Regular customers

Over the years the ReStore has gotten many regular customers.  Many are landlords or house flippers who buy items for repairs or furniture to stage a house.  Homeowners who need to make repairs on a budget have made the ReStore a frequent stop.  We also have a number of people who simply like to come in often to check out bargains and see what unusual items we have available.  Some people come so often we worry about them if we don't see them for a while.  

The most regular of our customers has his dog, Lucy, with him wherever he goes.  Lucy has gotten to the point that she feels comfortable running around the store and introducing herself to everyone she sees.  This occasionally causes a problem with customers who doesn't like dogs but Lucy is usually quickly distracted by someone else to meet.

Lucy especially enjoys seeing the staff members she has gotten to know over time.  She seems to think Habitat employs a staff of people just to pet her.  She'll head to the office area to see everyone and to get a dog biscuit which we always keep in the breakroom for her.  However, Lucy always runs when she hears her owner call.  

Last Minute Donations

Like other non-profit, our store becomes overwhelmed by donations at the end of the year.  Between people calling to schedule pick-ups and people dropping off we are staying busy attempting to keep up.  We are doing what we can to accommodate all the donors.

Scheduled pick-ups are already booked past the end of the year.  The next opening is in the middle of January.  Donations are accepted at the store during regular store hours.  Our normal hours are Tuesday-Friday 9-4 and Saturday 9-2.  We will be closed both Christmas Day and New Year's Day.  

Because of the increase of donations we will open two extra days for donations only.  Sunday, December 30th and Monday, December 31st we will be available from 10 am until 2pm to receive donations and offer tax receipts.  The store itself will not be open either of those days.

As always, all donations are subject to screening and we reserve rhe right to reject any items.

Office furniture from DuPont

Today we recieved a trailer full of office furniture for The DuPont Company.  We have only just begun to unload and price everything.  The donation includes desks, office chairs, and bookshelves.  It will take a while to unload the entire trailer and get it on the sales floor but we will have some of the items on the floor tomorrow.  The rest will be out as we have room for it on the floor.

New location

Our new location opened on November 10th.  We have had tremedous success in that time.  In fact, we already set a store record for most sales in a month.  Sales had been slow for a few months as we prepared to make the move.  Since we had to fill three times the space everything we received in donations was going to the new store's inventory.  We hope to end this month with sales equal to what we had in the old store for the previous four months.  We are very close.

We had some problems getting phone and internet installed at the new store.  That, and the fact that we were very busy getting the store ready, is why the blog had not been written in over a month.  Now that we are settled in to the new store and everything is running well the blog should go back to being once a week. 

The new location is 3312 Seminole Av Wilmington, DE 19808.  It is just off Newport Gap Pike in Prices Corner.  The phone number, (302) 652-5181, is the same. 

Dunkley's Discount Movers helps with the move again

Dunkley's Discount Movers has come to our rescue again.  We had another company willing to donate a day of moving but they had to cancel last week.  We would have been stuck trying to move all the doors and windows over to the new store with just our box truck but we were able to hire Dunkley's for the day.  Spencer and his crew did a great job moving everything.  In fact they were so fast they wound up moving a few things we weren't planning to send to the new store.  They grabbed things and loaded them up faster than we could say, "No that is staying here."  We now have a Christmas Tree that will be available at the new store that we were going to sell at the old store.

We also had a great group from Capital One volunteering for the day.  They helped with unloading  the truck and placing the doors and windows in racks.

Dunkley Discount Moving helps in ReStore move



Dunkley Discount Movers filled this truck three times and unloaded it at the new ReStore

 When Spencer Dunkley of Dunkley Discount Movers heard that the ReStore would be moving he generously offered the use of his company for one day.  Yesterday his company gave us a huge boost by moving three truckloads of merchandise from the current store into the new location.  In one day we went from a virtually empty building to having almost enough furniture and appliances to open.  We still need to move many other items, especially doors and windows, but this has given us a great start on the move.  Spencer and his crew moved everything quickly, safely, and professionally.

Spencer Dunkley loading up his truck with merchandise to take to the new ReStore

Today our ReStore truck will be used to move more merchandise over.  We also have staff and volunteers at the new location to arrange items and everything needs to be priced.

