Did you know that besides the dozens of Goodwill stores throughout our area there are a couple other locations in which even greater treasures exist, sometimes for well under a dollar ?
Welcome to the Goodwill Outlets — otherwise known as “The Bins”.
And I ’ molarity going to show you what ’ randomness happening behind the scenes — and barely a fraction of all the playfulness things my buddies and I ’ ve found there.
Let ’ s step back for a minute .
As a child, I spent endless hours beach-combing in the hopes of finding hidden treasures. In the winter it would be in Naples, Florida and in the summer it ’ vitamin d be on the beaches in Cape Cod .
Beach vacations would follow a casual model. early each dawn my family would walk the nearby beaches, and while my brother and sister would frequently scamper in the water, I ’ d have other plans. I ’ five hundred much be found poking through driftwood, overturning seaweed clinging to foreign objects, and occasionally digging under sand piles that looked unusually promising .
I was looking for some kind of lost treasure: a rare but intact shell, a piece of jewelry or perhaps a bottle with note inside.
I ’ five hundred inevitably run into person with a metallic detector and I envied them their ability to hone in on something valuable reasonably quickly, and I ’ d share in their exhilaration as the machine would start to ping and zero in on a target .
Flash Forward .
I ’ ve found the modern day equivalent of Treasure Island .
Welcome to the Goodwill Bins.
I ’ ve been shopping at these Outlets for over ten-spot years but it was only fairly recently that I ’ ve had the casual to look behind the curtain. I ’ ve now been in the back room of a couple Bins locations, witnessing first hand how it is that the Goodwill Industries of Columbia Willamette ( GIWF ) processes the roughly 235 millions of pounds of donations it receives yearly.
I drop off stuff regularly at Goodwill drive-thrus, and I ’ megabyte not alone ; the modal donor gives over 60 pounds a year, making our Goodwill stores the jewel in the countrywide crown .
The Portland area receives more donations than anywhere else, including such huge markets as Los Angeles and New York.
Friends all over the country who ’ ve visited me are shocked by our first GW stores and they always ask me : Why are ours so chockablock of amazing merchandise while their own stores seem sadly stocked in comparison ?
I asked Dale Emanuel, the very knowledgeable and savvy head of the PR department, why our stores are so well-stocked with such fantastic merchandise and she said that they can point to three reasons.
One, so many people give sol prolifically because of the convenience of the battalion of drop off centers throughout the sphere ( surely your neighborhood has one, besides ). Two, this generous residential district buys into the reduce/reuse/recycle way of support and they donate because they are committed to this sharing principle ( and recognizes the importance of keeping unnecessary items out of landfills ) .
And third, donors give therefore voluminously because they ’ ve seen or heard what their donations do for their greater community and they like to contribute to that ( and most donors are shoppers, excessively ) .
FUN FACT: Most regulars refer to the Outlets as the Bins. The first GW Outlet in our area was located in the old Pendleton Woolen Mills factory on Highway 99 and everything was wheeled out in enormous bins, and the name stuck with regulars. To this day, large blue rolling bins (measuring ( 9 X 4 ft.) are still used for everything but furniture, and filled with merchandise they weigh between 130-300 pounds a piece.
here ’ s the geographic scope of our local Goodwill Organization ; turns out there is a network of 160 autonomously operated GW chapters in North America, and our network covers 51 locations, including five outlets, boutiques and approximately 40-odd stores .
Think about that — over 235 millions of pounds of donations flood this system every year .
How do they do it?
Goodwill does a consummate job of trying to maximize the profit of every one detail they receive because their great exempt programs ( serving thousands of people with everything from EISL classes, Job Placement and Training and so much more ) are wholly reliant on the proceeds from these donations .
GW takes those with barriers to employment ( be it terminology, break in work commemorate, lack of education, physical disability or other issues ) and offers them a number release classes and services and then helps find them work. They besides give liberally to food banks, toy drives and other charities, be they at-risk youth, disaster relief or meal services in missions .
