Obviously, I had to begin my charity work on the very day that the place was in upheaval - delivery day. Endless sacks of clothing and knick-knacks to be unloaded, piled, opened, sorted, re-bagged and re-piled. Organised chaos at its best, with a mountain of donated stuff being sorted through by the end of the day.
I was interested to learn how things were sorted, for although people can clearly be generous in their giving, the items they donate need not be saleable. Clothing, the staple of charity shops, is essentially reduced to two piles - those that are saleable and those which are not. The damaged or otherwise unsalable are sold to textile recycling merchants, so the charity receives some income from even the most threadbare of goods.
I just had to ask the Boss, "What's the weirdest thing you have ever found?" as we tore open more sacks. "A vibrator from the 1970's". I didn't dare ask how she was able to date it so precisely. Fashions change... Perhaps oddly, it is men's clothing which is in the shortest supply. Men's shoes in particular. Please bear this in mind when you are next moved to donate some clothing to charity - shirts and shoes people, shirts and shoes!