Because the truck will be engaged in moving merchandise we have had to cut back on scheduled pickups.  Anyone interested in making a donation to the ReStore can take the items to the new store:  3312 Seminole Av.  Wilmington, DE 19808.  We will have people there accepting donations during store hours:  9-4 Tues-Fri and 9-2 on Saturday.

Improvements to new building

Front entrance to store



 The work renovating the new building is done and we should get the certificate of occupancy on Monday.  That will allow us to move sale items into the store.  We have had a number of large donations over the last several months that went into storage since we couldn't fit the donations in the current store.  Those items will be moved over and unloaded starting on Monday.




Racking for doors along back wall

 We were able to get into the store this week to have racking installed.  We have racks up for doors, windows, TVs, and lights.  Shelves and other fixtures have been moved into the store.  We will set them up throughout the store as they are needed.  An Americorps group has been working with the Habitat affiliate and built many of the fixtures for the store.  They also will be available next week to help us start moving into the store.  Several groups have also signed up to help with the move over the next month.

Employee breakroom

The building looks much better than it did when work began in July.  A new roof has been installed, electrical and plumbing have been updated,  the building had been painted, a new door has been added for a customer entrance, doorways have been knocked into the wall to allow easier access between the front area of the store and the back,  and the offices and employee breakroom areas have been redone. 




After all this time it will be a relief to finally get started on the move.  It is going to be a lot of hard work but we are all excited to get to opening day on November 10th.

Update on ReStore move as of 9-21-12

Our access to the new building has been delayed again.  We are now scheduled to get the building turned over to us on October 1st. We have had to adjust some of our plans slightly.  Fortunately we will be able to put shelving in the store next week.  Our plan to have items that are in storage moved over there has to be postponed until after the first.

We have been busy getting shelving ready to be taken to the new location.  Items for sale have been taken off many of the shelves and placed on tables.  We have been painting the shelves Habitat colors of blue and green.  A group from Americorps has  been in the Habitat warehouse building and painting fixtures.  They have also built sawhorses.  The fixtures and shelves will be moved to the new location next week.  We will use the saw horses in the store to set up temporary tables for items for sale.

We had scheduled a company to come in next Tuesday to set up racks and we had Dunkley's Discount Movers coming in Thursday to begin the move of items from storage.  The installation of the racking has been postponed one day and Dunkley's will come Thursday, October 4th.  We will have the Americorps group until the end of that week to help with moving items into the new store..

We are hoping we will not have anymore delays.  November 10th is our grand opening.  It will be difficult enough to get everything done in just over a month.

Thonet reproduction rocking chair to be auctioned

Some time ago we had a Thonet reproduction rocking chair in the ReStore.  Michael Thonet was an innovator in the process of bent wood.  The process allowed many new designs of furniture.  None of us on staff realized that we had a valuable piece of furniture until a volunteer pointed it out to us. We decided not to sell the chair in the store since we could not get enough for it. 

On October 4th, Habitat will have its annual Red, White, and Brew fundraiser.  It consists of wine and beer tasting along with a silent auction.  The Thonet reproduction rocking chair will be one of the items auctioned off.  The fundraiser will be held at The Carriage House at Rockwood Mansion.  For more information or to purchase tickets go to http://www.habitatncc.org/donate/rwb.php. 

Update on ReStore move as of 9-7-12

Things are going along well.  There have been a few more delays in getting the building ready for us to take possession.  We are now expecting to have access to the building by the end of this month.  Once that occurs we will have a lot of work to do to get the store ready for its opening.

First we need to get fixtures installed.  We will have to purchase racks for the new store.  The company that is selling us the racks will install them also.  That will occur right after we gain access and should only take a couple of days. 

We have stored some large donations that did not fit in our current location and those items will be moved to the Prices Corner location and be unloaded.  We expect that to take a few weeks to unload and price those items and get them placed in the store.  Dunkley Discount Movers has offered to spend a day helping us move.  We are also hoping to get a group from Americorps to help for the first couple of weeks that we are moving things into the new store. 

