Skagway’s new thrift store has everything but the kitchen sink

A new thrift store is serving the frugal shoppers of Skagway. It’s staffed entirely by volunteers and run as a non-profit. Its goal is to serve the community by reducing waste and providing a hidden cache of discount gems to discover. 

The Kitchen Sink is the brainchild of a group of local residents that wanted to bring a cheap shopping option to Skagway and a better way to reuse and recycle. The store first got its start at the Eagles Club in Skagway last fall and was sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary and Gold Rush Productions. 

This summer, they moved locations and transitioned away from the Eagles organization. They are now operating under the Skagway Development Corporation’s community development program. As founder Jessie Baker tells it, they are hoping that’s a stepping stone toward independence.

“We are fiscally sponsored for up to three years till we can become our own nonprofit. So that’s our future for the short term is to do all the work to become a nonprofit. We’re slowly kind of putting together a board of directors and just starting to piece things together,” said Baker.

The SDC also helps the team with grant writing and bookkeeping. Baker says the big picture goal is to continue to help the community.

“Skagway needs a thrift store. Hopefully, we will have a seasonal population and that’s when the need becomes even more. People don’t have to buy pots and pans every time they come up here or, you know, plates or, you know, a coat,” said Baker.

Currently, the store is well stocked with men’s and women’s clothes, winter coats, scarves, books, some outdoor gear, and even Halloween costumes.

“We have two Halloween sections. We have a lot of stuff in the front room. And we also have some costume material in our newest back room that we just started using because we have too much stuff,” said Baker.

On a tour of the facility, I found a hot dog outfit, an eagle mask, and a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz costume.

“We had a lot of old Sweet Tooth outfits donated, so there’s a lot of older old-timey costumes along with some fun new things,” said Baker.

But it’s their kitchen section that sells the fastest.

“That’s the one thing that seems to be the high turnover here. As you can see, we have a lot of clothes. They go… not fast enough,” said Baker.

The store also worked out a deal with Skagway’s First Presbyterian Church to help people in need find warm winter clothing.

“The church brought all their winter coats over. And we went through them and took the best ones, which was about half of them. Now if someone goes to the Presbyterian Church looking for a coat, they will give them a voucher and they can come to us and get a free coat,” said Baker.

For now, they don’t individually price items but are hoping to move that direction in the near future, Baker says they kind of use a group pricing structure.

“T-shirts, like anywhere from $3 to $5. Coats, the nicer coats are like $10 to $20 it kind of depends on what it is. If it’s a nice winter coat, or if it’s just like a thin fleece…” said Baker.

She says some folks do haggle, but not many. She’d rather see the item get sold than sit on the shelf, so, it’s not discouraged.

Though they are open four days a week, Baker says they may reduce their hours this winter. 

This winter is going to be interesting. Hopefully, we make enough money to pay our bills,” said Baker.

In the meantime, volunteers are helping to sort donated clothes — they make sure zippers work and items are clean. And for items that don’t make the cut, there’s also a free box out front for people to help themselves to 24/7. 

Currently, The Kitchen Sink is accepting donations between noon and 2 p.m. on the first and third Saturday of the month at the back door. The store is open from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Sunday. 

 

**This article has been updated to name the Ladies Auxilary as one of the store’s original sponsors.**