How to start your own free store

1) You need a place and time. One way to get that is to call up churches that seem to do a lot of outreach work, free suppers and stuff, and ask them. If they ask if you can pay, explain that this is a free store so you can’t pay any rent for the room, but usually they don’t ask. Tell them it’s like a rummage sale except no prices, everything is free. Promise you’ll clean up after yourselves and set their room up however they want. Ask whether it would be okay to bring food, and if so what their rules are about that. Work out a date and time that work for them and for you. We usually hold ours on Saturdays from 1-4, which means we need the room from about 11-6, for setup and cleanup. Ask to see the room first, and make sure they have tables or you’ll have to bring your own, that’s hard. An available bathroom is nice because you’ll be there all day. Ask if you can use their dumpster for the trash. Ask if it’s handicapped-accessible.
Another way is to do it in the summer and use a park; we’ve never gotten in trouble just setting up in a public park, but your mileage may vary.

2) More people will come if someone works on publicity. Some things we have done to get publicity are
– making a facebook event page and sharing it widely
– making posters and asking for volunteers to put them up around town (sample poster below)
– listing the event in the free event or garage sale sections of online classified ads (usually free or pretty close to free)
– calling the newspaper or local free papers and asking them to write it up, or sending them a press release
– listing the event with local charities to tell their customers about
– calling local radio stations
– tweeting

3) It makes me nervous the night before if I don’t have any stuff ready, so I collect some stuff to start us out with before the free store starts. Some of this is whatever I am donating myself, and some comes from people who can’t make it to the free store or don’t want to come, or who are coming but don’t have cars. Sometimes people just leave stuff on my porch, or I drive to their place and pick it up. I try not to take stuff that has already been picked over, like the leftovers from somebody else’s sale. What goes fastest: stuffed animals, games and puzzles, CDs and DVDs. Hardest to get: men’s clothing and plus-size clothing. Usually I have about 3-4 vanloads of stuff at my house by the time the free store comes around.

4) So you’ll need 3-4 people with vans to come to your house in the morning and drive stuff over to the free store. I just post on the facebook event page or ask friends. But I don’t insist; if people don’t show up, there will just be less stuff at the free store, or maybe somebody will make two trips. Either way it’s okay. If nobody’s bringing lunch, consider packing some lunch because you’ll be there all day. Don’t bring a purse. Wear something with a lot of pockets. Bring a sharpie and blank paper and tape to make signs as needed. Bring any leftover posters to put up on the door to show that this is the right place. Bring ibuprofen and bandaids :) Bring grocery bags for people to take home their loot in, and big garbage bags for cleaning up.

5) When we get there we unload and set up on tables. We organize in two ways 1) heaviest stuff like books nearest the door, lightest stuff like clothes farthest from the door. and 2) things that are together at Target go together at the free store: usual categories are toys, housewares, clothes, kid clothes, books, music, sports equipment, shoes, coats/hats/mittens, crafts, art, baby… But don’t take charge, let whoever shows up to set up do it however they want to. It doesn’t really matter. If you need more help setting up, let a few people in who are waiting outside to help you. We usually also put up decorations and try to have a boombox or something for music. And someone usually brings cookies to make it seem more like a party. Good idea to have water to drink too! We tell people they can start bringing stuff to donate about noon; most people who donate also stay and help set up. I try not to take any donations I can’t lift by myself. Also no kittens.
If there is too much stuff to fit on the tables, put it in boxes under the right table, as overstock, and restock the tables during the day when there is room. Keep a lot of cardboard boxes to clean up at the end of the day. It’s fine to take things you like as you see them! Stash them in a car if you don’t want to lose them again.
Designate a spot for new unsorted donations, and see if anyone wants to hang out there and discourage people from standing there taking stuff before you can sort it. Ask them to shop on the tables instead; that way you don’t get a mess by the door. But it’s not the end of the world if they don’t listen to you.

6) Right before you open the doors, someone should go out and make a little speech. Tell the people 1) this is not walmart, please don’t tromple each other to death! Don’t snatch things or hit people. 2) take as much as you want, it’s free 3) all the people working here are volunteers so be nice to them :)

7) If someone, or several people, want to stand at the door and greet people and give them cookies, that helps to set the tone of being nice :) For the holidays we have a free gift-wrapping table by the door, where people can sit and help shoppers wrap presents. We recently set a new policy of not allowing strollers for the first hour, because it was too crowded, so we set up a stroller corral inside for them.

8) While people are shopping, several people can walk around cleaning up, putting out new things, talking to shoppers, making friends, finding stuff for themselves. New stuff will keep coming in so if people say they didn’t find what they were looking for encourage them to hang out awhile and help sort the new stuff as it arrives. Keep reminding people that this is not a job. If they’re tired, or feel resentful about “having to do all the work,” they should stop and relax, or shop, or go home. If not everything gets sorted, that’s okay. If it’s a mess, that’s okay. Maybe somebody else would like to take a turn sorting or cleaning up. Or not. (sadly, this is less true for the person whose name is on the agreement with the church. But even so, if you’re tired, sit down. You promised to leave the place clean, and that’s your only real responsibility here.) Don’t agree to hold things for people, watch things for people, look out for specific things they want after they’ve gone home, etc. Too hard.

9) At 3 pm, or even earlier if most people have left or you’ve run out of stuff, start cleaning up. Shovel the stuff off tables into bags and boxes. Hopefully some people with vans will turn up to carry the stuff away, or you can encourage shoppers to volunteer their cars. (It’s always hardest to convince people they want to do this part). Load up the cars. Resist the temptation to keep stuff for the next store: once people have picked it over once, there’s not likely to be much left that people will want next time. Unless the thing is super cool, just send it away. Of course the people with vans can take the things anywhere they want, but if they ask for suggestions tell them the addresses of local charities that you feel good about. Take down the decorations. Don’t forget your boombox. Sweep and mop, and put all the chairs and tables back where they belong. Take out the trash. Go home and put your feet up, you’ve earned it. Send thank you notes to everyone who helped, and to the church.