick, Venus & Gillette]
*42 2 oz Satin Care shave Gel
*17 6 oz Satin Care Shave Gel
*4 Aveeno sensitive skin shave gel 6 oz
*6 Veet hair removal systems
*4 L'oreal hair color
*6 Revlon Colorsilk hair color
*14 St. Ives lotions
*3 Suave body lotions
*8 1 oz Aveeno lotion
*7 Neutrogena facial cleansing bars
*5 Neutrogena lip balm
*3 Neutrogena hand cream
*8 St. Ives warming scrub
*4 St. Ives facial cleanser w/35 SPF
*10 St. Ives apricot scrub [2 types]
*4 St. Ives green tea facial cleanser
*4 St. Ives green tea scrub
*3 L'oreal 360 cleansers
*10 St. Ives 1 oz face moisturizer
*3 St. Ives collagen and elastin building facial cream
*5 Clean and Clear pore minimizing cleanser
*6 Clean and Clear pore minimizing lotion
*17 Nivea lip balm
*14 Softlips [2 pk]
*6 Softlips Naturals [single pack]
*4 EOS lip balm
*9 Carmex 3 ct. cherry lip balm
*26 Lypsol cold sore lip treatment
*14 Goody brushes
*39 Goody hair ties [22 ct.]
*9 Scuunci kid's hair accessories
*2 heated hair curlers
*4 Revlon wet2straight straighteners
*8 40ct. OB tampons
*6 Carefree pantiliners 102 ct
*11 20 ct. OB tampons
*6 Playtex tampons 18 ct
*4 Sinus Buster spray
*4 Allergy Buster spray
*6 saline nasal spray [2 oz]
*18 Ocean nasal spray [2 oz]
*2 Neil-Med sinus rinse for children
*8 Feverall infant suppositories
*21 (store brand) children's tylenol
*24 (store brand) infant tylenol
*28 (store brand) children's motrin
*14 (store brand) infant motrin
*23 Be Koool fever patches
*4 Alavert 12 ct [+4 bonus]
*2 Zyrtec travel size (3 ct)
*17 assorted Listerine mouthwash
*14 assorted adult Colgate
*8 Children's Colgate
*6 Children's Crest
*6 Orajel training toothpaste
*14 twin pack kids' toothbrushes
*8 single pack kids' toothbrushes
*12 reg. Oral B toothbrushes [single pack]
*5 twin pack Reach toothbrushes
*39 assorted decorative socks
*6 Osteo Bi-Flex 60 ct.
*4 (store brand) antacid 172 ct.
*23 Rolaid chewables 18 ct
*4 Similac trial size powder formula
*4 Enfamil trial size powder formula (12 oz each)
*28 assorted J&J baby wash/lotion
*8 Desitin 1 oz tubes
*7 Desitin 2 oz tubes
*10 Desitin clear
*36 assorted mega pack diapers (Luvs sz. 1-3, Huggies and Pampers sz. 3-5)
*4 big pack Luvs diapers sz. 1
*6 Pampers Swaddlers (old kind) JP sz. Newborn
*8 Huggies little Snugglers JP sz NB-1
*18 72 ct. tubs Pampers wipes
*12 216 ct. Pampers wipes refills
*4 handheld electronic games
*15 card games [uno, phase 10]
*13 assorted playing cards
*39 assorted basic toys [Jax, jump ropes, bubbles, yo-yos]
*52 pks water balloons
*34 pks party balloons
*6 Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets
*18 pairs children sunglasses
*4 shower cadies
*4 laundry baskets
*8 Pedialyte substitutes [Walgreens/Rite aid brand]
*6 J&J First aid kits
*12 Band Aid w/Neosporin 18 ct
*23 Children's Band Aid 18-26 ct.
*6 18 oz Peroxide
*6 18 oz rubbing alchol
*4 64 ct. alcohol swabs
*4 Betadine 6 oz
*3 Ocufresh eye wash (8 individual tubes in each)
*12 Visine allergy
*10 Visine for contacts
*6 Renu contact solution [4 reg. 2 sensitive]
*4 twin packs AMO Complete contact solution
*8 spiral bound journals
*42 assorted fun pens
*58 individual Bonne Bell Lip Smackers
*21 multi-packs Bonne Bell Lip Smackers
*14 mani/pedi kits I put together each with 4 polish colors, one remover, one necessary tool kit, pumice stone and callus shaver]

Okay, so that's all I went through last night, I'm thinking I missed a box somewhere but I kind of hope not. Anyway my actual OOP for all of this was somewhere around $147. A lot is stuff I found on Clearance, had coupons for, and threw in to get a subtotal high enough to use a total purchase coupon. The school supplies were about $50 all in all, so still less than $200 for a LOT of stuff to donate. I love post-season clearances. Most of the nail stuff and all the Bonne Bell came after Christmas. 75-80% of this was all bought at drugstores too. Most at Rite Aid but some at Walgreens. The rest was normally at Kroger(razors and socks!!) or Publix. Not big on doing post season at Walmart or Target yet. I should try next year and see just how much I can accumulate for this price again. Any bets that the chance of me recreating this is basically Nil?

[couponswapster]

AWESOME!!!!! great donations!!

[Coupon_Queen]

All I can say is WOW. If I was the charity worker on duty when you drop this stuff off I think I would cry. What a generous heart you have. Have you ever done Operation Christmas Child through Samaritans Purse? They gather shoe boxes filled with items and send them to needy kids all over the world in the name of Jesus and many kids come to knwo Him as their Savior through this program. Your donations could probably fill tons of boxes.

[Isisedenia]

Thank you. I've had some odd looks of amaze when I ask for help "getting the rest" when I walk up with a box and 2 trash bags because that looks like a lot in and of itself!
I do the Samaritan's purse boxes every year at Christmas, along with my county Christmas drive. Along with my random shoe boxes sent to soldiers over seas [I think we should all do at least 4 a year with our freebies, those guys and girls deserve having someone just stating that we're thinking of them].

I divide my boxes up, men's razors, bodywash, deodorant etc. isn't really something I feel should be sent to a battered women's shelter so that gets split between the veterans and my Christmas donations.

Normally around now is when I can really start getting my Christmas donations done b/c for some reason Aug/September (probably b/c of BTS being over) you can normally accumulate stuff like slippers and hampers and shoe cadies. I buy toys on Clearance after Christmas to donate the following year but since I only have about one box -there wasn't much left after this Christmas really which is why I've bought the basic toys- that way I can have a borad donation for kids from infancy to teenagers and they don't feel like they're just getting generic stuff.

I know some RIte Aid stores [maybe just in my area] are trying to get approval to do Toys for Tots collections this year. I see how much people in my area get for free or cheap and how charitable they can be, so I'm hoping it's approved and we can really see the good hearts of our customers.

[IndianaMom]

Of course we are interested! What a great job, very impressive!

[Califgirl]

Thats so great of you.I have been donating to our Marines in Afghanistan.

[jakobandevelyn]

Holy Moly! that is A W E S O M E ! ! ! ! !!