Towards mid to late October we will have everything out of the store.  This includes everything from the office, the register, and all fixtures as well as items for sale.  The new store should be ready to open by early November. 

New staff at the ReStore

As a non-profit we try to keep paid staff down to a minimum.  Volunteers are a great help in doing so but our new location will require a much larger number of full time employees.  In the past we have been fortunate to get either Americorps or Lutheran Volunteer Corps to fill in staffing needs without adding much to payroll.  Members of both groups are paid a stipend and the Americorps stipend is paid by the government.  Both of these programs are a great help to Habitat to advance the mission of building affordable housing.

This year we have increased the number of people we have from these groups.  An LVC member, Tyler, started last week.  Tyler goes out on pick-ups.  Like our last LVC member Tyler is from Minnesota, is quiet, and a hard worker.  Two Americorps members will be starting next week.  Hannah comes from Ohio and Allison is from Western Pennsylvania.  We are looking forward to working with these young people and hope they enjoy their year with Habitat in Delaware.

Further update on ReStore move

As we get closer to moving we are going to have to figure out how to keep the current location open and running as long as possible while still preparing the new location to open.  We will be trying to line up groups of volunteers to help with the move.  A few companies in Wilmington have indicated that employees would be willing to assist.  We also have a group of Americorps NCCC coming in for about three weeks.  Next week a new Lutheran Volunteer Corps member will be starting with the ReStore and three Americorps volunteers will start over the next few weeks. 

The renovations in the building are progressing.  Everything should be done by the end of the month.  After that it will be necessary to get a certificate of occupancy from the county.  We are hoping that comes close to the beginning of September.  Once that is issued we can start the actual move. 

We need to install fixtures (shelving, racks, counterspace, etc.).  Some of these will have to be anchored to the floor or to walls so it will be done by professionals.  The Americorps NCCC group will be building some of the fixtures we will need.  Because this will be such a large location we are planning to have wheeled platforms on which to place appliances and other large items.  We have the specs for these fixtures so Americorps can get started on that when they arrive next month. 

As soon as we get access to the building we will be able to start moving product over there.  All pick-ups will go straight to the new location at that time.  We will also start moving some of our best items to the new location.  We are hoping to sell most of what is left in the store so we don't have to move more than absolutely necessary. 

Anyone who is interested in volunteering can contact Chris Schei, cschei@habitatncc.org or (302) 652-0365  x111. 

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eBay items this week

We have posted two items to eBay this week. Both are film related. We have a listing of three 8mm films and a listing of a hardback novel that was released to correspond with the release of a film based on the novel.

The 8mm films are An American in Orbit, Fox and the Grapes, and Terry Bears Plumber's Helpers. All three are in the original box. The boxes have some signs of wear but are in good condition.

The novel is Little Old New York by Rida Johnson Young. It was made into a movie in 1923. The movie starred Marion Davies. This edition of the novel contains still photos from the movie. The spine of the book is in poor condition but the pages are intact. Despite the condition it could still be an attractive collector's item for a fan of silent film or a Marion Davies fan.

The listing for both items will end Wednesday, August 15th at 1:12.

Latest on new location

Work is coming along well at the new location. The repairs have been going on for about a month. It still has a long way until it looks like a retail building.

The building has a new roof. Doorways have been knocked into the wall so there is better access from the front area of the store to the back. Restrooms are being constucted. The building will have a restroom area for customers and a separate restroom for employees. Work has also started on the employee breakroom. The offices need a lot of work, a customer entrance needs to be cut out of the front, and the building has to be painted.

We have started to map out the way we want to arrange the store. We will have to acquire a large supply of shelving and other display racks. Since some of the display racks will need to be built we have applied to get an Americorps group. If our request is approved we will have a group for several weeks. They will be able to build any structures we need as well as help moving things to the new store.

We are still aiming for late October to open the new location. If that changes we will update information through our facebook page and our website.

Once again we are saying goodbye to two volunteers

During this past year we have been fortunate to again have a member of Luther Volunteer Corps, Matt, working in the ReStore. During the summer we have also had a young man, Gabriel, from Florida volunteering in the store while staying in Delaware for the summer. Today is the last day for both.

