Spring Cleaning is Here in CNY and thrift stores are impacted

Chloe Smarz: Spring is here- which means it’s time for spring cleaning! Central New Yorkers are de-cluttering their closets and thrift stores are receiving more donations this season. NCC’s Alexa LaMalfa has the latest.

Alexa LaMalfa:The weather gets warmer and people get the sudden urge to flip their closet- leading to piles of items to sort through at the thrift store. Karen Fratianni, manager at three fifteen says that spring is usually the busiest season, but the pandemic made it harder to receive donations.

Karen Fratianni: Now that we’re out of it, spring cleaning is still an increase, but many people don’t have as much to give away because they kinda gave it all away during the pandemic

Alexa LaMalfa: Seasonal trends are important when it comes to fashion and Sabine Garrahan, an avid thrifter, says that spring is the ideal time to come thrifting.

Sabine Garrahan: I think spring is definitely the best season to go thrifting because there are so many more options available with like the passing trends and you know spring cleaning people are getting rid of stuff and there is more stuff available for me to get

Alexa LaMalfa: Well it’s time that I start decluttering my closet. Maybe I can pick up a whole new style at my local thrift store this spring season. Reporting live from Marshall Street Alexa LaMalfa, N-C-C News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Spring is here and it’s time for spring cleaning! As the weather gets warmer, more people tend to declutter their closets and deep clean their homes. Spring season is the busiest season for thrift stores as they receive piles of donations, benefiting both the local businesses and their customers.

3fifteen is a local Syracuse thrift store that works with the Rescue Mission, a major recycler in Onondaga County, to turn purchases into meals for families, men, and women in need. Every donation has an impact because each item that is donated will be resold, reused, and recycled.

Customers don’t have to worry about finding stained or damaged clothes at 3fifteen because they have a precise donation organization process. After sorting through all the donations, whatever is in good condition and can be sold in stores will go directly on the racks. The items that are not in the best shape get sent to the other 3fifteen stores, or if something comes to the store in poor condition it goes to the “bail bin” in a warehouse that gets shipped overseas where the fabric is purchased.

Karen Fratianni, manager at 3fifteen says that although spring is usually the busiest season, the pandemic had an impact on her store. Donations skyrocketed during this time because people were stuck in their houses where cleaning became a hobby. Fratianni says that post-pandemic “spring cleaning is still an increase in donations, but people don’t have as much to give away because they gave it all away during the pandemic.”

Spring cleaning is an important season for thrift stores, and for 3fifteen May is the prime time to shop since they are on a university campus. Similar to spring cleaning, college move out season puts a variety of items on their shelves since these students can not travel with them. Winter coats are a popular donation because students who live in a warmer climate are done with the Syracuse weather.

Spring donations often “set the trend for what’s next to come” , Fratianni explained, because the donations have been sitting in closets for several years. Now is the perfect time to go thrifting because according to Fratianni, most items are coming in new with tags.