the music creates a calming atmosphere to shop in . The store employs about 10 people who come to the store through community programs that offer the employees a chance to earn money while working toward goals that will better their lives and that of their families .
Organization is one of the skills that Farmer and her staff use to sort donations and stock the store and it ’ s the basis for the tips Farmer for spring cleaning .
“ Start off one room at a time ,” she suggested . “ For me , it ’ s always easier to pick out the stuff I want to keep instead of the stuff I don ’ t want to keep .”
The idea of first choosing the things one wants to keep instead of the things one wants to get rid of is similar to the decluttering idea that Japanese organizing phenom Marie Kondo based her career on . Kondo ’ s suggestion is to touch the things in your home and only keep the things that “ spark joy .”
Farmer also suggests setting limits for the things that get brought into the home .
“ Something I always do at my house is keep a certain amount of hangers ,” she said , saying the number of hangers should be adjusted to the amount of space available in the closet . “ If you have more items than you have hangers then you need to get rid of something .”
She said the same thing can be done with things like purses , jewelry and many other household items .
“ If you buy something new then you know that you have to get rid of something that you like less than what you bought ,” Farmer said .
For many people the idea of spring cleaning the whole house can be overwhelming in itself and then the idea of having to haul all of those donations to the thrift store at once can be too much for some people .
“ As you get donations ready from spring cleaning bring a few items a day to the thrift store so you don ’ t feel like your overwhelmed ,” Farmer said .
Farmer said that a good rule of thumb to go by when deciding if an item should be donated is to ask yourself if it is something that you would use . If the answer is yes , then it ’ s a good item for donation if the answer is no , then it should be disposed of appropriately . Donators also should keep in mind that if items are not in good repair it may cause the thrift store to spend money to have it disposed of .
Janice Forbes ( back row , from left ), Sue Farmer , Bobby Godsend , Jenny Gibson , Whitney Brooks , Kim Letner ( front row , from left ) and Kristie Rose pose in front of the Twice as Nice Donation Center box . Small donations can be left in the box when the store is closed .
March 2023 SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky • 17