The following hours are likely to be definite but if you’re thinking of coming in/bringing donations it’s best to ring in advance on the sketchy days! 0207 254 5318.
December 19-23: regular opening hours, 10-530.
December 24: open between 10am and 2pm.
December 25-27: closed.
December 28: likely to be open, but call to make sure.
December 29-31: regular opening hours, 10-530.
January 1-2: closed.
January 3: normal hours resume.
If you want to donate items to Oxfam and we’re not open, then you can donate clothes to the donation bank at approximately 401 Kingsland Road, opposite the small post office.
If you’re thinking about bringing in donations when we’re open, then, firstly, thank you! It’s because of the awesome donations we get from our local community that our shop is so good.
Secondly, now that nice bit’s out the way — please think hard about what you give to us. At this time of year we get a LOT of stuff, and we also become unexpectedly short-handed at times when our volunteers get sick, or the weather stops them coming in, or they have childcare issues, or they go on holiday.
After New Year for the last two years we’ve had to stop accepting donations for a day or so, because we literally couldn’t store any more. This gets a bit frustrating because we have to turn people away who are probably giving us nice stuff — it’s even more frustrating when we finally sort through what we have downstairs and have to recycle/throw away 70% of what we get given (see here for more on this stat).
All we ask is that you apply this quick checklist to your donation:
- Have I seen the item for sale in Oxfam? (Furniture/electricals for example – we don’t sell them!)
- Is the item in saleable condition? (Shoes with broken heels, books with missing pages, etc.)
- Would I buy it from Oxfam? (Overwashed/faded clothes, crockery with food stains, etc.)