And what very few people realize is that not alone does our Goodwill keep admin costs ( including executive give ) so low — 95 % of the proceeds from your donations go directly to their free programs ’ operating costs — but they are besides leaders in the world of sustainable operations.
GICW manages to sell, recycle or salvage about 85 % of those 235 million pounds of donations, meaning that countless tons of cast-off possessions are kept out of landfills. ( Turns out our Goodwill is so consummate and exhaustive with their efforts that executives all over the world occur to see the nuts and bolts of this process in action. )
Clothes and versatile textiles that aren ’ metric ton sold on the floor of the Bins are compacted into huge bales weighing 1,000 -1200 pounds each ; these are then sold en masse for pennies on the british pound and then the items frequently end up in Third World countries where manufacture can ’ metric ton keep up with customer necessitate .
( And no, I ’ meter not on the Goodwill payroll to write about them ; anyone who has known me for more than five minutes– or has visited my home –knows that I ’ molarity just a GW drug addict and fan, specially that of the Bins. )
FUN FACT: There are 5 Outlet/Bins in our area. In order of sales volume they are: Milwaukie, Airport, Hillsboro, and tied for fourth, Vancouver and Salem. They are nearly 24 hour operations which employ almost 500 people, none of which are able to shop there, making sure that all these bargains are available to non-employees only.
I ’ ve been to the Bins hundreds of times, and I get asked about them all the meter, so when I was invited to check the operations in person, I jumped on the opportunity .
One of those times I went to the Airport Bins alongside another blogger, Katy Wolk-Stanley.
Her blog, the Non-Consumer Advocate, is an addictively fun read and has all kinds of thrifty hints, glimpses of PNW living and pics of treasures she ’ s found thrifting .
I had a blast touring the facility with her, both of us asking questions and seeing first-hand how the operation at this location alone manages to process nearly 80,000 lbs of merchandise daily, again with the vast majority being sold, salvaged or recycled ( and that includes defunct TVs, excess shoes, break pots, an endless stream of dress and textiles and pretty much else you could dream up. )
I loved listen of her own successes shopping at both retail and Bin locations ; one of her most late Bins success was a $ 20 Dyson vacuum cleaner she cleaned up and then re-sold on CL for a $ 100 profit ) .
FUN FACT: Katy’s not the only one who sees opportunity here. Roughly 85% of Bin shoppers buy Bin items with resale in mind, be it on Ebay, Craigslist, Etsy, retail shops or to other sellers (supposedly some vintage shops are largely filled with Bins purchases!).
Think about that— indeed much of what you see in those blasphemous bins have sufficient value that people make a live by re-selling it .
How does stuff end up in the Bins, you might be wondering?
I wasn ’ t actually clear until I toured the facility, but here you go .
The majority of what you see at the Bins has just spent four weeks at a GW retail store ( each Bins pulls from the stores closest to them ) and hasn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate found an owner. Maybe it ’ s out of season, is perceived to be besides spendy, is excessively coarse or it just didn ’ thyroxine get matched with the right modern owner. so after four weeks it comes here– and it ’ s given one last opportunity to find a new home .
( The other two ways items show up at the Bins is when they are direct donations dropped off at that like localization or occasionally they are items that come directly from another contribution site elsewhere ) .
And when I tell you that you can find reasonably much anything there, believe it .
here ’ s another great case : spirit at this fantastic Dansk enamel pot my girlfriend Chrissy found at the Milwaukee Bins and brought home plate .
The average bank identification number lasts on the floor just a matter of hours and then it ’ randomness moved out, with these items never to be seen by a GW customer again .
I found this pristine axial rotation of vintage endowment wrap and nabbed it good five minutes before it left the floor and disappeared everlastingly .
Frequent bin rotation is part of the appeal here ; a certain detail may not be on the floor when they open at 8 am only to make a abbreviated appearance noon. It could last on the deck for equitable seconds after it ’ south spied by a golden recipient role or if hush in the bins after a few hours, off it goes back to the back room to be sorted and moved on to its final examination family post-GW .
