Deal Sharers Traveling Box Shade Tree Donation

My stash grew a little too big, so I knew it was time to donate my extra items. All items were new products that I: had duplicates of, was not interested in trying, or tried in the past and did not love. It is also a good idea to donate items when you have things that will expire before you can get to them. Giving them to someone who can use them is better than tossing them after they’ve expired while waiting in your stash. Many of the items I donated were items I may have tried if they did not expire so soon.

I joined a BzzAgent Campaign featuring five Paula’s Choice samples I needed to share with other beauty lovers. This was the perfect time to start a traveling box. After selecting 14 ladies I trust, I selected the items I wanted to donate along with the five free Paula’s Choice samples and mailed them to the first lady on my list. She removed the items she wanted and added items she wanted to donate. Each lady did the same until the last lady made her trades and returned the box to me. Once all 15 of us selected items we wanted to trade for, there were plenty of extra items to donate. That means this donation was the collaborative gift of 15 people.

My favorite part of the traveling box is seeing items not wanted by one person getting selected by another person. We all have different tastes, although many of us, including myself, put items we love but just have duplicates of in the box. Seeing those items get selected is an added sense of excitement, because you know the recipient is probably in for a treat. I created a spreadsheet that does not perfectly correspond to these pictures, because I did the spreadsheet by category and the pictures by size. I removed the mug (it did not fit, so I am giving it to my SIL) and added a L’Occitane skincare sample after taking the photos and categorizing the products. Everything else pictured and listed were in the starting box. Many of these items were selected by box participants. Those that remained were donated with the items they added.

Although it would be a lot of fun to show all the progress throughout the box, I am going to stick with what the box started with and what it ended with to show the ladies made great contributions. Had I donated my items from the start, I would have given less overall and had a lot less fun. This collaboration allowed each of us to trade items we did not want for items we wanted in addition to adding extra items to the donation. All the items I started with filled a medium USPS box.

One of the ladies in the box decided to add makeup bags. This was a brilliant idea and a couple of the other ladies added some as well. My plan was add some of my own as well, so every woman at the shelter could have a bag. Sadly, there were way more women than I expected, so I did not have enough bags. I still donated the bags the other ladies contributed, but I a kept mine for a future donation where I may have enough for everyone there. Spoiler alert (scroll to the bottom to see how they hand these out), I would have donated mine this time if I spoke to Maryann about how they hand out the items before I dropped off the boxes.

Sheet Masks are an excellent way to pamper. I really cannot think of anyone who can use a little pampering more than someone who has been through a lot. I hope the lucky ladies who receive these enjoy the mini facial.

We collected so many foils. I love foils for portability and trying new things. What makes them great for donation is even a foil gives the ladies one extra day of product.

The foils contained everything from hair products, to makeup, to skincare, and much more.

My favorite foils were the foundations, because I called the shelter before I started the box to see what they needed most. The lady I spoke with said they never seem to get enough foundation, especially in darker shades.

Foundation foils are inherently wasteful, because they usually give more colors than any one person can use. To avoid waste and provide for as many women as possible, I cut every foil packet to separate every color. The best part is I only ruined a single shade of one foundation while separating them. It would have been better if I did not waste any, but I could have messed up more.

While I assume the shelter provides basic hair and body care, I love that we collected some things that they probably will not give. We have everything from basic shampoo and body wash to frizz tamers, volume builders, cellulite treatment, and body spray.

We collected a great variety of makeup: including bronzers, blushes, highlighters, eyeshadows, primers, face products, and more.

Skincare is always my favorite. Although I love playing with makeup, I cannot live without skincare. We collected everything from: face washes, serums, moisturizers, exfoliants, hydrating mists, eye creams, and more.

The ladies came through with the foundation request big-time. We collected 35 deluxe or full-size foundations and concealers in a variety of colors.

We collected makeup brushes, perfumes, and nail polishes. That big white brush is so fluffy and wonderful, so I am happy for whoever gets that.

Lip products are my favorite of any makeup item. Nothing else can change a look so drastically with so little effort and so quickly.

As someone with blonde eyelashes, I appreciate mascara. When I want a very subtle change, I pop on mascara with nothing else. It is a wonderful tool for a small change.

The impressive donation list is below.

We completely filled a large USPS box, plus a box that is more than twice the size of a large box.

Drop off on 05/29/16 went well. The lady (Maryann) I played phone tag with was not there (which I expected due to the holiday weekend)

The man who was there gave me this form as a receipt for the items.

He originally sat them down with everything else people dropped off that day.

When I told him I thought the lipsticks would melt, he graciously walked them inside the main building and dropped them on the desk of Maryann (the lady who will distribute the items). For his privacy, I waited until his back was to the camera walking down this path before I snapped this picture. He was very nice to walk them over.

A bonus picture. My husband helped build this playground at the shelter years ago, so it was nice to show it to my boys. He is not handy at all, so I was proud of him for volunteering for this project.

I called Maryann on 05/31/16 to make sure she received the package. She did, and she has excellent plans on how to distribute the items. On the third Thursday of every month, they have a Rising Stars Ceremony. They invite a lady who stayed there in the past but went on to do wonderful things in to speak. During the ceremony, they put gift bags together. Women in the shelter have daily chores. Those who excel at their daily chores or do other great things receive Ribbon Boxes. Many of the programs and events inside the shelter are geared to women with children. I’ve witnessed this first-hand, because the last time I volunteered there our group catered toward the women with children. They have special Board Member Bingo Sessions with the single ladies.

Between gift bags at the Rising Stars Ceremony, presents in the ribbon boxes, and prize packages for Board Member Bingo, the donation items are in great hands. This is a wonderful way to hand out the items in a fair matter, and I love the special events the shelter offers for the ladies. Maryann invited me to attend a Rising Stars Ceremony, so I can see some of the items we donated gifted first-hand. I will be out-of-town for the June event, but I will happily attend the July event.

If you have extra items you cannot use in time, do not want, or do not need, please find a local charity and donate them. Throwing away products you did not get to in time ruins whatever deal you received while acquiring them. Donating them returns the deal to its original glory. It also feels good knowing nothing went to waste.

See all giveaway and lifestyle articles. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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