As soon as the stay-at-home orders went into effect in March, people got to work. With virtually everything shut down, bored and restless Americans, between Netflix binges, started baking bread, planting spring gardens and fiendishly cleaning out closets, cupboards, drawers and garages.
There was one glitch in the act of discarding excess furniture, clothes that no longer fit and books that already had been read. All the thrift stores were closed. Online marketplaces on Facebook, Craigslist and NextDoor offered about the only outlet for offloading all that extra stuff. And for those with boxes of random belongings, listing things item by item was not practical.
Now there is hope for relief for those who have been holding on to boxes of items to donate. Starting in June, thrift stores have been slowly reopening, welcoming the fruits of the pandemic purge.
The options are more limited than they were pre-pandemic. No all thrift stores have reopened. Popular charity thrifts like Heavenly Treasures in downtown Santa Rosa, which benefits The Living Room support organization for homeless women, and The Assistance League shop in Railroad Square, remain closed.
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