That ’ s the thing about the Bins ; market demand ultimately determines the value of a donation, and access to such is democratization and equal opportunity in action — precisely act flying because each bank identification number is only on the deck for a matter of hours .
It ’ s besides all about timing — if you ’ rhenium standing in the right home at the right time, that one magic trick bin might be rolled out immediately in front of you ( or conversely, sometimes you ’ ra forced to watch person else get something crazy aplomb and valuable precisely seconds before you ) .
On that enlistment, Katy found these hand-sewn socks and vintage scissors .
Katy hadn ’ triiodothyronine brought cash with her that day, but I was all excessively felicitous to spend the 57 cents to treat her to the two items she found .
On another visit she found other items both for personal habit and re-sale .
She found a vintage Brooks Brothers cap and a scarf joint that was besides a beauty .
Katy is a intelligibly a clever shopper and has a great eye, and it was my pleasure to do a tour with her behind the scenes. ( Girl, I can ’ t expect to go Binning again with you ! )
here ’ s what I found on the floor that day ( many of which were brand-new and sporting labels from familiar retailers ) .
I besides found a vintage doll ’ randomness crib that I just had to have– and looks capital now corralling my succulents in my survive room .
I besides came home with an authentic french wool beret ( I ’ d been kicking myself that I forgot to pick one up on last summer ’ mho travel to Paris so the time was perfect ) .
I besides found some new clothes in my front-runner colors, including this pristine boater shirt from Garnet Hill.
I think these three tops ended up costing me $ 1.25 .
FUN FACT: Here are the top 5 most donated items to GW: 1. Textiles (including clothes and linens). 2. Housewares. 3. Books. 4. Electronics. 5. Shoes.
Another go had me visiting the largest Bins, the grandfather of them all — the Milwaukie one ( just blocks from Sellwood ) .
This time I made the tour with another new pal, the crazy creative blogger/designer/author Rebecca Ringquist of Dropcloth Sampler.
I met Rebecca through this web log and when we realized that we both love to thrift, I snagged an invite for both of us to see the backroom here. We left the main floor and headed back .
hera she is with Mark, one of the funny and friendly managers at this localization .
It was fascinating to walk into the warehouse merely beyond the floor and see the sorting, bale and organizing in military action .
It ’ s a good thing they ’ re so organized ; 7 days a workweek, 10 40-50 ft. trucks unload more trade for sale .
Rebecca excessively was mesmerized by both the enormity of the operation and the diverseness of the treasures headed out to the floor ( and occasionally diverted to their on-line shop shopgoodwill.com ).
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FUN FACT: Each Bins Outlet sees hundreds of customers passing through daily, and as many as 30-40 await by the front door of each before they open. Many of these regulars spend the entire day there or pop in and out multiple times daily, checking in with pickers who sort through items for them. They see so much volume that some Bins report a new sale (some of them hundreds of pounds in weight) almost every 90 seconds, round the clock, from 9-9 daily.
I had indeed much fun shopping aboard Rebecca and we both appreciate vintage sol much .
She found a score of vintage natural process books and encyclopedias — some of which will be used as inspiration for her hand-drawn embellishment samplers available on Etsy ( you need to check these out ! ) .
Don ’ thymine you barely love this handwrite analysis ?
look at this very old children ’ second record she bought for her adorable son.
Lest you worry that I came home empty handed, allow me to reassure you .
I found vintage japanese melamine platters, giant methamphetamine bottles for Kombucha make, scads of craft supplies, some clothes, shoes and loads of party and stewardess items ( the Bins always seem to have leftovers from parties and I snatch up these fresh supplies for following to nothing ) .
All of this (and more!) for about ten dollars.
FUN FACT: Everything but furniture, books and glassware is one flat rate: $1.69 a pound with a huge price break of just 99 cents per pound for piles 25 pounds or greater.
You can combine weight with a friend or a stranger to get to that magic 25 pound weight discount as long as you use only one credit card (I bring cash and pair up with strangers to get the best deal).
Soft books are $1.29, hardcovers $2.49, magazines 39 cents and all glassware and breakables (like these French cafe au lait bowls) are a flat 69 cents a pound.
