All Things Tossed & Found 2016

Rummage donations, special events and sale weekend, oh my! Tossed & Found is in full gear, and we are so excited for the 24th annual sale, Thursday through Sunday, March 18-20.

This email is your one-stop shop for all things Tossed & Found.

Please visit our JLW page for more information and updates on Tossed & Found.

Drop-off Information and Requirements
Tossed & Found is in a new location this year, and the committee can't wait to show it off.

Drop-off Location
Crystal City - 1225 S. Clark Street, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202; Metro: Crystal City, Blue/Yellow lines (Google Map)

Drop-off Dates
Sunday, Jan. 31 (12:30 - 3:30 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 13 (9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Feb. 14 (12:30 - 3:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 17 (6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 20 (9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Feb. 21 (12:30 - 3:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 24 (6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)

Donation Reminders

• All actives & new members are required to donate $50 worth of rummage. Donations should include at least $35 of non-clothing items such as furniture, housewares, books, etc.
• Please bring two completed forms with your rummage donation; one will be for your records. Click here for the donation form.
• Click here for the Tossed & Found price list.
• Make sure all donated items are clean and in good working condition.
• Use your best judgment: If an item really needs to be thrown away, please do so. Our quality is what brings shoppers back year after year.
• We gladly accept shopping bags and hangers.

What to Donate

We accept furniture, antiques, housewares, flat screen TVs, books, jewelry, brand name handbags, baby items and clothing for men, women and children.

What NOT to Donate

We do not accept the following items:

• corporate logo items,
• shoes,
• work-out clothing,
• swimsuits,
• torn or soiled clothing,
• computer monitors or tube TVs,
• outdated textbooks and travel books,
• broken electronics,
• refrigerators, dishwashers, washers/dryers or
• children's items that do not meet current FDA or safety standards.

Mighty Men Furniture Pick-Ups

For the first time, Tossed & Found's Mighty Men pick-up is proud to partner with Zippy Shell Storage and Moving. If you have large furniture donations, please request a Mighty Man pick-up by Friday, Feb. 12 by emailing mightymansignup@gmail.com. Please submit this form with your request.

Volunteer Shift Sign-up

Tossed & Found sale weekend wouldn't be the success it is without our JLW members volunteering for move-in, working shifts, shopping during sale weekend and winding down with move-out.

Please sign up here for a volunteer shift. Working a shift is worth one membership credit!

Note: New Members are required to volunteer for one shift.

Sale Weekend

Join us sale weekend for quality pre-owned housewares, fashion, books, sporting goods, electronics and furniture. Thousands of items will be sold at unbelievable prices! Proceeds from Tossed & Found are used to support JLW's Mission of improving our community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

Tossed & Found's grand opening is Friday, Mar. 18, at the Hoops & High Heels event (see Special Events below).

General shopping hours are as follows:

Saturday, Mar. 19, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sunday, Mar. 20, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Cash or check will be accepted for purchases on March 19 and 20. Cash, check and credit cards will be accepted at Hoops & High Heels on March 18.

Note: The JLW strives in all endeavors to be sensitive to the special needs of its members and guests. If you have any special needs pertaining to attendance of this event, please email tossedandfound@jlw.org.

Special Events

Click here to purchase tickets!

Note: Attendance at each Special Event earns a JLW membership credit.

Diamonds & Dessert

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016

Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Crystal City Shops - 1625 Crystal Square Arcade, Crystal City Underground; Arlington, VA 22202; Metro: Crystal City, Blue/Yellow lines (Google Map)

Join us at Tossed & Found's kickoff event! For the 2nd year in a row, we are excited to host the party in Crystal City in order to meet growing demand. Just in time for Valentine's Day, we are thrilled that Kendra Scott jewelry will be for sale at the event with 20% of all sale proceeds going back to the League. Come enjoy a memorable evening of sips, sweets, music and sparkles! JLW members, friends and dates welcome.

Tickets: $25 advance; $30 at the door. Click here to purchase.

*Can't get enough fabulous Tossed & Found Events? Purchase a combo ticket for Diamonds & Dessert and Hoops & High Heels and save $10. Combo ticket is available for purchase until Tuesday, Feb. 9. Click here to purchase.

