If you’re anything like me and you get engulfed by a pile of your clothes whenever you open your closet and are in desperate need of a closet cleanup, you’ve come to the right place. In the spirit of environment week here at Her Campus Helsinki, I have decided to compose a small list of flea markets and other useful hints on how to recycle your secondhand items here in Helsinki. Whether you’re trying to face those skeletons and in your closet and get rid of all your unwanted stuff or simply looking for student friendly prices these tips might just come in handy.
1. Kaivarin Kanuuna
For many, Kaivarin Kanuuna has become the number one place to find quality second hand bargains in Helsinki. Located at the seashore in Eira, this secondhand hot spot offers a wide selection of items varying from clothes and textiles to books and furniture. For those in search for a bit more upscale items there’s even an entire room dedicated to designer goods. Due to Kaivarin Kanuuna’s growing popularity and awing location prices might be a bit higher than usual, but the store makes up for its pricing with good quality and reliability.
Address: Merikatu 3
Find out more about opening times and sales spots here: www.kaivarinkanuuna.fi
2. Recci
This new addition to Helsinki’s secondhand scene can be found just a few blocks from the university’s downtown campus. Recci is upheld by Tekstiilipankki and the store’s aim is to significantly reduce the amount of textiles that are burned or disposed of at landfills. You can either sell or donate your clothes at the store as long as they are in decent condition. All items that don’t get sold will be passed on to further use and utilised in for instance car manufacturing. If you want do your share and keep a few garments from ending up at the dump prematurely, Recci is a good place to start.
Address: Unioninkatu 25
More detailed info about the store can be found at: www.recci.fi
3. Fida and Uff
Fida and Uff are the biggest second hand store chains in Finland and both have various stores in the Helsinki region. You can either buy or donate items at their stores and most of their donations and profits go to helping people in need. At Uff’s donation spots you can donate clothes, textiles, shoes, toys and sporting equipments. Fida on the other hand receives furniture and other donations in addition to clothes. By donating clothes you seldom use you can end up giving someone a real treasure and brand new life for your clothes.
Learn more about how Fida and Uff operate and where you can find their nearest stores at www.fida.info and www.uff.fi.
4. Hietalahti flea market
No doubt the biggest and most popular outdoors flea market in Helsinki is organized at Hietalahti square. Hietalahti (or ‘hietsu’) market is a self-service flea market where you can sell or buy all sorts of clothes and random items. Hietalahti is usually crowded with visitors especially on sunny days, but this market is definitely worth a visit or few. If you’re interested in selling your things at Hietalahti market be sure to reserve a selling spot well in advance as they get booked rather quickly.
Make sure to check out the market’s website: www.hietsunkirppis.fi
5. Cleaning day
Cleaning Day is a biannual celebration of flea markets and recycling. The very first Cleaning Day was held in the spring of 2012 and the event has been growing ever since. The idea is that anyone can sell their secondhand items either at home or on the streets and other public places. To make sure that others will find your sales spot you can sign it up to the official Cleaning Day sales map online. This year Cleaning Day is held on May 28 and August 27 and although the event mainly takes place in Finland you can participate wherever you want!
Find out more detailed info about the event at: siivouspaiva.com/en/
6. Facebook recycling groups
One of the easiest and handiest ways to recycle your unwanted items is, of course, to sell them online. Facebook recycling groups have become an huge phenomenon over the past few years and these days there are more groups than one could possibly handle. The most convenient ones are areal recycling groups as there you can sell or buy clothes from people living near you. Recycling your clothes won’t get any simpler than this as all you need to do is upload the details and a couple of pictures of the items you are selling and then wait for buyers to comment on your posts. Keep in mind that recycling groups usually have an etiquette of their own so before you get started, familiarize yourself with their slang and ways.
7. Clothes swapping
Who ever said that clearing out your closet has to be a tedious and solemn job had it all wrong. Call up a few friends and tell them to gather up all their unwanted clothes and have yourselves a clothes swapping party at home. This way you can both make cleaning far more enjoyable by hanging out with your friends and possibly find a few treasures amongst your friends’ old clothes.