Salvation Army Family Store assistant manager Janice Feyen and volunteer Kay Duquemin with a large pile of donated clothes. Photo: Sara Hollyman.

Second-hand stores bursting

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Second hand stores across the region are bursting at the seams with donated items after a new Netflix show hit the screens.

Donated items have gone through the roof over the past few weeks and volunteers are putting it down to the new Netflix series ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’.

The series premiered on Netflix on New Year’s Day and teaches people how to categorize their belongings and let go of anything that doesn’t ‘spark joy’ in their lives – known as the ‘KonMari method’.

Salvation Army Family Store assistant manager Janice Feyen says, although this time of the year is always busy, this year has been “crazy”.

“For us, here in Nelson, definitely people are talking about it, we’re all talking about it, we’re all laughing and joking that we’re off home to have a clear-out.”

Janice says she first heard of the show from her daughter, who rang her during a cleanout asking if she should call her local store to check if it was taking donations. Luckily, she did as they had been overwhelmed and asked her to hold onto it until they could clear some space.

“We have got so much stuff in here, but we don’t say no to donations, we just work like little trojans to keep it circulating,” says Janice.

She says customers come in and are really excited about their clean-outs, but it’s not just clothes they are decluttering.

“They come in and say we’ve watched that show on Netflix, Marie Kondo, and they bring bags and bags. One woman bought a whole lot of books one week then clothes the next week and she said, ‘I’ll be back, I’ll be back’ which is really lovely.”

Karissa Klenner says she loves having uncluttered space and is usually organised with her method anyway but living in a one-and-a-half-bedroom apartment makes it tricky with two young kids.

“I didn’t realise it was kind of the KonMarie method I was following but now that I’ve seen the show, I guess following her methods of tidying up will make it a bit easier, it’s definitely inspired me to start from scratch and go through the whole house.”

Karissa says she tries to have a bi-annual clear out of things especially toys, clothes and all the things that go with having children.

“I don’t know if it’s about sparking joy so much, I’m probably more of a logical thinker – ‘do I want to take this to my future, do I love this or not love this’, that kind of thing.”