Children's Trunk Show

Date: Saturday, Mar. 5, 2016

Time: Early Access 8:30 - 10 a.m.; Main Sale 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Location: Crystal City (main sale site) - 1225 S. Clark Street, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202; Metro: Crystal City, Blue/Yellow lines (Google Map)

The Children's Trunk Show is fun for the whole family! The popular annual event will feature quality pre-owned children's items including clothes, nursery furniture, high chairs, swings, books and toys and will include fabulous vendors including:

• Wren Riley by Amy Riley
• Arbonne by Heidi Miller
• thirty-one by Erin Krekeler
• Children's author & illustrator Sherry Hickey

Tickets: A limited number of Early Access tickets are available for $20 per adult. Main sale tickets are $10 per adult. Kids are FREE! Click here to purchase.

Hoops & High Heels Party

Date: Friday, Mar. 18, 2016

Time: 7 - 10 p.m.

Location: Crystal City (main sale site) - 1225 S. Clark Street, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202; Metro: Crystal City, Blue/Yellow lines (Google Map)

Grab your friends and join Tossed & Found for the grand opening event: the Hoops & High Heels Party! Enjoy a fun-filled evening as you get to be the first to shop for your 'Fabulous Finds.' The event will feature a fantastic live and silent auction of specialty items, luxury services and one-of-a kind getaways. To add to the fun, NCAA March Madness games will be televised coupled with wonderful food and spirited drinks!

Tickets: $45 prior to March 1; $50 after March 1; or $60 at the door. Click here to purchase.

*Can't get enough fabulous Tossed & Found Events? Purchase a combo ticket for Diamonds & Dessert and Hoops & High Heels and save $10. Combo ticket is available for purchase until Tuesday, Feb. 9. Click here to purchase.

Support Tossed & Found

Support the community by purchasing a $40 JLW Community Cash Card!

Your donation provides a JLW community partner, a neighbor in need or a community organization of your choice the opportunity to purchase $40 worth of items at our 2016 sale. The cards will be distributed by a member of the Tossed & Found Committee to these deserving groups. The cards are redeemable for merchandise only, have no cash value and are only valid on the weekend of the 2016 Tossed & Found sale (Mar. 19-20, 2016).

Fun! Fun! Fun!The Junior League of Washington’s Children’s Trunk Show is Saturday, March 8^th from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Crystal City. Bargain shoppers will love our quality pre-owned children’s clothes, furniture, high chairs, swings, toys, books, and maternity gear. Tons of brand new Lansinoh products too! Our “quality corner” features new children’s items and gently used designer children’s clothes. Fun for the whole family with entertainment, drawings and lite refreshments. Tickets $10; kids are FREE. Cash or check only for purchased merchandise.

Bring an unopened package of disposable diapers or baby wipes with you and receive 1 free drawing ticket.

Proceeds from the sales at Tossed & Found go to support the mission of the Junior League of Washington, including our focus on promoting literacy in the Washington area. For more information, visit www.jlw.org

Metro accessible (Crystal City stop - blue/yellow line) and free parking! 251 18th Street, South, 8th Floor, Arlington, VA.

My Tossed and Found Experience

When I was a new member (in 2003-2004), I volunteered for my new member shift at Tossed & Found move in day at the previous site, Tuesday Morning in Rockville. It was cold, dirty, wet and my first assignment was to sweep the floor and clean it up as best I could. Within an hour, I was covered head to toe in dirt and dust, with water spots from the leaking ceiling. An hour later I found myself working the book section with 3 other new members- Angie Quinn (my best friend from college), Kim O’Connor Tuomey, and Elisabeth Somerville. Angie and I met Kim and Elisabeth the first time that day in books…at one point I said to the other three, “Who would ever want to be on this committee?” They of course agreed….

A few years later, I received a call from nominating to be the Chair for Tossed & Found’s 2010 sale. For some reason I said yes…even with doubts and memories of my first Tossed & Found experience at Tuesday Morning on my mind. Turns out the great site that Vornado has donated in Crystal City for the past 7 years is nothing like Tuesday Morning and it gets better with each year. This year, Tossed & Found has a new site at 251 18th Street South, 5th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202- with windows!

It turns out that thanks to that dreadful morning at the Tuesday Morning site, Kim, Angie, Elisabeth and I are extremely great friends today. I returned for a second stint as Chief of Staff. Kim is a co-chair for the 2013 sale and Angie for the 2014 sale. We all love T&F for the camaraderie, the satisfaction of seeing a warehouse full of piles of clothes, kitchen items and furniture all transform into a neatly organized store and lots of low dollar purchases can all add up to over $120,000 for JLW’s literacy initiatives.

