Michael Ream practices what he preaches.
Raised on a homestead in Fairbanks, Ala., he was taught to waste not, want not.
“You use stuff until it doesn’t have a function anymore,” Ream said. “You grow up frugal. My grandmother was totally enamored with garage sales … I’ve maintained that lifestyle for the last 50-odd years.”
So when Ream’s wife Shelly noticed a help wanted ad for a manager at The Exchange, he knew he was the man for the job. The couple, with their 15-year-old son Jeffrey in tow, moved from Alaska to Orcas two months ago.
Ream is working 20 hours a week as the Exchange’s official manager. George Post founded the organization 27 years ago as a way for Orcas Islanders to both donate and pick up reusable items like clothes, books, and tools. Located at the transfer station, it is a hub of activity on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The Exchange is operated by Orcas Recycling Services, a non-profit. Post serves as president of the board of directors.
“There has always been someone who was overlooking the whole facility, but it wasn’t as tight as it could have been,” Post said. “We just needed to strengthen the role.”
Ream is assisted by six staff members and up to five volunteers. Monetary donations made to the Exchange cover the cost of staffing and overhead. Donated loose change is part of the “Exchange Change” program; all of that money is given to a different island non-profit each month.
“Everything that is here works – and it has for nearly three decades,” Ream said. “The changes I will make are only to better serve the community.”
Top on his list is cleaning up the outdoor portion of the Exchange, a veritable backyard of appliances, furniture, and tools haphazardly thrown together.
“Our goal is to get it all cleaned up before winter,” Ream said.
Much of the Exchange’s appeal is its melting pot of items. For some in the community, it’s their primary source of clothing, books, household goods, bedding, and furniture. For others, it’s a place to browse for that one special item or look for art materials.
“We get everything you can – and can’t – imagine,” Ream said.
As an official “Electronics Waste Collector,” the Exchange does accept TVs, computer monitors and processing units, but Ream says printers, scanners, satellite receivers and other computer components are not part of the program and should not be donated.
In addition, for safety and inventory control, he reminds everyone who is dropping off items to wait for a staff person to peruse the goods before leaving them.
Ream says he and his family are settling into island life. For fun, he makes leaded glass, goes fishing, and “talks to people a lot.” Plus, he is still unpacking.
Ream is a carpenter by trade, and after hammering nails for the past 45 years, he is feeling renewed with a shift in careers, particularly one that aligns with his philosophy on recycling.
“The way our society is set up, people throw away nearly everything,” Ream said. “It’s always been baffling to me how people can just buy stuff, decide they are tired of it, and then throw it away.”