There is not one room in my house that doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate have Bins items inside it –and the treasures and highly utilitarian items I ’ ve bought over the years are besides numerous to mention ( and so cheaply purchased you ’ five hundred want to weep with envy ) .
Everyone in my class regularly wears items I ’ ve found at the Bins ( although Charlotte and I ’ ve had the most luck )
and I ’ thousand constantly using or sharing something I ’ ve uncovered at a Bin .
They’re been so many trips over the years.
When my kids were small it was all about toys and clothe
and magnetic letters and other humble trinkets .
These days I look more for items to be used for entertaining and cook ,
entreaty to my kids ’ new passions ( like this vintage football card I found at the Bins for Oliver )
or fair for sharing with friends near and far .
So many of my friends shop at the Bins now that I regularly have a Bin and Lunch date with them.
My original Bin Buddy ten years ago was Elona. In addition to being a Cracker Jack yoga instructor and sex educator, she’s also masterful at looking at a mound of clothes and finding the most incredible clothes and accessories for herself and others here.
look at her wholly outfitted by the Bins and looking sharp for her 20th high school reunion .
And then there’s Chrissy, another Bin buddy who’s also been behind the scenes
and always finds all kinds of gorgeous things for her home there –not just the Dansk pot I showed you before but art
pillows, furniture and all kinds of interest pieces that can be found in every nook and cranky of her house, besides .
Yes, closely every one of these thing was purchased by the ram here .
Just recently I went with yet another new friend named Ranya, who it turns out has bought almost all the furniture for her house from here.
We excessively shared lunch and hit the Bins. Shopping side by side, we both found things for one another .
I helped her find things for her belittled kids and she helped locate items that were useful
or merely pleasing — to me .
Like this trivet that set me back a quarter ( I recently saw a alike one retail for $ 22 )
and these shoes that cost me about 5o cents ( they fit Charlotte perfectly and cleaned up to near fresh condition ) .
People are shocked at the items I’ve found over the years at the Bins: cashmere sweaters, Coach wallets, brand new and in the box kitchen items, Anthropologie tops, you name it.
Of the countless acquired at the Bins, though, I ’ five hundred have to say it ’ s some of those delightful vintage items I ’ ve found over the years that I most treasure .
Vintage dining table games .
Pristine boxes of greeting cards and stationary that somehow went idle and undesirable until I found them .
look at these little lovelies
and therefore much more .
And so a jumbo-sized thanks to all my pals, previous and new, who routinely shop the Bins with me and make pick indeed much fun .
recently Katy found me this Bin treasure
and I shared with her another Bins recover ( she ’ sulfur been looking for a pig cutting board and I had one ! ) .
A big thanks to Dale (seen here trying on a Gap jacket to see if it might fit Charlotte) for all her time explaining how the Bins work and introducing me around.
Dale, like sol many Goodwill workers, has been with the company for a very long time ( 21 years ! ) and not alone does she fierily believe in their mission, but she ’ s an avid customer, excessively ( she ’ second constantly showing me some fashionable item she ’ s purchased at a shop ) .
address of which, one last FUN FACT : Did you know that in the interest of fairness to its customers, Goodwill Employees can merely buy something on the retail floor after it ’ s been there for at least 3 days ?
Another shout out to the employees who shared their time with me on these tours, explaining how things work and telling me their stories ( I ’ ll never forget the fib one employee told me about finding a bible from the 1500 ’ s — leather-bound and completely in Latin — in a contribution box one day. It ended up on shopgoodwill.com and sold for thousands of dollars ) .
. 
And lastly, thanks to all the Portland donors responsible for all those millions of items that one day ended up here– and not some sad, overstuffed landfill.
Thanks to you, I ’ ve been able to find all these lovely items for super-low prices for my home — and provided me with countless hours of fun in this urban treasure hunt .
not been to the Bins yet but are interested in testing your luck finding a treasure of your own ( like this giant vintage Santa ) ?
Shoot me off an email– I ’ ll make us lunch and we ’ ll Bin together .
