New life for old stuff

CEDAR RAPIDS - For pocket change, you could buy a No. 4 brass house number for your door, or for $600, the door itself; in this case a new white Pella model, sized 82-by 68-inches.

Customers of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 350 Sixth Ave. SE, never know what they might find.

Shelves of light fixtures; rows of doors and furniture; piles of carpet remnants and tile and cans of paint fill every corner of the downtown space the store has occupied since November 2010.

ReStore offers a mix of new products donated by businesses and used merchandise.

The somewhat haphazard nature of the store, which is an affiliate of the nonprofit Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity, is both a blessing and a curse, says ReStore Director Joe Hennager.

People looking for that unusual “gem” may be pleasantly surprised, Hennager says, but the store is going to become better organized and move toward allowing customers to order cabinets and paint colors, for example, to provide consistency.

“We're going to create a nice home atmosphere here,” he says, noting that those random finds will still be available. “When families come in, they'll feel like they're at home.”

To do that, volunteers are rearranging and organizing everything from tiny nails to large appliances, with a goal of a spring grand reopening.

Among the volunteers are couples providing sweat equity for their Habitat homes. The organization works with families who otherwise could not afford adequate housing to buy homes for a small down payment with affordable loans.

“It's awesome,” Chris Bradley, 32, of Marion, says of his first time volunteering. “You come down whenever you have free time.”

Bradley rearranged sinks earlier this month, while his wife, Crystal Bradley, 23, helped organize the front desk.

The two hope to move in to a new home within the year with their three young sons.

Hennager says ReStore is looking for many other volunteers who like organizing or need a service opportunity to help out in the store.

Jeff Capps, executive director of Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity, says ReStore proceeds go back into helping the group's cause: providing affordable housing.

The store also fits the organization's mission of responsible stewardship by keeping items out of the landfill and providing a public service to customers who can buy low-cost products for their homes, he says.

Capps points to a mound of carpet remnants donated this month. At 45 cents per-square-foot, the new beige carpeting has been a hot item, with about half the rolls purchased within 10 days.

Hennager, who managed University of Iowa Surplus before starting his new post at ReStore this month, also has an art degree.

Picking up a large section of PVC pipe, Hennager's artistic bent envisions it as a planter. Buckets of tile pieces that sell for $2 can be used in mosaics, he says.

Classes taught at the store offer artistic outlets for making garden sculptures and other projects.

Jim Pawledge, 39, of Cedar Rapids, owns a flooring business and is one of the store regulars who has segued into a volunteer role.

“I have a list all the time in my wallet,” Pawledge says of the items he looks for at ReStore. “I've got that natural eye for rusty gold.”

Every light fixture in his house, along with faucets, doors and shelving have come from ReStore, he says.

Among the more unusual items that have come into the store are a huge colorful light fixture donated by an art gallery and a mailbox with an airbrushed skull.

The store will likely use the light fixture, while the mailbox will go to some lucky customer for $5, says Jill Behrens, ReStore's administrative assistant.

“We get a little bit of everything and it's always changing,” she says. “It's like Christmas in here.”

FYI

Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 350 Sixth Ave. SE, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Donations are accepted 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Call ahead to see if the item can be accepted at (319) 294-1500.

For more information, see: www.cvhabitat.org/restore

Iowa City also has a ReStore at 2401 Scott Blvd. SE.