Every so often I substitute for one of the volunteers at the Discovery Shop, the thrift shop for the American Cancer Society. It is laid out like a boutique. Spots, tears, and missing buttons consign a garment to the bin for another thrift shop that picks up from us a couple of times a week. Clothing items are steamed to remove wrinkles and blouses are hung by short sleeve/color and long sleeve/color. The quality of items donated is amazing. Waterford Chrystal, sets of china, pictures, and a wide variety of other items are well presented. One day we had a whole rack of garments from Chico’s with the tags still on them. I recently bought a beautiful Coach purse in a fuchsia color for $50. We have seasonal items. Recently they put away the Christmas in July items and did a display of vintage items. Lots of interesting stuff! I’ve found T-shirts, gift items, pictures, a set of blue and white china made in Czechoslovakia (which I had to buy as my grandmother was born in Vienna when it was Czechoslovakia). At Christmas time, in mid-November, the shop closes early and all the volunteers come in to empty the bins and bins of Christmas items donated during the year. The store is filled with everything Christmas you can imagine with not a vacant space anywhere. Customers line up outside the next morning and it is almost pandemonium! The other big events are our jewelry sales twice a year. Beautiful things and sales of $500 or more is not unusual. All in all , it is a fun place to help out and the ladies I work with are dedicated. A Christmas luncheon is held every year for the volunteers with prizes given out. I almost hate to go in to work sometimes as I always see something I feel I can’t live without (like the Coach purse) and even though I vow not to look around, I’m afraid it’s a lost cause!
Thrift Shop Junkie
