Celebrate National Thrift Shop Day

August 17th is National Thrift Shop Day which means there is no better reason to visit one of our local stores and get familiar with the second “R” in “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”

These hidden gems around our town are packed with gently-used items, making the idea of reusing not just easy but also pretty exciting. Whether you call them thrift stores, charity shops or resale shops, they all have one thing in common: They accept donations of gently-used items and offer them to others at a fraction of the original price, meaning that your shopping can have a reduced hit on the environment and your wallet.

If you’ve never been inside a thrift shop you might picture a dingy, cluttered place full of junk. But that’s usually far from the truth. Most thrift shops are clean, well-lit and organized, making the experience of shopping there a pleasure. They carefully sort through donations, setting aside anything broken, dirty or unusable, so what you find on the shelves is actually worth buying.

Spend this Saturday exploring different ones, including consignment stores, because each shop has its own vibe and selection. Some might have more furniture, while others might have a better selection of books.

Clothing is by far the most common item in thrift shops. With fast fashion making it cheaper to buy new clothes, clothes get tossed out at an alarming rate. This has led to a massive waste of resources to create new clothes and a lot more textile waste in our landfills.

For example, it takes around 700 gallons of water to grow the cotton needed for just one T-shirt. When that T-shirt gets thrown away instead of reused, all the resources that went into making it are wasted. Choosing to shop the thrift racks instead of online can mean a major reduction in your waste.

If you’re thinking about hitting up a thrift shop, whether to save money or be more eco-friendly, it helps to have a game plan and a few tips in mind. Start with a wish list. Thrift shopping can feel like a scavenger hunt, and it’s easy to spend hours browsing without finding what you really need. Having a list of specific items you’re looking for — whether it’s household goods, electronics or clothes — can help keep you focused.

I highly recommend looking through the clothing first in case you want to try anything on. This way you don’t have to try to keep up with a buggy filled with household goods or crafting supplies while crammed into a fitting room.

While you are looking at clothing, it can be overwhelming. Try to look for favorite fabrics and colors to help you narrow down from the large amounts. Then, make sure to check the entire garment for stains, tears, holes or unraveling stitches.

If you are crafty, thrift stores can be extra wonderful for you. Others might pass over pieces with a missing button or a broken zipper, but you can score high-quality clothing for a fraction of the cost.

When looking at furniture, you are also going to want to look it over for any scratches. Check tables, bookcases and chair legs to make sure that there is no wobbling. Check with the employees what the pickup policy is if you want furniture. Some will give you a few days to pick up, some until the end of the day, and some require you to take it with you at the time of purchase.

After all that shopping is done, don’t forget to donate your own items. Reusing is always better than throwing things away, and what you no longer need might be exactly what someone else is looking for. If you’ve got big items like furniture to donate it’s a good idea to call ahead to see if the store accepts them or offers pick-up services. Make sure that what you donate is usable, however, so that workers don’t have to sort through your trash.

Amy Hartline is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Have a recycling question? Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or ahartline@dwswa.org.