Thrift Store Love

Sanctuary-turned-thrift store in New Orleans.

Sanctuary, originally uploaded by AprilM2107.

First there was the thrift store with a chapel in it, now there's a chapel-turned-thrift store.  A New Orleans church began reselling items to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.  Apparently the charity was so successful, they turned their sanctuary into a thrift store!  Click here for the full story.

The "Sonshine Thrift Store" held its grand opening in December. Hastings said the response has been excellent since the program started. "We have had so many donations. People have been really generous," Hastings said. "We've been able to resell those things to help buy food and other things people have needed. We were able to buy a lot of toys at Christmas for children who might not have had any otherwise."

Joe Biden's cuff links sold at thrift store?!

voulez-vous dancer avec moi ?, originally uploaded by David CHOU.

A Pennsylvania thrift shopper bought mens' shirts only to get home and find one of them had cuff links with Joe Biden's name on them!  Click here for the story, and look below for an excerpt.  The cutest part of the story is the fact that this guy is so sweet he wants to return the cuff links!

He unrolled the sleeves and found two cuff links with the words United States Senator Joseph H. Biden Jr. ...

"I went to a jeweler in Center City with just one of the links, to see if it was a fake. He said, 'No. This is solid gold."

After-Christmas thrift store donations

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Val, originally uploaded by I am Jacques Strappe

Now might be the time to thrift shop!  The Columbia Tribune is reporting on the increase in donations after Christmas.

Wells said the Salvation Army thrift stores typically benefit from the holiday mentality of "out with the old, in with the new."

"If they have a DVD player, and they get a Blu-ray, well, they don’t need the DVD anymore," he said.

Goin' to the chapel of thrift

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The Chapel on the Rock in the Mist, originally uploaded by Fort Photo

A thrift store in Enid, Oklahoma features a chapel where shoppers can stop and pray. Click here for the full article.

During their morning prayers, they pray for the needs of the people who use the store. Nightengale describes the chapel as 350 square feet of quiet in 20,000 square feet of shopping.

“We’ve been blessed with the response. Our customers like it. They feel a sense of awe. Our lives are not perfect. They are busy, they are chaotic and have tragedy. This is a way to take a little quiet,” she said.

The chapel seats 16 and a Book of Common Prayer is laid on each one.

Secret Santa gives out money to thrift shopper

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Santa needs money, originally uploaded by folkamannen

A man and woman traveled around Detroit yesterday handing out $11,000 worth of $100 bills to people.  Click here for the full article.  A few of their stops were at thrift stores.  I found this particular description just heart-warming.

At a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop nearby, 81-year-old Irene Tilk gasped when handed a Benjamin, then called out to her husband to go buy those Christmas lights they wanted to help dress up the city park near their home. Then Tilk padded up to the counter and plunked down her new money for a $10 purple sequined top with matching vest.

She now had something to wear to her daughter's for Christmas Eve, explaining she'd spent the rest of her own cash on groceries.

"The kids are going to have a fit when I come dressed up!" she said.

$5 thrifted Jackson Pollock painting on sale for $50 million

Pollock, originally uploaded by sapaburu.

Click here to read all about the painting that was bought at an American thrift store for $5 and will probably be sold in Canada for $50 million.

Why Canada? The American art market originally denied that it was an authentic Pollock painting, and now the owner doesn't want it staying in the country!

Thrift Customer Finds $1,000 in Workout Video

All in a Day's Work, originally uploaded by Damian Gadal.

A thrift shopper found $1,000 in a workout video at a Hawaii thrift store. The nice customer donated the found money to the store!

Click here for the full article.

$10,000 (accidental?) donation made to thrift store

Money!, originally uploaded by Tracy O.

Click here for the full story. A thrift store worker in Florida found $10,000 in a bag of clothes dropped off at the store. Unfortunately, she says she's familiar with the man who dropped off the bag and is sure he did not mean to leave the money at the store.

Can't wait to find out how this one ends!

Sarah Palin's controversial clothes may go to Salvation Army

Click here for the article. If you haven't been living in a hole, you've probably heard of people slamming the McCain campaign for spending $150,000 on clothes for Palin to campaign in. Guess what everyone, there is a bright side to this! After the election the clothes just might be donated to a Salvation Army! Hm...I'm wondering if whether or not the clothes are donated depend on whether or not they win.

How to donate to thrift stores

my recently donated clothing outside the palmer house thrift store in starkville, mississippi, originally uploaded by kate*.

Recently I've seen a spat of articles in which thrift store workers are complaining about bad behavior. (Click here for an example.) People are dropping off unsellable junk after hours and the thrift store has to pay to have it hauled away. People are dropping off donations after hours and others are stealing them. & another problem is that fewer people are dropping off things in general. Ack!

How to donate stuff to thrift stores:

1) Most importantly, donate!

In these trying economic times people are holding onto things longer and trying to sell stuff they don't need instead of giving it away. Well, if you still need it, keep it, but if you aren't using something just let it go!

Also, almost every thrift store I know of will give you a tax receipt for your donation. You can use this when doing your tax return, which means that you aren't just giving away something for nothing!

2) Donate while the store is open.

This can be hard, but hey, put in the extra effort to stop by during work hours. This is better for the store because then there is no risk of someone stealing your wares. Also, they can let you know if they don't want some of the items. Remember, dropping stuff off during business hours is the only way to get that tax receipt!

3) Don't try to donate garbage.

If there is something you don't want because there is something wrong with it, don't take it to a thrift store. Examples: broken furniture, badly stained clothing, etc. The one exception is an old computer--Goodwill recycles any electronics that it cannot sell.