April 07, 2020
If you follow Comal County Habitat for Humanity ReStore on social media, you may have heard us say it before – “every day is Earth Day.” But what do we mean by that? In this blog post, we’ll go over some of the ways we stay Earth-friendly every day here at our local ReStore.
1. Our donors and customers help reduce, reuse and recycle everyday items.
We accept a large variety of gently-used items from donors in our community that could otherwise end up in our local landfills. Donors are able to recycle their appliances, furniture, home décor, building materials and so much more through the ReStore. Those items are then sold to the public at a fraction of the retail price. Customers reuse or repurpose their purchased items and give them a second lease on life. This cycle is repeated constantly through the ReStore, offering our community an environmentally-friendly alternative to throwing away useful items.
2. Funds raised from donations and purchases help build energy-efficient Habitat homes.
Funds raised through the ReStore go toward the cost of building homes in partnership with families in our community. Comal County Habitat for Humanity builds energy-efficient homes in a variety of ways, including using spray foam insulation and installing energy-efficient appliances, windows and light fixtures.
3. We accept both working and non-working vehicle donations
Habitat for Humanity’s “Cars for Homes” program offers the opportunity for individuals to donate their car, RV, boat, trailer, motorcycle, farm equipment and more for a possible tax-deduction. The donated vehicle is then sold or dismantled to be recycled. Donated vehicles don’t have to be running in order to be donated, and even better, funds raised from “Cars for Homes” donations help build Habitat homes in our community!
4. We provide an affordable resource for DIY projects
You’ve heard of “reduce, reuse, recycle,” but what about “repurpose”? Repurposing is exactly how it sounds - taking an item and giving it a second life with a usefulness it didn’t have before. People repurpose everyday items in clever ways; from converting old wardrobes and dressers into coffee bars to creating patio furniture out of wooden pallets, the Do-It-Yourself projects are endless! Since we mark everything 50-75% off the retail price and receive a large variety of donated items, there are new repurposing / DIY projects for our creative customers to choose from every day. For some great DIY and repurposing ideas, check out this article on “100 ways to repurpose & reuse broken household items”: https://www.diyncrafts.com/6081/repurpose/100-ways-repurpose-reuse-broken-household-items
5. We do everything we can to recycle items we can’t sell
Occasionally, we’ll get items donated that we can’t sell in the store due to our local store policy. Thanks to a grant we received from Expanding Horizons, we’re able to keep bins in our donation center for some specific items that we then donate to other local businesses and nonprofits in our community!
It’s important to us to provide affordable, consistent resources for donating and repurposing useful items. In 2019 alone, we saved thousands of pounds of furniture, appliances, building materials and household items from the landfill, with those numbers increasing every year as our community continues to grow. As we celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd and every day, we continue to be grateful to our community for helping us provide an environmentally friendly solution. Not only do we treat every day like Earth Day, but we also take pride in providing funds to build Habitat homes in partnership with families in our community.