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I am updating since it has been quite some time since I started the clothing closet in our home/basement.  We did the clothing "free" for 3 years from our basement, from 2009-2012 offering free wearables, toys, coats, shoes to anyone in need, not asking to meet any criteria (only an appointment).  It got way out of hand, with no local funding, and people not adhering to appointments, taking more then their fair share, and many rumors of "yard sales" and selling for drugs, etc. we heard along the way.  I felt more as if I were the "enabler" and not doing what the Lord intended us to do, we just want to be able to help others in a tough economy.                                                                                                                                                             I am not a "blogger" nor do I have a lot of time, but I would love for other's to hear about our journey, one that has not been easy by any means.  In June of 2012 we decided as a closed board to start the clothing closet in a very small rented bldg on Main St. (eudora ks.).  It was a tough decision since we had to use our own personal monies and forego a family vacation to be able to pay the first and last month rent, and also be able to fix up what was a less then desirable old bldg.  We did it on a dime, well more then that but we had some money left over from our own savings to be able to paint, put down some carpet tiles we purchased new and buy some hangers and a couple more racks.  In less then a month we opened in 400 sq ft., which was 4 times the size of our room in the basement of 100 sq ft.  We had a lot of interest even though the bldg was small, very hot in the summer, even though we bought our own new ac window unit, it was just not a well-insulated bldg, built in 1890 it has never been properly maintained, very cold in the winter, I froze for the cause even with a space heater at my feet.  We realized being self sufficient within the small space on sales alone.  We were terribly cramped, with wall-to-wall racks and shelves, and at times had up to 20 people inside the bldg.  It was just not the cozy environment I envisioned the clothing closet in, and even though we could not afford the move, I pondered how we could take it up a level on barely making it in the space of 400 sq ft.  I talked my husband into allowing me to take a small loan to rent a larger space across the street, which is/was a very risky move.  The larger space of 1400 sq ft was luxurious in comparison to the old bldg, but rent and utilities were about 3 times the amount.  Trying to keep the "faith" that sales will continue to grow when we are now hidden, even though our address is still Main St. we are not directly on Main St. nor do we have a window to show our daily choices, as oo lah lah as they are for the very affordable pricing we offer daily just to keep up our overhead.  We work numerous hours and put aside a whole lot to continue this venture.  We seen a very cold winter as I decided to forego gas heat will phenomonal deposit and probably would have been a very high winter $$$ bill, I decided to go only with 2 space heaters.  It was cold at times, and I caught a couple colds from being chilled, but this trooper made it through one of our tougher Ks. winters!!  Our bills were far cheaper with the space heater then the gas company ever would have been!  Jan., Feb., and parts of March almost killed the business, foot traffic was almost non existent in our downtown area unless you were selling liquor, stamps or giving mani-pedis or selling comfort foods, no one got out much.  I keep running into folks who think we quit the biz??  I have tried everything I can and keep it on a dime, since we still do not have the budget for ads, and much more, we barely make it month to month and now we are month to month on rent.  Folks do not realize what we do, or how we do it, it truly is a continued blessing to be able to do this.  I lost my Beloved Father at the end of Jan. and had to close a couple days to be with him, stuff like this is not easy when you have a business, decision making such as this, family, etc. comes first.  I do not have the luxury of volunteerism, nor can we afford to pay, we are every bit the non profit!  We do not even pay ourselves and you do have the option to do so, all the other places like Salvation Army, Savers, Goodwill and many others pay their helpers.  I am pretty sure we never will be able to, and we do not have trustworthy volunteers coming out of the woodwork.  To date we have only had a lot of lipservice for the most part and folks who want to come in and get free items and not work at all, not our idea of helping/volunteer.  Until I find someone who has a heart like we do and a work ethic and joy for helping others I will do it alone.  We have had a few helpers in 5 years now, but they were few and far between, they showed up long enough to enjoy our "perks' and then we never see them again!  I find this so completely sad, but have really built up tough skin now and not at all trusting of others after  being burned by quite a few locals.  