The Great Free Face Mask Experiment [FREE PRINTABLE]

In early December, I was out for a run in my neighborhood and noticed that one of my neighbors had placed some carefully wrapped gifts on top of their recycling and garbage bins with a thank-you note for the collectors. It inspired me to find some way to thank the essential workers I lean on the most - our various delivery drivers . Even before the pandemic, I was a heavy user of Amazon prime and virtually every means of home delivery. Now, it's not uncommon for us to get multiple packages via multiple carriers in a single day, not to mention I've ordered quite a bit of furniture for home delivery since our move.

At the end of last year, I started to build up a stash of face masks, so it only seemed natural to start giving them to those who could probably use them the most.

So I made a sign, grabbed a long ribbon and some binder clips, and attached individually-bagged face masks like so:

Not soon after, my Imperfect Foods delivery driver took a TMNT face mask, and I did a little happy dance thinking, "ok, this is gonna catch on!!" But people were shy at first, and nothing happened for several days after the first mask was claimed. So I swapped out some of the masks, hoping that the regular delivery folks would see that there were now different one there and realize that there was no catch....but just to be safe, I also wrote "They really are FREE!" in large print.

Once that happened, masks have been claimed left and right! Occasionally I get to interact with the delivery person and they are always super thankful...so I encourage them to take more. :-) I've actually worked through most of the stash I had stored up and have gotten back to a more regular mask-sewing regimen. I'm also getting REALLY close to the 400-mask milestone!

Now that the holidays are over, I decided to change up the sign to make it a little clearer that these masks are free to ANYONE who needs them:

If you've been sewing lots of face masks and have a surplus like I do, or just want to let the essential workers who deliver everything you need to stay at home know that you appreciate them, feel free to give this a try! If you don't want to make your own sign, feel free to use mine: click here for a free PDF download when you sign up to get new blog posts delivered via email.

Free Face Mask Printable Sign

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