Whew, Hello Spring Cleaning Season!

Spring has Sprung! It's that time of year where you start to think about changing up your skis for running shoes, your snowboards for downhill bikes, your jackets for bikinis and board shorts... well, maybe nobody's jumping in the lake just yet, but there's more than a hint of warmth in the air, and goggle tans are plentiful...

Spring means different things to all of us. Here at Re-Use-It Centre it means Hard Work! Between the seasonal workers starting to leave town, and realizing their suitcases are already more than full, and our locals who get struck by that "everything must go" spring cleaning feeling, we end up with piles of treasures to sort and sift through... all kinds.

At times the pile is overwhelming; no matter how fast you work, the pile gets bigger. The sensation of moving backwards is hard to ignore! Our super staff have managed to develop a wonderfully Zen attitude of "all good things in time". And truly we do rely upon and expect the silly season; Whistler just wouldn't be Whistler without it.

What does this mean for you, our community of shoppers and donators? If you're making a donation, remember we're open 11am to 6pm and be sure to donate in our opening hours so we can make the most of your donated items. You can bring them in bags or boxes, and the only things we'll pass on are helmets and kids safety equipment, for safety reasons.

If you're a shopper, well... get into it! This is the best time of year to score awesome thrifted items. We still hold our weekly clothes sales, and follow our 50% off after 3 weeks deal... The quality of donated items at this time of year is unreal, and we're starting to put out summer clothing and sports equipment, so make sure you get yourself down to rifle through the treasure.

Here is the taste of the treasure we're seeing this week:

 The classics surface regularly at The Re-Use-It Centre. Give yourself a taste of culture on those rainy spring days!

Decorate your home with a piece of art.

Keep warm with a stylish Burton women's hoodie on the days when summer feels a little far away...

 Keep the kids happy with many many titles to choose from at only $1 each!

Invest in a paddling pool for the hot summers

And what goes better with a paddling pool than a summery bikini?












Dress the part for summer in one of our surf brand tshirts...

Or, if it's not feeling like summer at all to you, perhaps you're looking for a pair of spring skis to enjoy the plentiful snow base we're still seeing on the hill?


Come by to divest yourself of some material possesions, then shop to fill the space your spring cleaning has left in your life!

We'll see you soon!


Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Upcycling: Books

There are always countless books coming into The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre. A lot of these books are holiday and travel reading, with plenty of best-sellers and modern classics pumping through the store at a steady rate. For $2 a book you can't really go wrong: read it, pass it onto a friend, take it around the world with you to read on trains and planes...

We do also find ourselves with large pile of books that are slightly less desirable, for various reasons: water damage, torn pages, outdated knowledge, or super-specific information that Whistler folk have often escaped past lives in the outside world to avoid.

I shudder at the very thought of trashing books. Having grown up reading and having majored in English Lit at university, books are friends and teachers to me. So I'd rather avoid sending them to the compactor where and when possible.

I've found some amazing ideas for upcycling those books that are no longer reading material, for whatever reason.

Some artistic upcycling ideas include:

This tree:

This dress and more at this blog:

Or more practical ideas, like book shelves made of books! Find the how-to here.

Try a plant potted into a classic novel (plus more upcycling ideas for plant holders here).

Or, go all out and use books as bricks! This is the counter of my favorite bookstore in Melbourne, Australia.

Ladies and gentlemen, the world is your oyster! Come down to The Re-Use-It Centre and rescue a few books to create something amazing and unique. Perfect projects for those rainy Spring days...

Enjoy.


Helen, Manager of The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Photoblog: Goofy tshirt collection (Part 1)

We get a lot of silly, crazy & weird t-shirts in at The Re-Use-It Centre... Here are our staff member Julie's picks over the last 2 weeks.

Stay tuned- more to come.


Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Photoblog: One piece ski-suits

 

The one piece ski-suits in The Re-Use-It Centre have to be seen to be believed! Check out some of the finds we've had over this 2011-2012 Winter Season.

 

Make sure you don't miss out on the ultimate Gaper-Day/ Valley Rally outfit. Come visit us in Function and find yourself a piece of Whistler History.

-Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Old is new again: VHS movies

Thrift stores are always guaranteed to be a place where old technologies congregate, to be revived and collected by folk who promise them another life.

Avid collectors of LP's, cassettes and now CD's come through on a regular basis to peruse our wide variety of out-dated retro treasure, snapping up old favorites here, taking a $1 chance on investigating an obscure band there... It's gratifying to see the excitement of the "find" take over with a fanatical gleam of an eye.

With all the movie-downloading and whatnot these days, sometimes it's refreshing to go back to basics and watch an old favorite on VHS. We have a huge selection at the moment after one of our customers donated more than half the collection of her and her boyfriend (Boyfriend is out of town... let's hope his heart isn't broken to find his South Park stash has disappeared). Perhaps one of these recent classics will pique your interest...

 1) Braveheart, featuring Mel Gibson: Who can go past the classic tale of one man fighting for what he believes in against all odds?

Best viewed with: someone who enjoys a little battle-type violence.








2) Meet the Parents, with Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro: An comedy that takes all your little fears about meeting the family of your Significant Other and just runs with them... Cringeworthy, but strangely, you can't look away...

