Habitat's store to sell donated home supplies
Thursday, April 05, 2007
BY JAMIE DUFFY
For the Star-Ledger
Need a new kitchen? Granite countertop? You might get it at ReStore.
Do-it-yourselfers and small contractors are expected to flock to ReStore, a venue for donated building and home supplies, once the retail store opens this spring, said officials for Morris County Habitat for Humanity, the store's owner and operator.
"Complete kitchens, cabinetry, granite countertops, brand new doors and windows. We get so many calls from business or homeowners offering new or slightly used items. We didn't have any place to take it. When we did research we said 'why aren't we taking advan tage of these donations?'" ex plained Joanne Arnold, ReStore's director.
Profits from the new store will help fund Habitat construction projects. The ReStore program, which began 15 years ago, typically offers building supplies and home furnishings at 50 to 80 percent off retail, she said.
Morris Habitat has leased 16,000 square feet of warehouse space in a Mine Hill industrial park that also is home to Gardens of the World, Allied Lumber and Nationwide Trucking. About 85 percent of the people who will work there will be volunteers, some of whom need hours for required sweat equity. Partner families "must participate," said Arnold. With 300 re quired hours to serve, "this is just one more venue," she added.
Some ReStore operations are run as thrift stores, such as two in South Jersey. However, the Mine Hill location will reflect typical local donations, some of which would ordinarily wind up in landfills. Conscientious homeowners have often called offering "a 3-year old kitchen, saying it's a sin to get rid of it," Arnold said.
Other donations could be wrong sizes or wrong colors that businesses can't sell.
ReStore offers a tax deduction for the donation and will also pick up donations, Arnold said. To do nate or look for volunteer opportunities, Arnold suggests clicking on
Morris Habitat for Humanity: Moving Faith to Action for information.
Overstocked, discontinued or slightly damaged donations must be of good quality and no more than three years old. Household appliances can be up to seven years old if they're in good working condition.
Other items typically donated include architectural items such as columns, mantels, antique windows, cabinets, countertops and doors; electrical wire plugs, plates and associated hardware; flooring materials such as rugs, carpeting and padding, vinyl or ceramic tile, and wood flooring; all types of sinks and bathtubs with no rust or cracks, plumbing hardware; roofing materials and gutters, sheetrock, tools, vinyl siding; furniture; lighting fixtures; lumber and paint.
ReStore will not accept blinds, broken or unframed glass, mattresses, soft goods such as clothing or toxic or hazardous chemicals. Ar nold said that it provides builders with recycling alternatives to dumping and saves on disposal costs.
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