Each year after Christmas, op shops and thrift stores see a deluge in donations, which often means staff can be stretched thin.
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The cause is a combination of staff shortages and an influx in donations, according to Salvation Army Thrift Shop co-manager Shirley Mellington.
"We were pretty much inundated after Christmas," Ms Mellington said.
"Everyone's having a bit of a cleanout... everything's settled down a bit but it was pretty chaotic there for the first week.
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"We got to the stage where we had to close the bin for a short while."
Ms Mellington said keeping the situation under control was just about monitoring donation levels.
"We just have to gauge what comes in, what we can take and what we can fit in really," she said.
Donating could also mean donating time, Ms Mellington said.
"We've had people away but we don't have a big staff anyway, we could always do with a few more volunteers," she said.
Salvation Army Horsham co-captain Chris Sutton concurred.
"As we've had Christmas, some of our volunteers have taken time off which has meant less to sort to get through the donations," Mr Sutton said.
"We've been a bit light on the numbers and with people being on holiday and having cleanouts after Christmas we've seen a bit of an increase in donations."
While the post-Christmas-New Year was a high point in donations, Mr Sutton said COVID-19 had also led to a spark in donations.
"All the lockdowns have meant people have been at home... we have found donations have increased during those times," he said.
The Wimmera Mail-Times contacted the St Vincent de Paul Society for comment but had not received a response by time of publication.
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