Thrift Store Review: The Soroptimist

Overall Rating:4
Location: 4
Organization: 3
Selection: 4
Cleanliness: 2
Price: 5

The Soroptimist is by far my favorite thrift store in my quaint hometown of Enterprise, Ore. The thrift store, located on Main and 1st Street, is full of treasures waiting to be found.

For being in such a small town the location is ideal, it is located in the middle of the town, right next to the public library. Although the store would be more successful in a larger town, it is always busy and is a perfect addition to Enterprise.

The store is organized to the best of its ability. The store is run by volunteers, everything there has been donated and all of the proceeds go towards community scholarships and grants. Because all of the funds generated are used to help others, the store makes use with what they have and many items are folded and set on tables rather than being hung on clothing racks or stacked on shelves. Soroptimist goes through inventory like you wouldn't believe and the women who volunteer work quickly to keep up.

The selection in the store varies greatly. There are clothes for everyone from babies to adults and probably even dogs. There are crafts, fabric, books, electronics, kitchenware and much more. The only thing that the store does not have is large furniture. The quality of the selection also varies from items that are well worn to items that still have tags.

The store doesn't smell the best and could use some deep cleaning, but it is worth bearing to find treasures that you can buy for only 25 cents. Yes, that's right 25 cents is the typical price of every item. Every once in a while a nice coat might cost 50 cents or a dollar, but you can't get a deal better than that. Sometimes Soroptimist even has bag sales where customers get a bag when they walk in and can purchase anything they fit in the bag for just a dollar.

One of my favorite things to purchase at the Soroptimist is holiday sweaters. Many of my friends have hosted ugly holiday sweater parties and at Soroptimist I can purchase a sweater for 25 cents, when they would cost $6 each at Goodwill. My dad found a satellite radio at Soroptimist. He purchased it not knowing if it would even work to discover that it worked great and still had a year left in its subscription. This is an item that would usually cost more than $100 dollars and he only paid 25 cents. On the right is a photograph of my friend Kelsey and me wearing 25 cent Soroptimist holiday sweaters.

Soroptimist International is a worldwide organization for women in management and professions, working through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women. For more information about the organization click here.

Make the Light Switch

If every household replaced three 60-watt incandescent bulbs with energy efficient bulbs, the pollution saving would be like taking 3.5 million cars off the road.

According to Energy Star, Americans saved $1.5 billion in 2007 by switching to Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). The energy saved could light all of the homes in a city the size of Washington D.C. for over 30 years.

Energy-saving CFLs use one-quarter of the energy to produce the same amount of light. This means lower electricity bills and millions of tons less global warming pollution. In the summer they will even lower cooling bills because they do not burn as hot as incandescent bulbs, in fact, they product 75 percent less heat.

In addition to being more energy efficient, Energy Star bulbs last 10 times longer than incandescent light bulbs.

In order to make the switch, the Environmental Defense Fund recommends:

1. Start with one bulb in one room to be sure that it gives the kind of light you want.
   
2. Know your wattage. Look for a CF bulb with one-quarter the wattage of the incandescent bulb you are replacing (i.e. CF 15-watt bulb replaces an incandescent 60-watt bulb).
   
3. Check the shape and size to make sure that a CF bulb will fit in your lamp or light fixture.
   
4. In order for a CF bulb to work with a dimmer, it needs to be designed for it, so read the package.
   
5. Look for the Energy Star label, these bulbs are the most energy efficient.
   
6. Dispose of old light bulbs properly. All fluorescent lights contain traces of mercury so they need to be recycled when they burn out. To find a location to recycle your old bulbs click here.
   
7. Check to see if your utility company offers rebates for using energy-efficient bulbs.

Energy Audit

Want to make your home as energy efficient as possible?A great way to make your home more efficient is to get an energy audit. You can assess how much energy your home uses, learn what measures you can take to make it more efficient and discover ways to save money.

An audit can help you pinpoint where your home is losing energy and can determine the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling systems. It also may show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity

There are two ways to do an energy audit. You can do one yourself or hire a professional energy auditor. Visit the U.S. Department of Energy for more information on Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audits. For information and tips on professional audits click here.

In Washington, Puget Sound Energy encourages customers to use energy as efficiently as possible. They have an online tool in which you can get customized cost-saving recommendations and you can look into grants and rebates that can work for you.