Currently in eastern Canada

We've nearly ended the first week of a 5 week jaunt in eastern Canada and won't be crossing back into B.C for another 4 weeks.

There are a lot of thrift stores in the Montréal and Ottawa areas but for the most part, thrifting for collectibles (vintage Canadian ones at that) is difficult and generally much more expensive too (non-profits or otherwise) though we have made some finds (the Catholic thrift stores, Society of St Vincent de Paul ones) are often the best for prices.

The best thing is that the non-profits in Québec and Ontario don't charge sales tax.

Salvation Army reborn in Chilliwack

A few weeks ago, the Salvation Army in Chilliwack had to close its store due to redevelopment of its old premises.

The move to a new premise, just cross the old Yale Road location at 45680 Hockings Ave, was made rather quickly and was opened just before Easter.

Come and Go III - Hope

Leaving the housesit yesterday, we drove up the Lougheed Highway.  Unfortunately the people came home too late so we couldn't get to Agassiz to visit the thrift shop, and it was too far off the highway too.   We got to Hope to take  picture of the Hope Community Services thrift shop, got to where it was located, only to find no thrift shop.  I asked a woman who came out of the community services offices who confirmed it had closed.

We had visited the shop last year and it didn't have very much in the way of thrift items, and a lot seemed to be new.  Neither here nor there, and with no big community to draw on for donations, it didn't work.

More about bottle and can returns

We're near the end of a 16-day pet and house sit in Mission.  Part of our pet management strategy is that one of us takes the alpha female out for a walk while the other plays with the 2 other dogs.  On my walks around a suburban residential neighbourhood (and close by a penitentiary for good measure) gives me the opportunity to sweep for returnables - apparently so low in value children don't bother with them anymore except for organised bottle drives.

We went on an outing to Maple Ridge where one of the thrift shops has excellent prices on cutlery at a mere 5 cents a piece.  I picked up a vintage Canadian-made fork and a U.S.-made one that is part of our set for a mere 10 cents for both: The deposit value of two pop cans or two juice boxes.  Thrifting fuels my own personal bottle drive.

Where your money goes to at Hidden Treasures

A CBC news article about a prisoner escape at the minimum security prison a few minute's walk from where we're housesitting caught my eye.

CBC news article about M2W2
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/i-can-t-do-it-on-my-own-inmates-in-need-of-mentors-face-a-long-wait-list-1.3911960

Hidden Treasures, with branches in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, is the thrift shop arm of M2W2 where volunteers mentor and guide prisoners who wish to be rehabilitated for reintroduction into life in civil society.  Prison is not just for punishment, but should be also rehabilitative. Unfortunately governmental efforts usually fall far short.

M2W2 needs volunteers as their force is getting older.  Consider volunteering if you live in the area.

M2W2 web site
http://m2w2.com/category/hidden-treasures/

Hidden Treasures - Chilliwack

Hidden Treasures - Abbotsford

Maple Ridge - ReStore and a for-school thrift shop

We went out to Maple Ridge today to check out a few of our favorite thrift shops, taking the slow way via Dewdney Trunk Road as it's unlikely we'll ever travel this corner of the province again.  The trip proved to be not very fruitful, though I did get a few kitchen items for pennies.

There are two newer thrift stores to report on.  Maple Ridge now has 4 thrift shops within a minute's walk with the other 3 another 5 minutes' walk away.

The big one is a new (since last summer) Habitat for Humanity ReStore in the old mall that houses the Cythera thrift shop.  Occupying what appears to have been the space of a defunct supermarket, it's mostly house reno parts at the moment, as well as furniture.  Lots of lot parking.

Across Dewdney Trunk Road and 2 doors east of the Hospital Auxiliary thrift shop is Repeat Street which assists the local school district, SD42.  It is a smaller shop with a very boutique feel and arrangement. Mostly clothing and some decor. Quite a few near-new or even new item for sale.  Very friendly proprietor.  Free street parking as well as the lot across the street.

Divorcing Value Village in Nanaimo

One of the B.C. non-profits that previously has sold donations to Value Village opened its own store in the middle of last year.  The Nanaimo branch of Big Brother and Big Sisters has opened the BIG Deals Clothing Program store at its 2030 Northfield Road location, open We-Sa 10-15.  The Boston, U.S.A. chapter realised a 4x revenue gain when it terminated its relationship with Value Village and began to operate its own store(s), despite added operating expenses.  I hope the other BC and national chapters of BB&BS and other charities will find the gumption and vision to do the same.

http://www.bigscvi.ca/en/Home/big-deals-clothing-program.aspx

Another ReStore - In Chilliwack

Though we don't visit for home renovation products, we still visit Habitat for Humanity ReStores as housewares and collectibles may be available.  We became aware of a newer location on Yale Road in Chilliwack which we never usually visit as it is not convenient to other Chilliwack thrift shops.  We finally got around to visiting this location today.  The store has a very good selection of home reno supplies, better than many of the other 13 we've visited which may show more items get recycled here.  Not much in the way of housewares, but this and the Abbotsford store must have received a huge amount of inventory from an imported handicraft and decorations gift store as there are shelves of the stuff.

List of Lower Mainland thrift stores south of the Fraser river.
http://bcthriftshop.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_3.html

Come and Go II - Langley

We went to Langley, ambling on some side road from Mission, to visit the usual thrift stores that make Langley a nice, concentrated destination.

Driving and walking around, we found that a full three thrift shops have closed since last autumn, some consolidating, some still waiting to find a new home, and some apparently gone for good.

The consolidation is the ICR or International Christian Relief.  There were two shops just over  kilometer apart.  The shop on 203 Street has closed leaving the 200 Street shop.   The Wellspring fibromyalgia shop on Fraser Highway has moved, due to redevelopment of the mall, to 2978 272 Street in Aldergrove (across the highway from the Salvation Army).  It's open Mo-Fr 10-16.   The Better Tomorrow thrift shop (benefiting Langley seniors) further up Fraser Highway has apparently closed permanently.

List of Langley and south of the Fraser river thrift shops
http://bcthriftshop.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_3.html

Come and Go - Abbotsford & Mission

Charities sometimes open up thrift shops but sometimes these ideas are unfortunately not viable in practice.  A couple of organisations opened in Abbotsford last year only to close their thrift shops within months.  Two such are Missions without Borders on South Fraser Highway and Healing Grounds on Bevan.

In the neighbourhood, the Salvation Army has closed its thrift shop in Mission leaving just 3 there.

List of Abbotsford and south of the Fraser river thrift shops
http://bcthriftshop.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_3.html

Listing of Mission and other north of the Fraser river thrft shops
http://bcthriftshop.blogspot.ca/p/burrard-peninsula.html

Another Salvation Army closure (temporary?)

We drove down to the Fraser Valley today and dropped in on the Chilliwack stores. One surprise was to find the Salvation Army thrift shop closed (they report due to sale of the premises).  It will reopen somewhere else though the new location and opening date has not been announced.  Keep an eye on:

http://www.salvationarmychilliwack.ca/

The Salvation Army has closed locations in Sooke, south Nanaimo, Langley and Mission in the recent past.

South of the Fraser thrift shop listing

http://bcthriftshop.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_3.html

Rebranding thrift stores

Bibles for Missions is one of the thrift stores I've become familiar with over the past couple of years. They're, evidently by their name, an evangelising Christian sect that promotes literacy by teaching those they assist via teaching to read the bible.

In the past few weeks, the stores have been rebranded - new signs and all - and are now called the Mission Thrift Stores.