Matt is a hard worker who is willing to do anything needed. The bulk of his time was spent going out on the truck pick-ing up donations but he also set up our eBay account. Matt rang the register, helped customers, or whatever else needed to be done.

A willingness to do anything extended to Matt's personality. Coming from Minnesota he wanted to see as much of this area of the country as he could. Weekends often meant trips to Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, or D. C. Matt will be taking a roundabout way back to Minnesota traveling to Boston first before heading west.

Along with traveling, Matt wanted to try any food he hadn't had before. He became such a fan of Capriotti's Sub Shop (especially the bobby) we are convinced he will eventually open the first franchise in Minnesota but he will wind up being the locations best customer.


Often we get young people volunteering at the store because it is required for school or a parent doesn't want the teenager sitting around all summer. Many turn out to be good volunteers but some are just putting in time and don't want to be here. Gabriel hasn't just been a good volunteer he has been terrific. He works hard, is polite and friendly, and he does everything he is asked in a prompt manner. He will be returning to Florida for his senior year in high school.


We will miss Matt and Gabriel but wish them luck with future endeavors.

Plans for move to new location

While work is being done on the building where we will be moving, we have been making plans for the layout, signage, advertising, and the logistics of moving items that fill a 10,000 square foot area to the new 30,000 square foot location.

Last week two of us went to other ReStores in the area to see how those stores are laid out. We got a number of good ideas and took some pictures to help us design the new store. Starting next week we will be having regular committee meetings to formulate all our plans and determine how best to carry them out.

Since the new location will be so much bigger than the current one we will have to plan for how to move things around the store. We will be getting a forklift. That will be a huge help. We also plan to put many of the larger items on wheeled platforms. It will make it easier to rearrange areas as well as take items out of the store after purchase. Many of the ReStores use these kinds of platforms so we have the designs. We will need a large volunteer group to put them together. We are hoping to get an Americorps group to help with some of the work that needs to be done.

The work repairing the building will take until the end of August. We will be able to start setting up registers, shelving, laying out aisles and making other preparations starting in the beginning of September. The actual move of everything from one location to the other is going to be what takes the most time and effort. The timetable may change but it looks now like the opening will be late October.

Work being done on new ReStore location

We had a chance to go into the new location for the ReStore. The building does need a lot of work before we can move there. It needs a new roof, an opening for the customers' entrance has to be cut out of the front (pictured below to the right) and two doorways will be added for customers to get from the front section of the store to the back area ( pictured at bottom), offices and an employee breakroom will be built, restrooms need to be constructed, and the building has to be painted.

This work will take about two months to complete. After that it will take some time for us to set up signage, registers, office furniture, and everything we need to run the store. Then we will have to execute the actual move. That will take several weeks. We are hoping the new store will open some time in mid to late October.

We will continue to give updates through this blog, our website, and our facebook page.

LVC and Americorps at the ReStore

Since the ReStore tries to keep costs down by having as few paid staff as possible we rely heavily on volunteers. Most of the volunteers we get are people who are coming for a short period of time. We get a lot of high school students who are required to do community service for school. Some people come to fill the time while in between jobs or during summer break from school. We also have a few volunteers who come on a regular or semi-regular schedule.

While we could not function without all these volunteers, we do need people who are full-time employees required to work so we know the store will be properly staffed each day. Without a large paid staff we instead use Americorps and Lutheran Volunteer Corps to fill positions. Both of these organizations provide young people to work with non-profits for a year at a time and pay a stipend to help with living costs. The LVC volunteers in Wilmington come from various locations. The organization provides housing for the volunteers. The Americorps volunteers we have had at the store have all been from the area so none have been in need of housing but Americorps does offer an education award that can be used for future college courses or to pay off student loans.

We are currently in the process of setting up interviews with potential Americorps and LVC volunteers who will start later this year. In the past two years we have had an LVCer to drive the truck to pick-up donations and in two of the last three years we have had an Americorps volunteer to work in the store running the register and helping customers.

