hey this is savvy from the Free Store in East Peoria Illinois called Enough Stuff I’m hanging out I just closed up for the night and everything you see in this store is free and that’s a wild concept but we’re kind of the one of the first retail spaces right where we actually pay rent on a retail space but we still offer everything for free many people ask us how does it work well that’s a great question because really if you asked a business person it shouldn’t work and it probably couldn’t work but we’ve been here for four and a half years giving everything away for free not because it makes necessarily good business sense but because people are good and they’re generous they’re generous with the items that they donate to us they’re generous with their money when they do have some to donate to our cause um any money that somebody gives is voluntary uh it’s optional right you can shop here and take stuff for free anytime that you want um but many people do donate money when they’re here we have a card reader and a little cash donation bin and people can donate money on our website so the generosity of people willing to give to their community is how we keep going and then of course the generosity of time and spirit that we have from all of our volunteers that run this place sort all the donations they keep the place clean and they’re the ones who greet you and help you when you come to the free store it’s an amazing experiment and it both challenges me and lifts my spirit every single day of the last four and a half years where we give away everything that we possibly can to whomever wants it if uh if somebody he works and is a millionaire that person can come here too and shop for free it just doesn’t matter if somebody doesn’t have an address and is living outdoors you are also welcome we can share that space together uh because we don’t ask for any personal identifying information when you come in we don’t need to know your name or your income or your zip code we don’t need to know how many people live in your household it really is like a great equalizer where people can come in and look for treasure just because they like to thrift and they wanna find something cool or they just wanna reduce the amount of stuff that they consume that’s bought new from a store you can use this place like a library like nobody needs every single one of these that’s okay you can just come here because you want something not because you need it and if you are in need I hope that you come and that you drink the free coffee and get a cup of cold water because we have that here too um I hope that you get clothing that you need and that you also want and I hope that you also like it because we have some options so choose what you like come get things for free and whenever you’ve got money to donate we’ll take it we’ll apply that to our monthly rent and utilities and all our miscellaneous expenses um but that’s just optional that’s just what people can do because they have it and they are so generous with it so thank you community for being part of enough stuff the Free Store in East Peoria Illinois