We have a lot invested, both monetarily and physically, we have put so much aside to help others, no one really knows but us and God what we do each day to help others.  I see so many who have for profits and they get all the kudos and raves, etc.  I do this for the Lord, and have done without so much in my life, Paul and I both have had a tough childhood and some parts of our adult life were not so joyous.  I feel the Lord has blessed us in our union and knowledge of helping others and just being loving, caring individuals.  Anyone who reads this if you believe in the power of prayer, could you pray for us in our being able to continue this endeavor...  We would really appreciate that so much.  We hope to continue to build this up to be able to help so much more then just offer super awesome pricing on great wearables daily, we do donate to many local non profits but not like we dream of doing with increased sales.  We hope to be able to do so much more then just barely squeak by, we hope to sponsor some very awesome local causes, as well as some national causes.  We just cannot do this pedaling along as we do right now.  Right now it is a pure joy to hear great comments both in the store and to our facebook page on how local families enjoy our prices and our trendy wearables, and how much it truly does help them be able to raise their family and stay on a budget.  We get how tough it can be as we have been doing this same thing for well over 30 years.  I know balance not only our household budget but the clothing closet's meager sales budget and it is not easy at all!!  I keep thinking it should not be this hard, also hard getting items donated in such as kids shoes, kids clothing, plus sizes that are of any quality.  So many donate items that are just not worthy of being passed along.  So many treat us like a garbage can when they give to us, so unkind.  We work diligently to wash, mend, bleach, repair to be able to pass them along to churches and free non profits to help the homeless, etc.  It is not easy, we have been through 2 washers and 2 dryers in less then 5 years out of our own personal budget since we have never achieved the self sufficient buying budget to get items necessary ongoing for the store.  We get numerous calls, both daily and weekly and people wanting money for sponsorship and truth is we need it, we just do not have it.  We have had to make up out of our own pockets money for the rent, utiliites, storage fees and so much more.  Sad thing also is some of the vicious rumor mills of some who have tried to say we are getting rich or not non profit.  I just do not understand how folks can be so cruel, this is the slander that could close the doors on helping more then just the families who come in to save loads of money daily.  I just pray it continues to get better, and put my faith in God that he will keep it going.  he is after all the only person I answer to.  I have learned some very hard truth's and lessons in doing this.  While some may think it is easy, it is from from it.  If we could get gently used and new clothing and not have to work so hard on washing,sorting, mending, and finding homes to keep the stuff we cannot sell out of the landfills it may get a bit easier, but still to this day we get tons of almost unuseable items that should probably get put in the trash.  My hubby and I have saved so many items by bleaching, mending, using paint remover by the gallons, detergents, bleaches, softeners, etc. all to help others, this is not to mention the energy bills, water, time, effort that goes into this daily.  We care so very much about children, foster children and families and do not want to be like other thrift stores that just put it out there stained/torn/dirty and mark up the price to better ceo's and all the terrible stuff we have heard about the other places out there.  We just want a better place for our customers to be able to come, trust in what we always offer, know we care very deeply about their budgets and their families, and always have a nice store for them to enjoy shopping in.  It does not come free, although I do this all very frugally, it still cost about $1300 a month in a no frills way I am able to continue, we do not have heat, long distance, nor a kitchen or storage space within our facility.  We haul more clothing back and forth to keep the store floor clear, most of the time not even having ample space in our family vehicle for more then 2-3 passengers, like gypsies we haul clothing that is donated and have to sort seasons, clothing that is worthy for store, clothing that needs loads of tlc that goes elsewhere from local to overseas, we are making a simple difference, even though no one knows, and it goes unnoticed while the local online news praises items that are small in comparison to our acheivements we continue to do our work for the Lord and not blink on the other small town topics, never easy, and mostly hurtful.  I keep thinking aren't we all put here to serve the Lord?  Why are we all not more helpful/volunteer's?  I guess my expectations are way too high.  Asking for your prayers as we have had MANY tell us they would not know what to do without our store.  I don't want them to ever have to wonder, but we need more sales/volume to continue.  To be continued.....