Thrift store donations spike as people look to tidy up to start 2021

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Many people use the New Year as a fresh start to make changes in their lives they hope will last in the months to come. For some, that includes cleaning their houses of unwanted items.

Thrift stores and consignment shops across the Cape Fear have noticed a huge rise in donations to kick off 2021.

Although the donation process has changed a bit due to COVID, many locations say they’ve learned to adapt to accepting items during the pandemic.

One local store says they’ve seen their donations more than triple to start the New Year.

“We’ve gotten toys; we’ve gotten clothes that have tags still on them,” Jennifer Davis with the Hope Chest thrift store said. “We’ve gotten a huge amount of donations just from everybody.”

Some stores attribute the especially high donation spike this year to people working from home and realizing just how much extra stuff they have.