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COVID-19 response

Thrift stores see influx of clothes, take precautions with item collection

Thrift stores across the Midwest are seeing an influx of donations, which officials attribute to the length of time people have spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. In isolation, many people have been sorting through their things and completing household renovations and improvements that may have otherwise been put off even longer.

The pandemic has allowed them to complete those tasks, and while that means an abundance of donations coming into thrift centers, that also means those stores can turn around and sell the items for a profit.

MICHIGAN

A full parking lot at a thrift store in Alpena, Mich., recently indicated that business is back. It may not be the same as it was before the pandemic started, but people were out on Tuesday with their masks on, donating goods and stopping into the store to see what else they might find to take home.

Sheri Allen, manager of the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Alpena, Mich., said it’s been “crazy busy.”

After being closed since mid-March per Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order, the store reopened on June 1. Everyone working in the store and entering the store is still required to wear a mask, and social distancing is requested. Also, hand sanitizer is available at the counter for anyone to use.

“While we were shut down is when we really got filled up,” Allen said. “So we basically got slammed while we were closed. We needed a good week to get on top of things and organize because we really didn’t have any room to move.”

Allen said business has been great since reopening, but there are precautions to be taken when collecting donations.

“Of course, all the new donations coming in, we have to put away for 72 hours,” she explained, “so that makes the process a little bit longer.”

Items have to sit in isolation so germs can dissipate before those items are taken out to the selling floor.

“We’re selling lots,” Allen said. “I think people missed us. It’s just a matter of keeping on top of all the donations and catching up now.”

Down the road at The Salvation Army Family Store, Manager Connie Miller said they reopened on Memorial Day before adding that spring and summer are the busiest times of year for them.

“This time of year, we’re usually swamped with donations,” Miller said. “I don’t see it as unusually high … it’s about normal, really.”

Both stores are operating with reduced hours right now, so they have time to process and sort donations to get them out on the floor. Neither store has reduced its staffing levels.

Items do not get washed at the store before going out on the sales floor, Miller said. She said most people who donate have washed the clothing first, and that most people who purchase items will wash them before wearing them.

Miller said 70 percent of their donations coming in are clothing, 25 percent are household items, and only 5 percent are furniture. She added that clothing that doesn’t sell after a certain length of time gets baled and sent to Africa, so nothing goes to waste. She noted that items that are stained, have holes in them, or are covered in pet hair are not acceptable.

“This time of year we can be a little pickier,” Miller said, noting that donors should give items that are in season that people will be buying quickly. “There are standards.”

Although they do not get a lot of furniture donations, Miller said they accept couches and upholstered furniture. Those items are sprayed down with disinfectant, she explained.

“We prefer people to come when we’re open instead of leaving it out in the weather,” Miller said. “You can’t really dry furniture. Once it’s wet, it’s pretty much useless to us.”

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Alpena held a soft opening last Thursday and Friday, and then fully opened from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. Masks are required, and new donation protocols include not taking in any upholstered furniture at this time.

Barb Machulis dropped off some cabinets at the ReStore on Tuesday.

“We kind of got stuck at home for a long time and started ripping out cabinets,” she said with a chuckle. “We’re getting ready to redo a bunch of stuff.”

She said she will be back with another carload soon.

“We still have a lot of stuff to go through,” Machulis said. “I had no place to drop them off during the stay-at-home order, so now it’s like, ‘Let’s get ’em outta here!'”

ReStore Manager Les Ellerhorst said donations have been coming in steadily since reopening.

“I think people were stuck sitting at home with stuff they don’t need, that they may have replaced with new furniture,” Ellerhorst said. “It’s looking very positive, for the volume of the donations that will be coming in.”

He added that he has at least six pick-ups already scheduled for next week.

Habitat for Humanity Northeast Michigan Executive Director Ted Fines said as things progress, protocols will be updated.

“Everything changes on a daily basis,” Fines said.

He was pleased with the soft opening last week.

“Our first day we did very, very well,” Fines said. “There’s a pent-up energy level, I think, with the community,” he said, noting that he’s been taking phone calls for 10 weeks about when the store would reopen. “You could just tell that once they got released at the start line they were just going to be running … so it’s good.”

He added that the experience with COVID-19 will lead to a cleaner mentality, which is a positive aspect of the pandemic.

“I know there’s a lot of good things that have come out of this whole COVID experience,” Fines said. “Zoom meetings, for one, remote meetings, for one. Two, making sure that things are clean. It’s just not viruses, COVID-19, that we should be concerned about, but flu, colds, you name it, that we’re passing along. And we’ve taken a lot for granted as human beings. I think this is good to point at the fact that we need to be safe. And these protocols … I think we need to be aware and be wary of the potential of getting sick and exposing ourselves.”

NORTH DAKOTA

Limiting the hours and days of donation times is part of the process in North Dakota.

“We just are accepting donations on limited days and limited hours so that we can allow our donations to quarantine before our staff goes through the process of sorting them,” said Lisa Olson, vice president of retail operations for Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Minot, North Dakota.

The Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch has thrift stores in nine locations, which reopened on May 11, Olson said.

The thrift stores accept clothing, furniture, household items, books, jewelry, and linens. Any donated items must sit for 72 hours before being disinfected and put out on the sales floor, Olson explained.

“We, of course, are disinfecting more frequently — our hard surfaces and high touch points every day,” she said.

Since reopening, donations have been flowing in, Olson said, which could be attributed to people using the isolation time to clean out their basements and garages.

“Spring is always our busy time, but yes, there has definitely been an uptick in our donations,” Olson said. “And we just need to limit the days and hours that we accept them so that we can sort of flatten our curve, too, and so we are able to manage it, and we don’t run out of our space.”

IOWA

Business has been steady at Goodwill of the Great Plains stores since they reopened on May 16, with the ability to reopen retail through the governor’s orders.

“We’ve had an abundance of donations,” said Briget Solomon, chief mission officer for Goodwill of the Great Plains, out of Sioux City, Iowa. “Of course, folks were home cleaning out their closets and extra items while they were home.”

Goodwill of the Great Plains region has 21 retail stores with attached donation centers, Solomon noted. The region covers parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

“Our precautions that we are taking, we do a contactless donation, where we have bins that are outside of our entry, or donation area, and items can be placed in those bins,” Solomon explained.

The bins are labeled separately for clothing, housewares, etc., and if donors need assistance with larger items such as furniture, staff helps them.

“Our staff had been wearing masks,” Solomon said, “but now with the heat, we are making those optional. But social distancing is heavily encouraged as much as possible, to ensure that our staff and our customers, our donors, stay safe.”

The Goodwill stores have reduced hours, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

She said although donations have been many, they have not had to turn anyone away.

“We are able to store donations and process them, which, especially in the Midwest, helps us maintain a good inventory for our stores throughout the year,” Solomon said.

Maintaining the safety of workers during the heat is paramount right now, she added.

“I think our biggest challenge right now is the heat,” Solomon said. “The heat wave that has come too early has definitely been a challenge, but we’re working through that the best we can. We’re definitely making sure we’re keeping our safety of our staff, with the heat, as well as with the virus, top of mind and doing the best we can for them, every day.”

Keeping the virus at the forefront is still imperative, Solomon said.

“Social distancing is really critical, and we’re really emphasizing that with all of our team members, as well as signage on our doors to remind customers when they’re in shopping,” Solomon said.

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