Free samples

As per my regular routine I was decluttering one of the cabinets in the kitchen. This is where we store soaps and detergents. While looking through this cabinet I was surprised to see that it was almost full. I kept wondering what caused it to overflow from the wide designated section where only a few bars of soap and a packet of 1 kilogram of detergent had been kept. I looked closer and I found a lot of promotional samples.

A sample packet of detergent powder that I had received while I was shopping in the supermarket.
A small sample bar of soap that was handed to me by a college student who was promoting a soap on the street as a side hustle. I rememberd that it was an emotionally driven decision because I wanted that student to succeed.
Then I found a sample sachet of a shampoo that was distributed with the newspaper for promotion. This was not the shampoo that I use. I had kept it so that I can use it to wash the hair brushes and combs with it. It had been sitting in the cabinet for over 6 months and still was not used at all.
Then I found another free sample of a fabric softner. I had not used it for a reason. The smell of fabric softnoring gives me headache and hence I was not ready to use it. I had kept it to give it to my house help but everyday I was forgetting it to give it to her.

Likewise I was able to find a lot of free samples of various soaps, shampoos, detergents, face washes in the cabinet. I had kept all of them to be given to somebody I knew and I had been forgetting all about them. Reserving them for someone had been occupying the space in my house. At that moment I knew I had to act upon them.

I removed all this samples and I segregated them as per their categories. I had created separate bags for each type - soap, detergent, shampoo, face wash, face scrub etc. I had determined that these samples were not going to stay in my house any day longer. Either I was going to give everything to my house help or I was going to discard all of this samples. Finally that day when I asked my house help if she would like to take these samples, she was delighted to receive them. She took all of these samples. This made me happy as well because I had given the unwanted stuff to someone in need, at the same time I was able to make space in my own home.

Does this story sound relatable to you? I am sure it would be. Because of marketing campaigns and promotional activities we often received free samples which keep piling up in our homes. We really never think about what needed to be done with them. I strongly suggest that after every few months we should see with samples are available in our homes. If we are not going to use them then they should be discarded or handed over to someone else who would use them.

I hope this will be a good action plan for you.