Sales have been increasing rapidly over the past two years and we are planning a move to a bigger, more visible location that we anticipate will bring in more customers. We would not be able to accomplish this with just the paid staff we have. Without Americorps and Lutheran Volunteer Corps we could not have had near the success we have had or hope to have in the coming year.

Update on pending ReStore move

We have been planning a move for some time. It has taken about two years to find the right location. Our current location is no longer large enough for our needs. It is also very hard to find. We have found a location that fits our requirements but needs renovations before we can move there.

The repairs will take two months. After that it will take some time to move in. We will be making updates through this blog and our website as we get more detailed information. As of now it looks like the move will be mid-Fall.

The building (marked below with a yellow pin) is next to Sears (green pin) in Prices Corner Shopping Center. It can be seen behind Cranston Heights Fire Station (black pin) from Kirkwood Highway and will be more noticeable once we get a ReStore sign on the front.

In the meantime, our current location in Cornell Business Park is full of furniture, cabinets, vanities, and many other items for the home.

Habitat Open House

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County will periodically host an Open House at one of its completed homes. The Open House is set up similar to one a real estate agent will host to sell a house. The major difference being that we are not looking for a homebuyer. Habitat's Open Houses are intended to give the public a chance to see the inside of a Habitat home and learn more about the organization.



The most recent Open House was June 10th at Mill Stone Phase 2 2117 LaMotte St. Furniture was used from the ReStore, Jewish Community Center, and Home Budget Mattress by the New Castle Farmer's Market to stage the house. Two love seats, a dining room table and chairs, a china hutch, two mirrors, an artificial tree and a bedroom set were borrowed from the ReStore for the event.

The next open house will be in the fall. The date is to be announced. Future Open Houses will be announced on the website, habitatncc.org or call the Habitat office, (302) 652-0365 to be sent a flyer.

Vintage and collectible items in the ReStore

We don't get a large selection of collectibles in the ReStore but do get some in occasionally. One of the oddities is that we often get these items in more than one donation at a time. About two years ago we had a donation of tools that included an old wood plane. Before that one was sold we got two more as a donation. Recently someone donated a brace drill and, within a few days, another person donated two more. In our selection of sinks we have two vintage pedestal sinks that came from different donations.

Of the three brace drills, one is a Goodell-Pratt and the other two are Miller Falls. All three are in working condition. Miller Falls is considered the higher quality of the two names but Goodell-Pratt was owned by Miller Falls from 1931 until the discontinuation of the company name in 1946.

The pedestal sinks are made by Kohler and

Thomas Maddock's Sons Co. Kohler, of course, is still a well regarded brand name. Thomas Maddock's Sons was the first company to make sanitary earthenware products in the US. The company existed until a 1929 sale to Sanitary Manufacturing Company which later became American Standard.

Some of the collectible or vintage items we have gotten in have been offered on eBay. The pedestal sinks and the tools we will offer in the store until they sell. Old tools tend to be popular among our customers. Pedestal sinks would be difficult and expensive to ship if we tried to sell them online.

Packed furniture room

For a couple of months our furniture room has looked sparse. Donations had been down and items were selling so fast we couldn't keep the room stocked. That has changed over the last several days. We have gotten several furniture donations and the room is now packed.

Along with the usual furniture, we have gotten in over a dozen artificial plants. The furniture we have in includes the dining room set pictured above. We also have several dining room and kitchen tables, sofas, upholstered chairs, desks, and bookshelves. The best items tend to sell quickly and the artificial plants are priced low to sell fast.

One thing we will miss when we move

Our new location in Prices Corner has a number of benefits over our current location. It will be easier to find and should attract a larger number of customers and donors, construction will be done on the building that will make the layout more suitable to our needs, and it is much bigger. One nice thing about the location here is it is near an open field and not far from the Russell W. Peterson Wildlife Refuge on the Christina River. We get a large number of wild animals near the store.

In the time we have been here we have seen many species of bird flying over the store along with some mammals running around in the open area across from the store. Among the birds we have seen: Turkey vultures, hawks, a pair of eagles, and Canada geese. We have also seen deer, groundhogs, and a fox.

