Today’s “Tip of the Day Tuesday” will be a little bit different from others I have posted. Instead of giving you tips about how to use coupons or save more, I’m going to share a tip about how you can use what you already have to help others.

If you’ve been using coupons for awhile, then you have probably accumulated a nice stockpile of health and beauty items…..probably more than you and your family could ever use! If you have an overstock, there are many things you can do with it.

One of the things you can do is “adopt a soldier.”

Some of the “requested items” which you may have sitting around in your stockpile include:
*dental floss
*mouthwash
*toothpaste
*toothbrushes
*baby wipes
*nasal spray
*eye drops
*deodorant
*feminine hygiene products
*foot powder
*hand lotion
*hand sanitizer
*Q-tips
*razors
*Shampoo
*sunscreen
*body wash
*Tylenol
*lip balm
*cotton balls
*bug spray
*batteries

A great resource if you are looking at adopting a soldier is Any Soldier. You can browse through a list of “wish lists” and select one (or more) to send a package to. There is a huge list of other organizations that are set up to support and send care packages to our troops here.

You can find additional information and suggestions for putting together your packages through these resources:
Operation Military Pride
Operation Shoebox
USPS – Support our Troops

You can get your entire family involved in this process. Have your kids draw pictures or write short letters to include in your package while you are putting it together.

Also, don’t throw out your expired grocery coupons. You can send them to US military families who are stationed overseas. They are able to use them up to six months past the expiration date. There is a comprehensive list here of places where you can send your expired coupons along with more detailed information about how this works.

Thanks for helping to support our troops!