SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — With people spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of cleaning is getting done, and more items are being dumped or thrown out.
Angela Curtsinger, owner of Outreach Thrift Shop in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, said her phone has been ringing off the hook with people wondering how they can get rid of unwanted items.
"We are just packed," Curtsinger said as she walked through aisles and racks of clothing, most of which donated in the past four weeks. "We have had a huge amount of clothes because, I guess, most people feel like when they purge they purge 1985 out of their closet."
Clothes and other items line the aisles at Outreach Thrift Shop in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.
Outreach Thrift Shop wasn't deemed an "essential business" during Kentucky's initial response to the outbreak, and therefore its doors remain locked. People can still drop off items and have done so — boxes of donated books, purses, shoes and more. There's only so much room for it all, however.
"It's not terrible to get it in the door, but right now I can't get it out," Curtsinger said. "Where am I going to put it?"
Once a week, representatives from Louisville's Wayside Christian Mission come to Outreach Thrift Shop and pick up whatever Curtsinger can't fit in her store. Except broken appliances, Wayside is accepting most items and will schedule home pickups.
Wayside Christian Mission in downtown Louisville.
Goodwill, meanwhile, has remained closed during the crisis, and its drop-off centers are taped off. Some organizations, like Louisville's Home of the Innocents, are only taking donations that are brand new.
Across the Ohio River in Jeffersonville, Indiana, eight dumpsters have been placed throughout the city for people to get rid of anything they can't donate. The dumpsters are moved to a different subdivision every three days, and people are taking advantage of it. Some of the dumpsters are emptied every other day.
Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said the dumpster program will wrap up in a couple weeks — after stopping in nearly 100 neighborhoods.
Eight dumpsters have been placed throughout Jeffersonville, Indiana, for people to get rid of anything they can't donate.
Back in Shepherdsville, Curtsinger is asking people to call Outreach Thrift Shop and schedule a drop-off appointment instead of leaving items outside her closed store, which makes them more prone to theft. Once the state's economy gets going again, she hopes to have a sale where most items are $0.25 to make room for additional inventory.
"It's kind of sad to think that we're not reaching out and touching those people," Curtsinger said, "and it's kind of a bother."
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