Just wanted to update: I sent my first package to Afghanistan!!!
I just checked my tracking and it was successfully delivered. It was a bit of work and research to get that first package put together and sent out, but hopefully it will get easier the more I do it. Thanks so much for those links Backlash. They were very helpful. On the bottom of one of those links someone posted about shipthrifty. I haven't tried that yet, but I will look into it after I send a couple more packages via USPS. Here is the link for that if anyone is interested.
https://www.shipthrifty.com/
If anyone has used that site, please post. I'd love to hear about it.
Heres a quick rundown of what I did:
I went to the link that backlash provided and ordered free shipping supplies from USPS. You have to set up an account to place the order, but it was free. It took almost a week to get the package. The small boxes and anything else that I won't use, I will take to my local PO so they can use them there, since I'm only going to ship the large boxes. I also picked up some large boxes there too, but it was nice to get the tape, labels, and form holders. However, they did not ship the customs lables as stated in the link.....I'm not sure why, but my local PO gave me the customs form-2976-R and it was delivered according to my tracking number.
https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/military-care-kit-P_MILITARYKIT
I bought a lot of general merchandise for packages such as socks, Q tips, lara bars, candy, pens, pencils, activity books, stationary, toothpaste, wet wipes, chap stick, super glue, gum, deodorant, microwave popcorn, microwave dessert cups, sunflower seeds, nuts, etc. Basically anything that was on sale and could ship overseas, I bought. I used small packages of gummy type candy to use for tight packing instead of packing peanuts or air bags. I figured I might as well use ALL the space in the box. I put the items into piles of like things such as food, writing supplies, hygiene products, etc. and weighed them seperately and listed them on line 2 of the Customs form-2976 that I got from the post office and got a rough estimation of the costs of those items (since that has to be put on the form as well).
I went to anysoldier.com and got the address of a soldier to send my package to. The site is a little glitchy for me, but it's probably b/c I have slow internet. Many of the soldiers there have posted the things they would really like to receive. Some don't. It's kinda fun clicking thru them and deciding who you want to send the package to.
http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/
It cost me $18.45 to send a large package (11 pounds) to Afghanistan. I thought that was pretty reasonable. I was able to stuff about $50 worth of merchandise into the box. I will keep a keen eye out on closeout and clearance deals in the future and keep a stock of stuff on hand so I can send out boxes and it won't be too costly, but I'm sure still very much appreciated. Last week there was a good deal on Colgate toothpaste at .69 for a large tube. I bought about 20 of them. The cashier called me the toothpaste lady. She flashed a nice smile when I told her why I was buying so much.
I also keep in mind that many of these soldiers like to get things that they can give to people living in the area, especially children. With that in mind I did stock up on crayons, colored pencils, and activity books last week with back to school sales. I included some of those things with the first box I sent out as well. So hopefully, I made the day of not only our troops, but some of the native folks as well. You just never know what goodwill can do. It makes my heart smile.
