Christina Kravig knows what it is like to be without. A few years ago, she lost everything in a house fire while raising two children on her own. This was in Woodstock, where the community came together to help her out. “Their generosity made my heart full of hope,” she said. Kravig never forgot that feeling.

After that experience she was able to make enough money by buying and selling second-hand items to rent a local house with the option to buy. She admits that the house was in pretty rough shape, but she was able to buy the house and fix it up and then sell it when the housing market was hot during the pandemic.

While in Covid-19 lockdown she went online and bought large quantities of jewelry. It’s easy to store and she said she wanted to learn what the jewelry market was like. She resold the items for a profit.

Kravig has spent many years traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada, finding great bargains by checking out thrift stores. That’s when she came up with a plan to open up her own store: Free to Thrift on Morton Boulevard in the Town of Ulster. She has three basic rules for running her store: keep things out of the landfill, accept all donations (except large plastic children’s toys, medical supplies and furniture) and pay her workers a fair living wage.

Kravig, who notes there is too much exploitation going on, has modeled Free to Thrift to counterbalance that exploitation. The planet is exploited when trash is thrown into landfills, she said, but she believes that most items still have value to someone. Workers are exploited by being paid low wages, too.

Free to Thrift sells donated items, and the prices are on sliding scale. The longer the items are on the shelf the more the price is reduced. Eventually if items have not sold, they are given away. There is never a dumpster at Free to Thrift, Kravig said.

Kravig supports several local charities in Ulster County, and this holiday season she is additionally going to make cash donations to families in need within the county. She has a form to fill out in her store if anyone wants to nominate a family that needs help. On the form she asks how the nominator knows the family, some of the hardships they are enduring, and why they think this gift will be a blessing for them. The recipients will be chosen on Dec. 20.

Kravic said she wants to give those families’ hearts hope, like she was given hope by her community after the fire. “Humans are the most valuable thing,” she said with a smile.

For more information, check out the Free to Thrift website: https://freetothrift.com/, visit them at 1050 Morton Blvd., Suite 2, in Kingston, or call them at 845-288-4023.