Rylie Horrall  |  Lifestyle Editor

For many college students, money can be a burden that weighs heavy on minds. Because of this, finding cheap options for household items and clothes is a welcome relief. For me, it feels rewarding to find thrift stores that sell these items at a reasonable price, and luckily there’s a few options near Western.

Help and Hope to Others, more commonly known as H2O, is located in Dallas at 451 SE Maple Street. It’s a secondhand non-profit thrift store that accepts donations from the surrounding community. It then sells everything they receive at much lower and affordable prices, and their stock is constantly changing based on what is donated.

Their mission statement expresses that they wish to help those in need, and the store itself has a few ways of helping the community. For example, they have food boxes available for families in need to pick up, and also have a Helping Hand program to provide household items that struggling families and individuals are looking for; both are programs that volunteers can help with. H2O is open from Mon–Sat from 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

In Independence, there’s a thrift store located at 150 C St called Fashion Sense. It was initially open in Monmouth for about a year back in 2016, but moved into a larger space in Independence in 2017. In addition to clothes, Fashion Sense also buys back various furniture and home decor. They try to buy items from customers as much as they can, but due to the limited amount of space, try to pick out items that will sell the quickest. In addition, clothes that are being sold can be brought in bags and don’t have to be on hangers, but all commodities brought in should be cleaned and washed.

Everything that’s sold in the shop is at a low price point, and can be shipped once bought or held in store until it can be picked up. Fashion Sense is open from 12–6 p.m. on Monday and from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Tues–Sat. 

Robin’s Roost is a store located at 283 S 2nd St in Independence, but, according to their most recent post on Facebook, have begun closing their doors after nine years. They still remain open on Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m.–6 p.m., and on Saturday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. to clear out inventory. Offers can still be made on their remaining stock; if one of their signs is out on the corners of the street, then they are still open.

Contact the author at rhorrall17@wou.edu