$10 microwaves, pink gnome-printed PJs and more at USC's Give It Up For Good sale
You could find $10 microwaves, a $3 slightly discolored Dooney and Bourke handbag, mirrors, makeup, a plastic costume shield and even hot pink, gnome-printed pajamas at the University of South Carolina’s biannual Give It Up for Good sale Saturday.
If you didn’t get there early, you might have missed some of the best items, such as the Pikachu coinbank, the Rudolph hat and the cat-and-cupcake printed leggings. The gnome-printed pajamas, though, hung around for a while.
The Give It Up for Good sale is a partnership between USC and Habitat for Humanity that raises money for specific Habitat projects done by USC student volunteers.
The partnership is like a circle of giving, said Margaret Bounds, the environmental sustainability coordinator for USC Housing.
“It’s great to have the connection with the community,” Bounds said. “(The students) donated this stuff, and then they can actually see the physical result of it. ... The fact that we actually build the house and have that to show is a great final product of the program.”
More than 2,000 pounds of clothes, home goods and a wide assortment of donations were collected mostly from USC students cleaning out their dorms at the end of the fall semester, organizers said. The annual spring sale brings in an even larger bounty – more than 37,000 pounds of items were donated for last May’s sale.
Nathaniel Outin made away with at least a stack of ice trays and a pair of Nike sneakers on Saturday. His wife, Patricia, takes him along to yard sales all the time, he said.
“You just start looking” – that’s the only strategy to yard sale shopping, Outin said. “Browse and look. See something you like, either buy it or try to talk somebody down.”
USC will do it all over again at the Give It Up for Good spring sale, set for May 21. Follow Central South Carolina Habitat for Humanity and University of South Carolina EcoReps on Facebook for future details.
Reach Ellis at (803) 771-8307.
This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 12:37 PM.