I hope to see you at T&F this weekend or if you are unable to make the sale, please consider purchasing a Community Cash Card! Your donation provides a JLW Community Partner, a Neighbor In Need, or Community Organization of your choice the opportunity to purchase $40 worth of items at our 2013 sale.

Amber Huffman
Tossed and Found, Chief of Staff

Give a Placement A Second Look

When I was a new member, in 2003-2004, I volunteered for my new member shift at Tossed and Found’s move in day at the Tuesday Morning location in Rockville. It was cold, dirty, wet and my first assignment was to sweep the floor and clean it up as best I could. Within an hour, I was covered head to toe in dirt and dust, with water spots from the leaking ceiling. An hour later I found myself working the book section with 3 other new members- Angie Quinn (my best friend from college), Kim O’Connor Tuomey, and Elisabeth Somerville. Angie and I met Kim and Elisabeth the first time that day in books… at one point I said to the other three, “Who would ever want to be on this committee?” They of course agreed….

A few years later, I received a call from nominating to be the Chair for Tossed and Found’s 2010 sale. For some reason I said yes… even with doubts and memories of my first Tossed and Found experience at Tuesday Morning on my mind.

Turns out the great site that Vornado has donated in Crystal City for the past 6 years is nothing like Tuesday Morning and it gets better with each year. This year, Tossed and Found turned 20! And at an alumnae breakfast, I learned that I wasn’t the only one that thought they’d never do T&F. Of the 20 or so past chairs and members of the T&F committee gathered together… everyone had a similar story. Several transferred out of the league and came back mid-year and the only placement with significant requirements still left was T&F- with a groan, they took it and never left. All ended up chairing. All gathered around the circle had fun stories, happy memories.

When Caren Forsten (our current JLW President) was chair, they lost the site a week before the first drop off and 74 people dropped off their rummage in her 1 bedroom apartment! There were lots of stories about pregnant chairs and Tossed and Found babies. Many had children that spent their first 6 months at the site. All have friends they met at T&F that they still talk to today. Many still close friends. And everyone continues to volunteer at a shift… normally Sunday, Bag Day! We all love T&F for the camaraderie, the satisfaction of seeing a warehouse full of piles of clothes, kitchen items and furniture all transform into a neatly organized store and lots of low dollar purchases can all add up to over $120,000.

It turns out that thanks to that dreadful morning at the Tuesday Morning site, Kim, Angie, Elisabeth and I are extremely great friends today. Elisabeth and I chaired Bright Beginnings for 2 years together, and Angie and Kim chaired Langley for 2 years and have worked the Tossed and Found Administration Sub-Committee for the last 3 years. Elisabeth even joined Tossed and Found as a secondary placement the year I was chair. Kim will be chair for the 2013 sale. And Angie for the 2014 sale.

So... be careful of first impressions, they aren’t always right. Give a placement a second look. It doesn’t have to be Tossed and Found (although I highly recommend you try it again!), but give a placement that you may not think is a good fit for you a second look. Hopefully you’ll meet great friends and enjoy your league experience as much as all of us have!

Amber Huffman

Community Cash Cards make an impact

If you ever wondered what the Tossed and Found Community Cash Cards can do for the JLW community partners, I have a great success story for you! Two vans from Community Family Life Services arrived bright and early to take advantage of the great shopping. Thanks to the cash cards, 9 of the 16 CFLS families were able to obtain much needed items for their homes and families.

Overheard in each space – “I wish I had started in the other room, there is so much we need!” Small appliances, clothing, furniture, utensils and other kitchen items as well as baby clothing and accessories were snapped up by the women. Many of the kids were able to come, and pick out toys. One little boy even got his first bike!

The families and CFLS employees were so grateful for the opportunity to shop and fulfill their needs for both individuals and the organization. Thanks to the Tossed and Found volunteers and the donations of the cash cards, the JLW was able to make a huge impact for CFLS!

Loading the vans

Happy shoppers

Are you in it to pin it?

Last month, I spent an evening in Crystal City, helping to set up shop for the upcoming annual Tossed and Found event. Being a new member, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived for my work shift. Over the course of the evening I was impressed with the vast array of clothing, home goods, books, furniture, kitchenware and holiday items. I found myself looking at all these wares with a fresh new eye. I could see these items re-purposed and reinvented in new ways. Items that were no longer needed by their previous owners could get a second chance in a new home.

