DIY Paying It Forward Care Bag With Free Message Printable

DIY Paying It Forward Care Bag
With Free Message Printable

Have you ever come across someone standing on the corner asking for money or help? I do all the time. While I never want to give them money as you have no idea what they may spend it on including things like booze, I do like to help in some way. So I thought, why not have a care bag ready to go in the car?

In the past, I have just gone to a local fast food store and grabbed something and taken it back to them. Or I also have gone about paying it forward in other ways such as paying for someone’s gas at a station when they had no money. Or paying for the extra pack of diapers the person in front of me had to set aside because they did not have enough money to cover it.

I hope that one day if I ever need a hand in life, someone else would do the same for me. Paying it forward is just a nice way to show others that you care and a little love that they may need. So having a care bag on hand is just an easy way to do that and provide them with some needed niceties.

While there are many different things that you could pack in a care bag, try to stick to things that are really needed as there is only so much you can fit into a bag. You could also pack a few different types of care bag such as one for men, women, babies and so on. But the easiest is to just pack a few basic ones that will cover anyone.

These could also be made up and donated to a local shelter too!

What To Pack In A Care Bag

When packing a care bag you want to include some basic toiletries, long shelf life food, seasonable basics such as hand warmers, emergency blanket gloves for winter items. Or if in the summer pack a cooling wrap, instant ice pack or other items like that.

Another nice thing to include would be some wipes for them to wash up, a bottle of water and maybe a pair of socks and rain poncho. When packing socks, unless you are doing different bags for men and women, I would stick with a basic size men’s socks and they can be worn by both sexes.

You can pack all the items in a gallon size zip lock bag. Or if you have the budget, step it up a notch and put it in a small tote/drawstring bag like these that you can grab at places like Dollar Tree for around $1. Another thing I like to do is save those zippable plastic bags that sheets, curtains, and other things come in and use those to pack care bags.

When packing your care bag sticking with travel/sample sizes works well because you can include more items in the bag. I also try to sign up for samples whenever I come across them as it is a budget-friendly way to pack these bags. You can sometimes even get sample boxes on Amazon and get the full credit back!

Here are some ideas of items to pack in your bags. You do want to try and have items that are individually packed/wrapped.

Food Ideas:

• Snack Tuna or Chicken Salad With Crackers
• Protein Bar
• Granola Bar
• Jerkey
• Applesauce (squeeze ones work well as you don’t have to include spoon)
• Trail Mix
• Nuts
• Cheese Nips Or other Snack Bags
• Peanut Butter
• Bottle Water
• Ready To Eat Meals (non-refrigeration ones, think pop tops or pouches)

Toilitretis:

• Bar Of Soap
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Wisps (one-time use toothbrush)
• Shampoo
• Deodorant
• Hand Sanitizer
• Comb
• Pads (for women)
• Floss
• Wet Wipes (baby wipes work well)
• Razor

Medications & First Aid:

• Pain Reliever
• Band-Aids
• Antiseptic Cream
• Alcohol Pads

Seasonable Items:

• Emergency Blanket
• Stocking Hat
• Gloves
• Sun Screen
• Cooling Towel
• Hand Warmers
• Instant Ice Pack

Other Items To Include:

• Socks (stick to basic size mens unless making different bags)
• T-shirt (depending on room you have)
• Plastic Rain Poncho
• Tissues
• Scarf

Another nice thing to include is a little message of cheer or pick me up. I have made these paying it forward printable messages, that you are welcome to print for free to include them with your care bag.

As you can see there are many different things you can include in your care bag. Can you think of any basic items that I missed?