Freebies, Freebies, and More Freebies

Ok, I know that many of you have read that I love my freebies and many of you have been skeptical if the freebies were actually free. Let me tell you, I will not pay for a freebie. It goes against not only my definition of freebie, but it is insulting.

I decided to list daily what I have received in the mail as a freebie. I took a picture of today's haul and will describe each item I received since the camera is acting up and the last five pictures have been blurry. OK, so maybe I am not standing still enough while taking it, but you will know the haul without pictures.

1-Ocean Spray Diet Sparkling Pomegranate Blueberry 8.4 fl. oz.
1- #5 Seattles' Best Coffee sample 1.75 oz.
1-package, 2 capsules of Omega-3 purified fish oil
1-package 9.7 g, Omega-3 effervescent 500mg EPA+DHA+1200 I.U. Vitamin D3
1-package, 2 soft gels Omega-3 Pet for dogs and cats (Josie and Jasper get to try some fish gels)
1-package Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator
2-packages L'Occitane en Provence Fuide Radieux Protective Lotion
1-Mercury Levels in Fish card for purse or wallet (credit card size and weight)
1-$1.00 Ocean Spray Sparkling four pack coupon
1-$1.00 Seattle's Best Coffee coupon
1-2 DVD/CD set You can understand the Bible, Verse-by-verse Computer Bible Study Library by Dr. BOB UTLEY. (all sorts of languages available on this dvd/cd set).
1-Today's Wall Street Journal (receive them 6 days a week).
12- coupons good for one Vosko's Greek Yogurt.
1-full size Cover Girl Natural Lux lipgloss

That's quite a bit. You will not believe some of the things that I requested over the weekend and today. It is amazing what is out there if you are willing to search. If you happen to know someone who has these connections contact them. I have 'em and you can too!

Taking care of the written word,
dannielyn

Stockpiling Moms

I have to admit that I do love to get freebies and samples in the mail.  In fact, it is nearly an obsession of mine.  The thrill of the hunt, the magic of timing for the offers and the wait for the mail is intoxicating.  Coupons are another great thrill for me.  I love when I am able to get something for nothing or next to nothing.  But then I look at the blogs and emails I receive from freebie, samples and coupon clipping mothers.  I read some of their shopping stories and wonder, why did they need to buy all of that stuff?  What are they going to do with it?  What about the excess?

I imagine you are beginning to think that I am a hypocrite.  I am nearly obsessed with my freebies and samples and so totally taken by my couponing, how could I judge another person.  Well, judge I am not.  I simply wonder.  I know some of them save for later occasions such as next Christmas, birthdays and the like.  I know that some of them have a number of family members and that is how they do their shopping.  I know that some of them give the items away to readers.  YEAH!!! but I don't.  Here is what I do.

Mother's To Be Go Bags
I made up a bag for a friend from church who was going to be having their second child.  I got a small fabric bag from Target a long time ago.  I never used it.  It was a little bigger than a half a sheet of paper.  I put the following items in the bag: 2 bottles of water (for dad), 2 zone perfect bars I had a coupon for and only paid 50 cents for both (for dad), shampoo and conditioner for mom and dad (samples) , 2 toothbrushes (free from dentist), toothpaste (sample), men's razor (free sample), shaving cream (free sample), tissues (free sample), nail file (free sample), lotion (free sample), face cleanser (free with coupon), body wash for mom (free with coupon), body wash for dad (free sample), chap stick (free with coupon) and a small puff for the wash (free with purchase).

This mother had not made her bag at the time that I gave it to her.  It was about 3-4 weeks before she was due.  She loved it.  Best of all, she loved how it was nearly all free.  I have begun to do this for all the mom's to be at our church.  My little ministry.  I might change up a few things depending on my samples and coupons that I have available to me.  But I love to make these little bags up.  In fact, I found some cloth diapers or burp clothes that are designed for boys or girls and have folded it in half and sewn it up and put a ribbon handle on it and of course, the clothes and the ribbon was next to nothing with clearance prices and coupons.

I also love to make little college care packages.  My oldest son is in college and a high school friend lives on the floor below him.  I make him a care package and send along some of my great deals for her.  I had an opportunity to pick up a full size Nivea body wash with a smaller size attached.  I had a coupon for $3 off the full size and Target had them clearance priced at $3.50.  For 50 cents I had a large and small body wash.  Luckily I had four of those coupons and was able to get four of those great sets.  She is set for body wash for quite some time.  

Filling out the samples that a college student would love with their address is another great way to share the love of the samples and freebies.  I have sent constitution copies to my history buff son, poetry posters, texting kills rings, cheez-its, planters coupons for free nuts, Kleenex samples that he ended up giving to Julia and he loves it.  It is mail he is not expecting and it is something cool and unique.

