(The Item) By Tena Zapantis Guest Column | Your new brown leather boots. Your favorite Chico’s sweater. The patio set that fit perfectly in your screened room. Numerous greeting cards that you have sent. The dress you wore to your last formal event. A small nightstand that was the perfect size. The coffee maker you took to work. Decorations for every holiday including the angel for the top of your Christmas Tree. Brand new toys, many still in the package, that you have given as gifts. The list could go on and on, with each item having one thing in common – they were all bought at a favorite place to shop right here in Clinton at 272 High Street.
Hidden Treasures began as a small thrift shop on High Street in 1988. It has moved a few times since then, but is still on High Street, now in the Sims Cleaners Plaza that sits directly above the Clinton Post Office. It is a go-to place to shop, both when you are looking for something specific and also just to roam around looking for something you never knew you always wanted.
The store is clean and welcoming, and packed with a myriad of items, all at very reasonable prices. Depending on the day, you could find anything from new bedroom curtains to new bedroom furniture. Have a new room to decorate? You could outfit it all, right down to the matching throw rugs, right from Hidden Treasures, at a fraction of the cost that you would spend at other full price retail stores.
Not only is Hidden Treasures a fun place to shop, it also serves an important role for Wheat Community Connections and the clients it serves. All proceeds from Hidden Treasures help support Wheat Community Connections through subsiding its food programs that include the community café where a hot meal is served five nights each week, and their food pantry, providing groceries for many in our community.
All items in the store are donated from community members and local businesses. Other than a short list of items, Hidden Treasures takes donations from anyone in the community looking to clean out their closets, or even their entire homes. For a minimal donation, Hidden Treasures will pick up and deliver items as well.
The store is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you are looking for a place to volunteer, the store always has newly donated items to sort through or organizing areas of the store and welcomes anyone looking for some community service hours.
Not sure who penned the phrase “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” but one thing for sure is that Hidden Treasures will gladly take your “junk” and while you are dropping it off, you may just find treasure as well.