Happy Thursday, Taking Stock readers!

Today I won't be around much because I am doing a special coupon event for military families at Fort Bragg.

But I thought I'd put up a post today encouraging you to help each other out.

Here's your chance to share items that you are ISO, or "in search of." These could be things you miss from home or items you just can't find in this area anymore.

Post what you are looking for and maybe someone out there can help you out. You never know unless you ask! For those replying, remember to be as specific as you can both in terms of which item you are talking about and where it can be found.

Taking Stock will be back full-force tomorrow! (And for those of you wondering, we will be announcing the details of our next coupon class in the Triangle soon! Keep an eye on this blog!)

I got an interesting e-mail from reader Lisa the other day. She said:

"I've got kids in schools and apparently the schools are no longer providing tissues for the classrooms. Parents are asked to send in the tissues. We have also been asked to send in hand sanitizer and wipes."

True enough, judging from what I hear from my friends with school-age kids. So far this week, the best deal I've seen on tissues is at Food Lion. There's a three-day sale starting tomorrow (Friday) at 8 a.m. and Puffs are 79 cents a box. Limit four. There is a 25 cents off three Puffs coupon from the Aug. 2 P&G Brandsaver if you feel like finding it.

Anyone know of any other tissue deals, or deals on things like hand santizer or wipes?

Over on our new business staff blog, we've asked readers to share their own observations about the economy.

We're looking for real-world signs that things are getting worse or improving — things like what people are buying (or not buying), what they are doing (or not doing) and where they are going (or not going).

Please feel free to join the conversation!

And bookmark .biz while you're there! (Your login information for Taking Stock and newsobserver.com will work on .biz, too.)

I got an e-mail awhile back from reader Nell, who said, "would love to see an article in n&o about consignment stores in the area."

Fair enough. Sarah over on our Mom2Mom site has started a list of area consignment shops. But I am sure there are others out there.

Please share your favorites and I will see about compiling a list when I get back from vacation!

With the future of CIT Corp. in jeopardy, it seems likely that some local businesses may be seeing some fallout from what's happening to the financing giant.

So, we are searching for companies in the Triangle who do business with CIT.

If that's you and you'd be willing to talk to us about what you're experiencing, e-mail me with your contact information, including a cell phone number.

Thanks! 

I heard today from reader Jeanne, who had this question:

I have back issues of these magazines: House Beautiful, House & Garden and Architectural Digest. Some are 2009 and many from previous years. Any idea where I can donate them? I am not looking for a receipt, etc.

I'm working on another story about weddings, and I'm looking for brides who are trying to put together a nice wedding on a budget.

If that's you, e-mail me with your contact info, preferably a cell phone number.

In Sunday's coupon inserts, there was a coupon for a free pouch of Purina Kitten Chow (the picture shows a yellow bag of chow). This morning, I heard from Deb, who is a volunteer with the Independent Animal Rescue in Durham. Deb says that if you do not want your coupon, the free food could sure be used by the kitties at the animal rescue. Or, collect a bunch from your friends and family and send them all in one envelope.

You can mail the coupons to:

IAR
P. O. Box 14232
Durham NC 27709-4232

Reader cjkoethc asked a good question in the comments on another post, and I thought some of you all would want to weigh in. I'll add my two cents tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's the question: 

Hi have trouble figuring out the best prices for toilet paper and paper towels since there are so many different brands and they come in different sizes (big, mega, double) and 1 ply, 2ply. Do you experts have any advice for me?

A reader asked a good question in the comments of one of my posts over the weekend.

I didn't think many of you saw it, so I decided to make a separate post. Here's the question:

Hi Sue,
A week or so ago there was a coupon for FREE Marcal small steps,single roll. Does anyone know where these can be found?