Hundreds of thousands of people across New Zealand have used their lockdown time productively to re-organise old cupboards. Now they have a car boot full of stuff to donate to charities. (Some impatient people have already dropped theirs off! …. all of it has been dumped) 
OpShops are going to be swamped with donated stuff all at once with no spare room to store it. Stores have new hygiene policies to leave a box for three days before sorting through the contents to preventpossible infections. Many volunteers are older people so they may be unable to return to their roles for a few weeks, leaving several stores short of manpower.
Here’s some tips to help them out: 
☑️Leave the stuff in your carboot for a few weeks and donate it later.
☑️Try donating one box at a time or try different stores. Check out www.treasurehunting.co.nz to find more OpShops you haven’t thought of.
☑️Only donate boxes of stuff during OPEN hours.
☑️Ask a staff member if they want your donation.
It’s helpful to write on your box what it contains and how to contact you if required.
☑️Only donate sellable stuff i.e. clean and really good condition. Anything that is worn out, has a chip, a hole or a stain or faded is not sellable and gets dumped. Dump fees are a huge burden on OpShops. It’s a big minus off their proceeds that should be going towards better things.
????You can offer to help out at your local OpShop but don’t be surprised if they turn you down. It takes a bit of time & energy to induct new recruits.
☑️Check out their shop shelves to buy some things and help make room for the new stock coming through.
☑️Share this blog with your friends online.