But the best one has to be giving your samples to food pantries.  I have received diabetic coupons for free meters that I give to the food pantry where I volunteer.  So many of the clients do not have one that is easy for them to use.  They aren't always aware that they can get a new one.  Samples of formula are always needed for moms who are struggling to obtain formula and food to feed a baby.  I have gotten t-shirts that I didn't need and took them to the clothing closet.  Someone would love to have a new t-shirt to keep them warm.  I receive printed information that I donate for a resource library for staff.

I enjoy these opportunities to share the wealth. I hope you are able to sue these ideas to share the wealth with other!

Taking care of the written word,
dannielyn

Saving money and Getting Freebies

I love to be able to save money on everything I purchase.  Sometimes that is not possible, there is simply no coupon or discount I can use.  This is a real bummer, but it is not the end of the world.  I have been using my facebook account to obtain freebies and coupons to such a degree that my friend from high school asked me if my account had been hacked.  I was thrilled to explain to her what I use my facebook account for and she asked for more details.

I would love to share those details with you now.  If you want to know how to get freebies and awesome coupons but do not have the time to scour the internet for all the freebies out there, that is just fine.  You don't have too.  You will be able to check out blogs that have done all the work for you.  You just click on the offers you want and fill out the form.  Here is the list.  It is in no particular order and it is not all inclusive.  There are many others out there that do such a great job.  There also some that focus on particular areas of the country.

You will need to place these names in the search box and pull them up this way.  I have not linked them to their individual sites.

hip2save
mojosavings
frugal living and having fun
bargain blessings
my savings . com
stockpiling moms
for the mamas
I love to gossip
coupons on caffeine
free sample agent
sweet free stuff
absurdly cool freebie finder
savings and giving
stl mommy

It's a pretty good listing of what you can check out to get started.  What is really great is almost every site has information on how to save money with coupons and where to get the coupons.  It is like a one stop shop for goodies.

Taking care of the written word,
dannielyn

Delivering Happiness, Interventions, Fatheads, and Avon ANEW Giveaways

New Contests!

I am so excited to have four contests and giveaways to offer everyone. This is an exciting time for me and I certainly hope it will be for you too!

I will be blogging about each of the items that will be given away in the next few days. This will give you more of an idea of what you are entering for and the people who have given me these great gifts to give to you.
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos, this book will be given away on June 7, 2010 by 10 pm Eastern Time. All entries up to 9:59 pm EST will be accepted.

Here is what you have to do to enter in this contest:
1. Follow me @dannielyn and @dhbook on Twitter and retweetthe following: #TCWWcontest win a free copy of Delivering Happiness. Follow & RT @dannielyn & @dhbook http://takingcareofthewrittenword.com
2. Follow me on one of the following blogs: http://dannettfreywrites.wordpress.com OR http://ladyofproverbs31.blogger.com
3. Join the mailing list to the right for http://takingcareofthewrittenword.com
4. Go to the contact page and write an example of how you have delivered happiness to anyone. While there on the contact page, include which blog you are following as well as whether you completed all four of the steps.

I received this book this afternoon (5/19/10) and began reading it right
away. It is incredible.

Here is the book website http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com.

If you want to blog a review of this book check this site: http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/contact/apply-for-an-advance-copy/

Terri Blackstock’s INTERVENTION

This is an easy giveaway to apply for, simply sign up. This book is an incredible read. I order a copy for myself and there was a bunch of pages with ink smudges on it and received a second copy. The second copy never came out of the box, so it is brand spanking new. Want to share this book with you about a loved one who suffered an injury and became addicted to prescription medication. It reveals new insight on the problem many of us have when we think of an addict. Could we be a bit too eager to condemn instead of offering help? This book will capture you on many levels.

FATHEADS Tradeables

I received this as a sample from Vocalpoint offering but wanted to share it with someone with a child who loves baseball. It needs a good home. Follow me on twitter and sign up for the giveaway. So easy.

Avon ANEW DERMA-FULL Facial Filling Cream

There are four of these full size products that will be given away. This product is a skincare breakthrough with the same injectable grade facial filler used by dermatologists in a treatment cream. All you need to do is sign up and see if you will win.

taking care of the written word,
dannielyn

Making Life Easier for Moms and Dads

I am all for making life easier in any manner possible. I spend a lot of time on the internet researching all different topics and I bookmark quite a few of those sites I have researched. I was sitting there one day searching through the multitude of bookmarks wondering if there was an easier way to find the sites that I use all the time. It hit me, what about a site that lists a number of highly popular topics and the most popular sites regarding those topics.

That is what Taking Care of the Written Word is. All the sites that make a difference in a person's life will have links on this website. Pages will be added all the time to cover the topics of most interest.

That is where you come in. You can suggest topics that are important to you and sites that cover those topics. It will be a great site for anyone looking to make their life easier.

Take a look, make a comment or two and get involved in this site. Together we can make this a great resource for everyone.