Thrift, resale stores open for new year de-cluttering

January is almost over, and if you jumped on the resolution to declutter you may be wondering... what do I do with all this stuff?

A natural thought is the catchall that is the Goodwill chain of thrift shops with a location in Oakwood. But there are several local locations to donate or sell items to.

Clothing and some other donations can be made to places like the Gateway Thrift Stores in Gainesville and Oakwood, but if you have furniture, appliances, home wares or building supplies, the Habitat for Humanity of Hall County ReStore is the go-to place.

"We get all this in on donation, either from individuals or local outlets and we sell these home goods back to the public," said Trent Voyles, Marketing and Communications Associate. "We sell these home goods back to the public and the proceeds from that go towards funding our mission of building homes in Hall County."

Voyles said right now, they do have a few limits on what they can take because of COVID-19.

"We can no longer accept cloth or fabric furniture, we try to keep it just leather or hardwood and other hard surfaces that we can wipe down," he said.

They are also offering free pick up in the community at their homes, donors just need to have the items outside or in the garage.

For those with growing teens, or young adults looking to make some money off the things they just don't wear, Plato's Closet off Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville is looking for current, lightly-used pieces ranging from clothes to accessories.

"We don't buy anything except a few accessories, we are dependent on people to bring the clothes in," said owner Tammy Hensley. She said age and condition of clothing items are the biggest factors in whether or not an item is selected for purchase.

"We're a good, earth conscious, recycle system, but we also are paying out dollars. Therefore, our success is dependent on customers bringing it in and our buyers buying the right stuff."

Hensley said the store has a unique system that cycles clothing bought by the store through by how long it's been in the store to ensure fresh stock and current styles.

Manager Jessica McClure said January is their busiest buying season, though they buy year round. "We have to have more buyers on staff to make sure it blows over and doesn't get bogged down [in January.]"

McClure also said they're always low on guy stuff, especially casual wear, and they're looking for accessories, denim and sweatshirts for girls. The 1990s look and the boho look are both hot sellers, but they try to cater to all different styles.

She said the pandemic has been a complex time for their store, with record sales after the shop closed for seven weeks and a difference in the buying pattern.

As the pandemic continues, some locations are closed off and on, or are not accepting donations. That includes the Salvation Army on Atlanta Highway in Gainesville. They posted on social media in March that their Family Store will be closed "until further notice" and announced their goods donation program is currently suspended.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/1/973205/thrift-resale-stores-open-for-new-year-de-cluttering