On a road as busy as Kirkwood Hwy. we aren't likely to see wildlife like we get to see now.

Second donation from Billows Electric

Once again Billows Electric has dropped off a large donation of light fixtures. This donation is in three containers. We have so many lights now we are having trouble finding room for all of them.

Our light area is full and we only have one container empty. We will be emptying the other two containers, cleaning the lights, and pricing them over the next few days. So far we have put several outdoor lights on the sales floor. There are also a number of ceiling mounts in this donation. Because of so many recent large light donations we have a variety of lights for the home.

Deconstruction at Mt Cuba Center Pt. 2

Today we returned to Mt. Cuba Center to continue with the deconstruction. We now have everything of value to the ReStore out of the one house. We filled our truck with doors, cabinets, appliances, a hand rail and bathroom fixtures. These items are being unloaded into the store now.

The house had cast iron radiators. Since they had to be cut out they have no resale value but the metal can be scrapped. It took a huge effort by Matt and Leon but they were determined not to leave them behind. Ten radiators of various sizes were removed. All of them are quite heavy so we should get a good return from the scrap yard.

The second house still has items in it to be removed. We will be going back next week to finish clearing out that house.

Light donation from Billows

Our light section is as full as it has ever been. We have received a large donation from Billows Electric Supply. The company dropped off two containers full of lights. Most of the lights have been priced and are available for sale.

The donation consists of a variety of lights. We have wall mount, ceiling mount, and pendant lights among others.

Habitat ReStore to move this summer!!!

After a long search we have finally found a building to relocate our store. We expect to move sometime this summer. The specific details will be announced.

We have been very successful where we are currently but a more visible, easier to find location should allow us to greatly increase our sales and raise more money for Habitat to build in New Castle County. The new location (marked below with a yellow pin) will be in Prices Corner just off Kirkwood Hwy. The building is next to Sears (marked with a green pin).

As we get closer to the time of the move we will be updating information through this blog as well as our website, and our facebook page.

De-construction at Mt. Cuba Center

Mt. Cuba Center in Greenville is getting ready to demolish two houses on the property. Steve McCann, the Manager of Facilities and Sustainability, contacted the ReStore about removing anything we may be interested in taking for the store. Bank of America provided 15 volunteers on Wednesday to help in the work. We were able to remove many items from one of the houses and will go back for the second house. After we finish removing anything we can use the Center will allow the houses to be used by police and fire departments for training purposes.

Right now everything that we removed has been placed in storage on Mt. Cuba Center's property. It will be brought into the store in the next few weeks. We have gotten kitchen cabinets, doors, ceiling fans, light fixtures, and a furnace. The second house has many of the same items but also has some very good bathroom fixtures.

Mt. Cuba Center, mtcubacenter.org, is dedicated to the study, conservation, and appreciation of plants native to the Appalachian Piedmont region through garden display, education, and research. It is the former estate of Mr. and Mrs. Lammot DuPont Copeland.

Annual volunteer recognition dinner

Our affiliate's annual volunteer recognition dinner is next week. Beth, a Saturday regular, will be the ReStore volunteer honored at this year's dinner. Beth is a great organizer which is definitely needed at the store. All the supplies that are kept at our register are much easier to find since Beth has straightened and rearranged the area and keeps it maintained. Saturdays can get so busy it is a great help to have someone who stays so organized in all that chaos.

Anyone interested in attending the dinner on Thursday, April 19th can purchase tickets online at http://habitatncc.donorpages.com/2012AnnualDinner/. Tickets are $50 per person or $90 for couples. Perspective homeowners can be sponsored for $25.

Happy Easter and Passover

The ReStore staff would like to wish a Happy Easter and Passover to all of its customers and donors. Thanks to all of you we are having a great year.

Our staff and volunteers are looking forward to Easter. Along with enjoying the holiday, we seem to have overreached ourselves with some of our Lenten resolutions. The stroke of midnight Sunday morning will probably find us eating foods that have not been enjoyed since February. We are hoping the restraint we have practiced over the last month and a half will keep us from overindulging.

