The one near my home ("good" Detroit suburb - oxymoron?) is businesslike, accurate, has a fast, large turnover, and is easy to use. It does smell a little in there, though. Not everything is oderless. There is a big counter for jewelry and assessories which does a brisk business. You can bring things in at any time. You consign for 60 days, and if you don't pick up unsold items during a 2-day window at the end of 60 days they can donate the items to charity. Tbe shop reduces items on a regular basis at it's own discretion. They say they are seasonal; for example, they are no longer accepting winter clothing. But that is kind of a judgement call nowadays. I've never tried to argue it; I don't consign very often. The consignor gets 40%, the consignee determines the price and sometimes refuses items. I believe there was a fee of $5 or $15 to get an ID number. There is a particular day or two on which you are supposed to pick up your check - that is not something you can do any time at all. As far as what they take - I brought in some wool pants with the tags still on them and they refused them because they had pleats, for instance. I have seen people bring in big bags, and I got the impression the clothes came from, somewhere like the big rag warehouse where the clothes I donate to Purple Heart end up. The store goes through each item and makes a decision about it. The designer outfits are kept on a separate rack. Designer has to be St. John or DKNY level- my J. Crew and Liz clothes don't qualify. A St. John suit might be about $50 or $60. The formal wear, whether designer or not, seems to be a little higher. If I have something uniform and recognizable and costly - like a brand new Coach bag that was a gift that I'll never use - I sell it on Ebay. I don't think the store is the best venue for things like that. But the store was just the ticket for some NWT Liz tuxedo pants I wanted to be free of. I didn't want to deal with the vagaries of sizing women's pants on Ebay. As for pricing? They put $15 on the tuxedo pants, size 6. The had a whole long rack of black pants. Someone will probably pay $9 or $10 for them. I have never used another consignment store, nor seen one that I would use. I prefer to shop the sales racks of department stores. I do shop there when I'm dropping off, though, and on my last trip I picked up a lightweight gray blazer that I like which is probably from last summer. There are always lots of customers present when I go there. I don't think there are any "secretly rich" shoppers. I think there are some smart shoppers, some who are looking to pick off the best for resale, some for the rare formal occasion (like a cruise night), and some who want the latest trends in costume jewelry. You'd be surprised how well shoes sell.

I AM OLDIE HERE HAVN'T POSTED SINCE 2001 Stacie,(girlsingardens),I wouldn't mind doing some trading. I am looking for some carnation's and some old handkerchiefs, some vintage linens,styrophome balls. I have a lot of items also. I could box up. I am in the works of redoing my craft room and also formal dining room. I have been doing this since Christmas when hubby got me some shelfs, looking good I do say so my self. We looked and one set of the shelfs is a different kind and is not holding up like the othere's so now I will have to take everthing off these 5 shelfs and redo it. That shelf is going in gargage. Now I have been in a neck brace for 2 weeks and have 4-6 more weeks with this I would love to do some trading. Just let me know ok.

If you can recycle without too much difficulty, assuming you have a small space for items, or donate it to someone who might be able to use it, why not at least attempt to? I *don't* have a small space for items (I do have places for the things my city trash program recycles--paper, plastic, glass metal). I can't easily donate it to someone who might be able to use it--a trip to the Goodwill or Salvation Army (or any other such place) is an entire morning, and I have to plan my entire family's life around it. Also, as I look at the stuff the ends up at rummage sales, the Goodwill, etc., and the stuff in my house, I realize more and more that most people don't need or want it--any of it. If it were truly valuable or useful to ANYBODY, it wouldn't end up there. Also, stores like that tend to have more than they can use--more clohes, more old furniture, more out-of-date appliances and kitchen gadgets. one or two items less that end up in a landfill. Since I am not actually talking about newspapers, etc., which truly do get "recycled," I don't agree that donating stuff (as a form of recycling) keeps it out of the landfill. It just slows their arrival down. Things like chafing dishes, old clothes, etc.--those will WILL be in the landfill eventually. It's only a matter of how much good they go in the meantime. Filtering through another person before they end up in the landfill is good--but not if the cost of making that happen is too huge for me. And right now, it is huge. So I find myself just throwing things in the garbage. And it's a huge relief. It has changed my life. I'll pass something on directly to another person, who actively wants it, if I know about thema t the time. Or I'll pass on books to a charity's used book store, bcs my DH goes there anyway. I've occasionally brought something to work and set it on the "giveaway" shelf. But if I decide one day that I don't want a certain dish, or kitchen gadget, or piece of clothing anymore, I just throw it out. Then it's gone. It's not still in my apartment (which is bigger than it used to be, once I remeasured it--1,100 sq. feet ) making my life miserable, and getting in the way, and WORSE, looking crummy. Bcs I've discovered that "stuff sitting in the teeny little foyer (or worse, the dining room) waiting to go to the Goodwill" trashes my home MUCH worse than that stuff did when it was still in a closet. Until I gave myself permission to throw things away, I actually used to decide NOT to clean out a closet, bcs I didn't want to trash the place by digging all the junk OUT of the closet and into the open. I don't have a garage, a back porch, a mud room, a laundry room. If it's easy to send something on to a place where it will GENUINELY be useful, and it won't be a burden, I'm all for that. What I am NOT for is the idea that trying to donate it should become MORE clutter--chore clutter, or stuff clutter. It's stuff. It's not in charge, whether it's environmentally "righteous" or not.

Yea! It sure feels good. Too often I walk past a project time and again and instead of "just doing it" I let it bug me. I bought a Nike t-shirt and wear it on work days to keep me on task. While I am very organized, I have TMS to organize so I am like others here who now scrutinize the necessity of items before making the purchase. Good for you. Here is a link that might be useful: Just Do It!