The next morning it hit me. I was scanning the racks and rows at Tossed and Found, looking at things from the Pinterest Perspective.

Are you pinning yet? I’m referring to the incredibly popular (and addictive!) website, Pinterest. The website recently hit the notable mark of 10 million monthly visitors. What’s even more impressive is that it reached that number faster than Facebook or Twitter.

What’s contributing to Pinterest’s surge in status is its rapidly growing popularity with women. Young and old alike, droves of women are turning to Pinterest for recipes, wedding and event inspiration, crafting ideas and home décor suggestions. On the site, users are able to create boards and name them, like “wedding” or “kitchen.” When you find images you like, you simply “pin” them to the desired board. You can pin things you see around the web, even creating a Pinterest button on your web browser’s toolbar for easy pinning. But I think the more popular method is to re-pin things you see on the boards of your friends and other Pinterest users you follow.

So now that you've hit up Tossed and Found, consider spending some time online getting inspired for what you may be able to do with your fabulous T&F finds!

Editor's note: AJLI has joined Pinterest this week. Follow them for plenty of Jr League inspiration

Tossed and Found Work Shift

As a JLW New Member, this was my first experience with Tossed & Found, a giant rummage sale benefiting JLW’s literacy community programs. When I arrived for my three-hour work shift at the Tossed & Found space in the Crystal City Shops in Arlington, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of donated merchandise: linens, books, children’s items, furniture, holiday décor, handbags, clothes, clothes, and more clothes!

During my volunteer shift, I worked in three different areas: pricing items in the children’s area (The JLW Tossed & Found Committee has created an amazing children’s boutique in this space!); sorting linens, and helping sort and merchandise holiday décor items. It was fun to see all of the donated merchandise and learn what a significant impact Tossed & Found has on the JLW’s mission and its community partners. I was also impressed with my volunteer shift partners who had incredible hidden talents in organizing, merchandising and pricing these items!

Leaving my shift, I was amazed at how the vast assortment of donations was transforming from “piles of stuff” into a thoughtfully designed shopping experience.

I was there to work, but I was definitely scoping out some of the great items on hand! If you’re looking for some new handbags, beach reads, holiday decorations, home accessories, or children’s clothing – you won’t want to miss JLW’s 20th Annual Tossed & Found General Shopping Days: Saturday, March 24 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and Sunday, March 25 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)!

Spring Cleaning

Does the thought of going through that box that has been sitting in your garage or basement overwhelm you? Do you wish someone would clear out that hall closet while you are out so you wouldn't have to do it? Spring cleaning is one of those items that can stay on your "to do" list for weeks, even months. But once you have tackled the task of getting those boxes, closets and basements cleared, you always feel better. Now what do you do with those items that you no longer want or need? That is the easy part. Donate those goods and give them a new life!

For 11 years, I have been cleaning out my closets, cabinets and garage for the Tossed and Found Rummage Sale. What started out as an annoying membership requirement, quickly became a favorite way to make new space, support a JLW fundraiser and allowed me to recycle my gently used goods back into the community.


The rummage sale grew on me. My journey on the Tossed and Found Committee began as a half placement and I admit that I was a reluctant participant that first year. I didn't know anyone on the committee and the thought of sorting other member's donated items was not my idea of a good weekend. In fact, it sounded like a waste of time. But something happened while organizing all the interesting items our membership donates. I made friends and discovered that this rummage sale isn't just about raising funds to support the JLW mission. It was about the clothes, the electronics, the house wares and the furniture that our shoppers joyfully took home. These donated items were not just bargains, they were great finds in the eyes of the beholder.

I served on Tossed and Found for seven years and I realized over that time period that the sale really reached our diverse Washington, D.C. community. And with the economy struggling, our reach has grown, providing the JLW a great opportunity to share our story and increase our awareness. Our shoppers include JLW members, bargain hunters, antique dealers and families or individuals in transition, to name a few. They come from different parts of the city and all are looking for a different need. So, when you finally get around to your spring cleaning, donate your gently used items to the JLW Tossed and Found Rummage Sale. As a member you will be fulfilling a requirement. But you will also be giving your items a new life, supporting our mission and reaching the community in another way. Now, doesn't that feel good?

For information about the 2012 Tossed and Found Rummage Sale, click here.