Record sales quarter

Despite sales being low during January we still hit a high for best quarter in terms of sales revenue. As mentioned in a previous blog, February 2012 was our best month ever. We have a slight chance of passing February's sales. Even if we fall short of that, the record quarter is the goal we were hoping for.

These high sales are occurring without a large number of donations. We have gotten several large donations lately from a number of sources. Donations from United Electric Supply, a hotel in Newark, and a donation from a hardware store downstate shared by the Georgetown, DE ReStore among others have all helped to keep the store stocked with great items to purchase.

Today we received a donation of office chairs, desk lamps, and several other items from Discover Bank. Mt Cuba Center has donated cabinets, doors, light fixtures, a water heater, and appliances that were picked up earlier today. We have a few other donations corporate donations planned in the near future.

As great as those donations are and as much as we appreciate the generosity of our corporate donors, we thrive on the day-to-day donations from homeowners in New Castle County. People often plan home improvements for the spring months so we are hopeful that donations from individuals will pick-up. Habitat ReStore is a great source to dispose of gently used items from the home without having to add to landfills. We also provide a receipt for donations so the donor can have a tax deduction. Donating to Habitat ReStore creates a win for everyone.

Hardware store and electric supply donation

Late last week we received two large donations. One was from a hardware store that went out of business in Southern Delaware. The donation originally went to the ReStore in Georgetown, DE. It was large enough of a donation that they called us to take some of the items from them. The other donation was from United Electric Supply. Once again they have been kind enough to drop off three skids of lights and other electrical items.

Many of the items from these donations are ready to be sold. We are still in the process of getting everything priced and out on the floor. From the hardware store we have tools, paint supplies, door hardware, electrical supplies, and many other items. From United Electric Supply we have numerous lights of various types (flush mount, chandelier, fluorescent, wall mount, and pendant lights), some halogen bulbs, lamp shades, and globes for lights.

The items that we have put out for sale are selling fast. Both donations are so large that we still have a lot still available from both. We hope to have the rest of the items out during the day Tuesday.

Record sales month

The month just ended was our best month ever in terms of sales. This came as a surprise since donations had been down so we didn't have near as much to sell as normal. Somehow customers kept finding things to purchase. Sales did tail off towards the end of the month as inventory became depleted but the earlier part of the month had been so strong that we still surpassed any previous sales month.

Donations have begun to pick-up again. We had two cabinet sets donated today and have a few more sets on the schedule in the next week. Among the other items scheduled in the next few days are a sectional sofa, doors, and some appliances. The store should be packed with sale items next week.

In the past, our best sales months have been due to large, one time donations. Last year we had cabinets donated from a chain hardware store and a few years ago we had a large donation of decking. Each of these donations caused a frenzy of buying activity at the time but store sales drop off once the donation was gone. This past month we had a large donation from a hotel which certainly helped but it was not a big factor in the amount of sales. We had a lot of people buying a lot of items so we have some hope that this could be a sign of a growing economy. In that case we may be able to continue at a similar pace.

Delaware Home Show

The ReStore has gotten a table at the Delaware Home Show. Wilmington's Chase Center will host the event next weekend. Saturday the show goes from 10-6 and Sunday from 11-4. The Home Show's website, http://delawarehomeshow.com/show.html?show.id=2431, has lists of exhibitors and events for the weekend.

We have attended the Home Show in the past and have done well to attract new customers and donors to the store. It is a great way for us to get the word out as to who we are and where we are located. For anyone interested in home improvement projects for the spring the Delaware Home Show is the place to start. Vendors from every kind of home improvement company will be there to discuss projects with attendees.

If you are attending, please stop by our table. The ReStore can be a great place to find low cost alternatives for home improvement projects. Even if you are planning to get supplies and equipment from other places, we still can provide a way to donate appliances, cabinets, bathroom fixtures, or other home items that are being replaced and are still in saleable condition. We can provide a reciept for tax purposes.

Art work donations to the ReStore

The ReStore has recently received donations of artwork that may have some value beyond what we would be likely to get by selling these items in the store. An art dealer has advised us on the worth of these items. We plan to put each piece on eBay in the near future.


