Now you can get rid of the good stuff you’ve cleaned out. Goodwill reopens this week

Remember, back at the beginning of the pandemic shutdown, when you had nothing to do but clean out closets and you actually did it — but there was nowhere to take your stuff? Now there is.

Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region will reopen donation centers and retail stores this week in Thurston County and all other counties that have been approved for Phase 2 of Washington’s Safe Start plan.

Donation centers will open on Monday, June 1, followed by retail stores on Wednesday, June 3. The Olympia Blue Boutique on Capitol Way will reopen June 8.

All operations will follow the COVID-19 safety and health requirements for retail operations set up by the state.

“We are very happy to reopen our retail stores and donation centers and welcome back our shoppers and donors,” Lori Forte Harnick, President and CEO of Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, said in a news release.

Store traffic will be limited to 30% or less of building occupancy and customers will be required to use cloth face coverings while in the stores and to practice appropriate social distancing. Signs to help customers follow protocols will be displayed throughout the stores.

The donation centers will operate a no-contact donation process. Donors will be asked to unload items from their vehicles and place them in bins provided by a Goodwill attendant. Furniture and other large items will not be accepted at this time. All new donations will be put in quarantine for a minimum of 72 hours in accordance with guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“We know many people have been gathering their gently-used household goods to donate for several weeks now and we look forward to giving those items new life in the hands of our Goodwill customers,” Harnick said in the news release.

Using the proceeds generated by its retail stores, Goodwill provides education and job training and placement services. Harnick said those services are especially needed now as displaced workers seek new jobs and a way to recover their economic livelihood in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

To access its Digital Work Opportunity Center, go to www.goodwillwa.org. For a list of all locations and operating hours, go to www.goodwillwa.org/shop.

In Olympia, there are locations at 400 Cooper Point Road and 4014 Martin Way E. In Lacey, locations are at 1145 Galaxy Drive NE and 4800 Yelm Highway SE. There also are locations in Yelm, Shelton and Centralia.

This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 1:00 PM.