Works for me Wednesday - Putting the Word Out

Have I mentioned that I love FREE stuff? I wrote this post a few months ago about the stuff people have just given me voluntarily. Part of the reason I got all this stuff is that people were trying to get rid of something, but part of the reason I got it is that they knew I would take it. I have found that the secret to getting FREE stuff is by accepting FREE stuff that is offered to you - even if you have to take it and donate it to the DI or Goodwill or whatever.

The first time you don't accept something, that person will stop offering. I have experienced this first hand. There is a gal at my work who has given me tons of stuff! She's given me kitchen stuff, toys, baby food, clothes, you name it! One day she brought this big picture to work of a farm house and a meadow. It was a nice picture. She asked me if I would use this in my daughter's room (because it had some purple in it), the first thing that popped out of my mouth was no. I was perfectly polite, but she has never offered me anything again and it has been almost a year.

I don't think that she intentionally doesn't offer me things, but I think this is just one of the mysterious laws of frugality or something - I have seen it myself!

So here is the point of my rant - accept FREE stuff that is offered to you and it will keep coming! Put the word out! Last night at a church gathering they were serving fondue type things fruits, vegetables, breads, etc. After the gathering was over, I was lucky enough to leave with about 2 pounds of baby carrots and a gallon size bag of broccoli florets! I've learned my lesson, if they ask if anyone wants any, I am the first to accept! It works for me!

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for other great Works for me Wednesday links!

Puttin' the word out

I learned about putting the word out when I started reading The Tightwad Gazette (and became a HUGE fan!). I never considered myself an aggressive enough person to speak up and say things like - "if you know anyone who will sell a twin bed for ___ I would be willing to buy it". The more I did it, the more comfortable I became and the more stuff people just started offering.

Some examples of stuff I have received in the last few months:

• Just today I got 2 CASES of Girl Scout Cookies - yes 24 boxes for FREE. My boss is somehow affiliated with the Girl Scouts and they can't sell the cookies after a certain date, therefore they have to give them away. She came to work today with tons of them and offered me 2 cases!
• A set of 4 stainless steel canisters for my kitchen.
• Two purple floral arrangements for my daughter's room. A co-worker was redecorating her purple bedroom and was looking to get rid of them.
• 2 Pottery Barn pillow shams - still in the package.
• A hardly used box of Hooked on Phonics stuff - books, flashcards, workbooks, games, etc!
• Tons of clothes for my son (gotta love hand me downs!) the best thing is that most of the stuff I received was name brand - GAP, Old Navy, Levi's, etc. I will not have to buy shoes or clothes for at least another year - unless I get some more hand me downs! (These came from relatives, but still - FREE clothes!)
• A potty chair
• A plastic Little Tykes type teeter-totter for the kids
• A grocery bag full of tomatoes and cucumbers
• Coupons galore!

There are two important things about this concept that you should know:

• Share and give to others yourself - don't be a mooch. Look for ways that you can share of your time, talents, and bounty with others. If you get a great deal and have 10 jars of Skippy in your stockpile (like I do:))...share some with a friend. If you have clothes that your kids have outgrown that you aren't going to use on the next one - and they are still in good shape - offer them to a friend or family member. They will remember and offer to share something with you (even if they don't that's okay, it's all about good karma:)).
• Accept what you are given - even if you have to pass it along to someone else. When you don't accept, they may not offer anything again.

The $16.00 Birthday Party

Earlier this summer my son (who just turned 3) went to a fun dinosaur themed birthday party. He left with tons of great toys and had a great time. Since that party, he has talked about his own birthday party, but I knew I couldn't and didn't want to spend a lot of money on this party. I came up with a plan to spend $20.00 or less.

My son loves sports, especially soccer - so he chose a soccer themed party. I was thrilled because we already had some soccer stuff and it would be easy to come up with games centered around soccer.

Here is what we did:
For our first game game we played "Get the Soccer Ball in the Goal" - my version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. This did not cost anything because I used leftover computer paper from my work and printed soccer balls from my computer I wrote each kid's name on the soccer ball and glued them to their paper sacks that they used for the pinata (see below).I decided to make a pinata in the shape of a soccer ball. I found some great instructions here. It was time consuming, but it was fun and the whole project only cost $2.00 for the crepe paper. I filled the pinata with fruit snacks and rice krispie treats that I had from the Kellogg's deal. The kids all colored their own brown paper lunch sacks to collect their goodies.

Then we went outside played "Kick the Soccer Ball in the Goal" the goal was a big toy tub. One of the three year olds actually made it in! This was also free.

For the cake - I mentioned that I was having a soccer birthday party to many people (putting the word out). One friend offered to make the cake as a gift! It was gorgeous and the kids loved it. If she had not offered, I would have come up with something myself. I paid $1.20 for some Happy Birthday Candles, $1.00 for cups, and $1.00 for plates. I had napkins and plastic forks already.

The bulk of the expenses for the party came from the loot bags. I had some clear plastic bags already, so we filled them with a soccer ball pencil, a soccer ball key chain, a soccer ball plastic maze, and a soccer ball noisemaker. The total for 8 treat bags was about $11.00. As a game, I hid all the treat bags around the yard and the kids had to find theirs.

The party turned out great, and all the kids had a great time. The point of it this post is not for you to copy exactly what I did. The point is to show that with some creativity and using what you have, you can have a fun frugal party (my son is the one in the red shirt, blowing his noisemaker)!