Two of the pieces are contemporary works. "Little Abstraction" (pictured to the left) by Robert A. Nelson was done in 1981. Mr. Nelson is from Indianapolis. His art has been displayed in at several major museums. "xxx's" done by Sharon Lewkowitz Oran in 1983 is another piece we will be featuring on eBay.


The prize of the group is an oil painting pictured to the right. Habitat is having this one appraised. The painting was done by S. Cederburg. Part of the appraisal will be an attempt to find out who the subject was. If he is someone of some fame or prominence the value of the painting could increase significantly. Even without knowing the man's name we have been told the painting is a valuable piece.

Most of the artwork we sell in the ReStore are framed prints. Typically these sell for $5-15. Many of the people buying prints just want the frames. Selling these pieces of art on eBay will allow the pieces to be purchased by someone who will appreciate the art while allowing us to raise more money than we would receive otherwise.

Furniture from a Newark hotel

The ReStore has recieved a large furniture donation from a hotel in Newark. Thanks to the MI Group and volunteers from St. George's Technical High School we were able to fill our ReStore truck and a tractor trailor in one day with all of the furniture being donated. Our furniture room is fully packed with these items and a variety of other items.

The hotel donation includes end tables, coffee tables, credenzas, sofas, mirrors, small square tables, TVs, wall mount headboards and framed prints. Everything is on the floor in the furniture area except the headboards. We expect to have the headboards available for sale in the near future.

Along with the furniture we still have many of the lights and other electrical items from the donation last week. These have been selling well. We have many other pieces of electrical equipment such has dimmer switches, and exit signs. In many cases we have more than one of some items and plan to offer some of the duplicates on eBay.

New light fixtures in the ReStore

The ReStore has received five skids of lights and lighting equipment. United Electric Supply of New Castle, DE generously brought this donation to us yesterday. This is all brand new merchandise. We have been busy throughout the day getting items on the floor and priced. We still have a lot to sort through but we have a number of lights available on the sales floor now.

The lights come in a large variety of styles. The chandelier picture to the left has reversible lights so they can point up or down. The picture to the right is of a pineapple tree themed light. The center of the light is in the shape of a pineapple tree and each light has leaves at the base. Below is a Spectron Emergency Light. We have received about a dozen of these emergency lights and several more of a similar emergency light.



It will take a few days to completely unpack and price the rest of the items that have come in. We will be updating our facebook and web pages with many of the items as we get them on the sales floor.

Dozens of TVs available

Recently we received a donation of more two dozen TVs. This was on top of the several TVs we already had in the store. The large donation came from a hotel that is remodeling. We expect to get more towards the end of the month. The total donation will be around one hundred TVs! Since we don't have room for such a large number we are selling all TVs for just $20 each. This sale will last until we get the inventory down to a manageable level.

Habitat ReStore New Castle County now selling on eBay

Often the ReStore gets in items that are difficult to sell in the store. These items are not the kind of thing our customers usually purchase. In order to reach a wider audience we have begun selling on eBay. For sometime we have been accumulating items that we think may sell better through eBay.

Since we have only started we have sold just one item this way. A Jacoby Ellsbury bobblehead doll sold last week. Among the items we will be selling in the future are lineman gloves. We have a few pairs in the store. These gloves are designed to protect against electrical shock. We don't tend to get linemen in the store so we would not be able to sell them here. Our next item for sale will be a pair of pegs for a Honda motorcycle.
This type of items is specialized enough that it is unlikely a Honda rider needing grips will happen to come in the store. Selling on eBay should greatly increase our chances of finding the right customer for these kind of items.



We will be announcing items on Twitter as we put them on sale. Please watch for us on eBay, habitatnccrestore, or our Twitter page, @HfHReStoreNCC, to see what we have for sale.

ReStore is hiring

The ReStore is, once again, in need of a part-time driver/assistant. The position is Tuesday-Friday from 9am-2pm. The person in this position will assist with pick-ups of donations using the ReStore truck as well as helping out in the store as needed.

The job requires a valid driver's license and the ability to do heavy lifting. Anyone interested in the position can contact the ReStore Manager, Joe Robertson, at jrobertson@habitatncc.org or (302) 652-5181.