Best viewed with: a large group of people who can't decide on a movie.

3) My Best Friend's Wedding, featuring Julia Roberts: A romantic comedy that doesn't end the way you expect. Some great slapstick, a truly awful karaoke attempt by Cameron Diaz, and plenty of angst.

Best viewed with: Girls.







The possibilities are endless, folks- the VHS shelves are heaving full, and if you find yourself smacking your hand to your face because you ditched your VCR last spring-clean, never fear, we can find you a workable solution at The Re-Use-It Centre for $10 or less.

I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to put the popcorn on!

Enjoy.

Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

How the Mystery Cabinet Came to Whistler!

Sometimes you recycle more than you mean to is the story of a 63 year old wallet found in a cabinet donated to the Re-Build-It Centre. Both local papers ran a short story about the mystery wallet and because of their help, we now have the story of how it ended up in Whistler.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Eileen, who was surprised to hear that there was a secret drawer in the cabinet she used to own. "I had no idea there was a secret drawer," she writes. "I aquired the cabinet during my first marriage which occurred in 1963. We lived in Glendale at the time (next to Burbank) and it was a hand-me-down from friends of my parents...the Ertels. It was an old music cabinet which I converted to a china/linen cabinet. An I painted it the colour it was when you aquired!"

Eileen adds,"Then it came to Canada with me when I moved here in 1974 with my second husband. It was used still as a cabinet and then was in storage for a bit...in between husbands! Then when I met my 3rd husband and we bought our house, it came into the dining room and was used for a bit until we started buying antique furniture.  Then when we bought the Whistler property in 1985, it moved there...and remained there until the house was sold! While at Whistler, it also served as a storage area for little kids' toys.

Please feel free to share this part of the journey!" Eileen.

John McGregor, a real estate agent in Whistler had received the cabinet when Eileen sold her house, and then donated it to the Re-Build-It Centre when it was too big for his new townhouse. He was kind enough to contact Eileen with the story published in the paper. Thank you to both for helping us fill in more gaps on the mystery cabinet.

Ten Indications You May Be a Thrift Store Addict (or, alternatively, a Dedicated Sustainable Shoppper)

1. You walk into your local Thrift Store, the staff greets you by name and lets you know that a big donation of owls/masks/brass elephants just came in and they've been put aside for you.

2. You bring your own recyclable bags when thrifting, intending to fill them all with treasure.

3. The only way your Significant Other will allow you to even enter a Thrift Store is if you first donate several bags of items back.When you donate items back to a Thrift Store, some of them still have Thrift Store price tags attached.

4. You have at least 3 half-sets of dishes that you slowly add to over years and years of searching for and collecting.

5.You buy items for other people when thrifting, because when you see that particular item, you know so-and-so will love it.

6.You notice when your local Thrift Store moves items around, and are completely disoriented.

7. When thrifting, you purchase "unique pieces" that you intend to match with other items in your wardrobe. These items, when worn, embarrass your family and friends, but you still love them (the items and the family members).


8. Sometimes you are forced, uneasily, leave your basket(/s) aside with the Cashier so you have your hands free to continue shopping. You check back regularly to the front counter to be sure all your treasures are still yours, safely in the basket(/s).

9. You run into fellow Dedicated Sustainable Shoppers who you know solely because you see them every week in your local/favorite Thrift Store. You start to organize regular trips with them, stopping for coffee and eventually making a weekly afternoon ritual of it. You love these folk, but also remain slightly suspicious that they will beat you to the treasure, and only half-credibly swallow your jealousy when they inevitably do pick up those moose antlers before you get a chance to swoop in on them.



10. You've found so much treasure over the years that when people ask you what your best thrifting find is, you can't choose an item (unless you were the lucky one who scored the child-sized Pink Panther recently, and then your answer is obvious)!

Please note that this list was put together by a self-confessed Thrift Store Addict. I love thrifting; even working at The Re-Use-It Centre hasn't spoiled it for me! Just don't ask me what my best find has been... there are way too many to count!


Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas is right around the corner now, as surprising as that might seem!

Over the weekend we had our annual Christmas sale, a way of showing appreciation to our beloved customers for their support throughout the year. We enjoyed our coffee from Starbucks, our treats from IGA Marketplace, and the general goodwill and cheer of all our customers and staff.

It's a special time of year, with the snow falling. Whistler is a beautiful place to live, but we do take a second this time of year to think about those in need within our great community. As a program of Whistler Community Services Society, The Re-Use-It Centre aims to generate funds to support the 25+ programs run by our great team.

By shopping at Re-Use-It you are not only getting great deals on the necessities and the luxuries, you are also saying that you care about your community by investing in them. Every dollar spent is helping those in need, whether it be with food from Food Bank, emotional support from our Outreach team, or support building life skills, such as the Community Kitchens.

This close to Christmas, we want to thank you for your support and encourage you to continue making the choice to shop with us, or donate your unwanted items to us. You help to build and sustain the kind of community we are all proud to be a part of.

A huge thank you from the WCSS Re-Use-It Centre team!

- Helen, Manager at Re-Use-It Centre




If you want to know more about how your purchases at Re-Use-It Centre help our community, please visit www.mywcss.org for a full list of our many social service programs.