HABITAT FOR HUMANITY’S RESTORE REOPENS AFTER 10-WEEK RENOVATION
Whole new home improvement experience awaits consumers, writes Erin Petrow.
Recent renovations at Restore — the centre where Saskatoon Habitat for Humanity sells donated items — have made sustainable home shopping easier than ever.
After being closed for 10 weeks to undergo renovations, Restore’s bright walls, open aisles and easy-to-find signage make it a whole new experience for shoppers, says Saskatoon Habitat for Humanity CEO Brenda Wallace.
“It has much more space for displaying and having materials so people can actually see what we have here. It’s also been insulated so it’s a much more comfortable experience,” she says. “But this is only the first stage — there are many more updates coming.”
Restore acts as the financial backbone for Habitat for Humanity.
Donations from the public are sold, which provides funds to help build homes for local families.
Donors leave the store with a sense of doing good for the community and a tax receipt.
“It’s basically a pay-it-forward system,” explained Mark Soloway, the director of resource development.
“We will take (donations of ) almost anything and, if we don’t take it, we can provide you the information of where it can go … There are even things (donated) that I see and think ‘We are not going to be able to sell that,’ and then it goes within a day.”
Soloway says a lot of what comes through the doors are do-it-yourself and home renovation project supplies — the tile section is one of Restore’s most popular — as a lot of people tend to have leftover supplies after replacing floors throughout their homes.
Wallace notes it’s not only used items in the store; lots of new items come through the doors thanks to local businesses donating surplus items when clearing out unsold inventory.
Restore is a great place to look for furniture — though Soloway warns that if you’re interested in something you should snatch it up because furniture doesn’t tend to last long on the showroom floor.
“We just had an Italian leather sofa, love seat and chair come in — they were beautiful, just beautiful,” he said.
“It only lasted a few hours before it got sold … It’s incredible the amount of furniture that comes in and out.
“Our employees joke that it’s basically a new store in the furniture section every half day.”
Even if you’re not looking for furniture, there are gems to be found in all sections of the store. From exercise equipment, vintage stereo systems, light fixtures and more, it is hard to leave the store empty-handed.
“Every time I come down I have to tell myself to stop looking because there (are) treasures everywhere,” Wallace said, laughing.
And if you see something you like on the store’s Facebook or Instagram pages but can’t get to the store, Wallace said you can always call the store and send through an e-transfer to take the item off the market. Then simply come by to pick it up within an agreed period of time; usually Restore holds items for about two days.
Wallace says Restore hopes to offer sales on its website soon.
Soloway said Restore was worried about selling off its stock, shutting down for 10 weeks and being unable to accept donations during the renovation period, but it seems most people were happy to hold on to their donations until the store reopened and Restore’s stock is slowly starting to fill out once again.
“Before, there were so many little things in here, little knickknacky things, that we just don’t currently have — but as donations continue to come in we’ll get them again,” Soloway said.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORE SASKATOON
Address: 122 Avenue D South
Hours: Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.
Phone: 306-343-7763
Website: restoresaskatoon.ca
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