Totally agree with that! I went to a Restore recently for the first time, and WOW...didn't find anything that I immediately needed other than a handful of vintage solid brass drawer pulls. OK, so I didn't actually NEED them, but they were .50, and very cool, and you never know when you'll need a single pull.

I was looking for light fixtures and door hardware, but was very impressed with the selection and the prices. There's not one close to me, but I plan to make the trip regularly. Our house has many needs.

I went there a few months ago when I was back in the area. They have some really cool stuff. The furniture seemed overpriced.

I suspect it's a hit and miss place that you need to visit regularly.

I forgot to mention I was drooling over the Blum drawer slides of all sizes! I just looked up the locking mechanism, 'cause they need those, & they're only $5.00!!

You know how important those slides are....

Christine

Oh. my. GOODNESS. You have an excellent re-use place. I always check our Re-Store...but haven't hit paydirt yet. I have faith I will, though!

That's great! The entire time we were refurbishing our house, I wanted to go to one of those places. Maybe they'd have what we need to redo our stairs and the porch outside. Amongst some other things we have a stainless steel sink and faucet to donate to our local store, if I can ever find it that is. LOL They're only 2 years old so I'd love to find them a new home.

If you can't find a reuse center and want to find them a good home, try freecycle. Someone will happily claim them & they'll definately be used.

I've donated countertops with sinks & faucets attached & they people who picked them up were so very excited. :)

Freecycle doesn't give receipts, tho. [LOL]

Christine

Thanks Christine! I'll do that! I don't care about the receipts at this point. I really just wanted it to find a home so we can get it out of the basement.

If you're not familiar with them, it's Freecycle dot org. Every community has this mailing list. The rules are that what you offer must be free, appropriate, & the person who wants it must pick it up.

You can also ask for something. When we had a fire, I asked for pet/cat supplies. OMG, did people come out of the woodwork to give us a hand!

It's a yahoo list, so I set it not to receive any mail. I just post when I have something to get rid of & responses come directly to me. Some lists are incredibly active.

It's easier than taking stuff to donate! :)

Christine

Another shopper at H for H restore. I bought new light fixtures still in the box for $15~~box was marked $129. ;o)

Ruthie here, I work at the nonprofit thrift store mentioned (I hope this doesn't violate Garden Web's rules for businesses, I just want to share some tips & info for shopping & donating at organizations like this)

CEFreeman - Thanks so much for this post! Everyone knows you can donate clothing to Goodwill, but so few people even know that this kind of resource exists for reusing building & landscaping materials. I'm glad you had fun and found such useful stuff!

For folks in other places: there are several U.S. directories that list home improvement thrift stores. Between the three directories, you should be able to find every building materials reuse center in the country. They are:

http://loadingdock.org/about/NationalReuse/index.html

http://www.bmra.org/listings/browse-by-state?sobi2Task=search

http://www.habitat.org/restores

Earth911.org is also a great resources for things you want to get rid of - you can enter your zip code and what kind of item you have, and it gives you all sorts of local donation and recycling options.

Graywings - you're exactly right about it being hit-or miss. It's like going to a flea market or a clothing thrift store; often folks come in looking for one thing, but they walk out with something else entirely. I have noticed that the people who get the most amazing stuff visit a couple times a month, at least.

As for the pricier furniture - I suspect that some of the furniture you saw may have been from the store's consignment partner. He is an antiques dealer who travels around the East Coast to estate sales, auctions, etc. to get his vintage items and architectural salvage. So unfortunately, his consignment stuff is not nearly as value-priced as the donated materials in the rest of the thrift store (the staff was a bit nervous that the regulars might be scared off when that section was added - and even now, the staff keeps bugging him to offer more sales!).

However, it has turned out to be a good decision: commercial warehouse space in the DC area is terribly expensive, and the nonprofit was really struggling for survival for the first few years. But since adding Salvage Arts in 2008, the customer base has grown, and the consignment revenue has helped to stablize the finances. Basically, without the pricier furniture, antiques, and decor, the thrift store wouldn't exist, and wouldn't be able to have 10-cent lumber and $5 sinks for the folks who really need them.

But if you don't like the price on something and you're willing to gamble, you might try waiting and keeping an eye on the sales. That's where you'll find the really deep discounts, often when the store receives a lot of a particular kind of item and needs to clear out that department. The same is true at the other nonprofits around the country - you can usually sign up for the mailing list at your local store to find out about their weekly or monthly specials. Some have a particular day of the week when everything is discounted. At some reuse stores, you have to look at the date on the tag because they lower the price each month that the item sits there.

Happy re-using, everyone :-)

-Ruthie

Well that's a helpful post too Ruthie, thanks so much!

Ruthie, thanks for the explanation about the furniture pricing.

Ruthie,
I'm the one who has been coming in 2ce a week for the last 2 months or so to buy cabinets & orphan doors. I don't usually see a lady, we might not have met. Yesterday i was buying hardware and tickled pink about it.

I have an April 21 appointment to have my barn cleaned out. We're waiting for the ground to be hard. Don't know that there's a lot in there, but I know there's unused ductwork, an 80s "malachite" king bed and a bunch of what is junk to me. File cabinets. I'm going to be sending back a bunch of the cabinet doors I bought that I didn't need or didn't work.

Anyway, it's a trip for me, but has always paid for itself. I admit yesterday I pulled out six shutters, where one was marked $15 set. Didn't know a set was 2, and despite marked, wooden were $30 - 40. Couldn't afford them so I was disappointed. I'll be back on Thursday...

Christine