Iowa City's ReStore

Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity's ReStore Builds New Homes from Surplus Materials

by Thomas Dean

Mark Patton (left), executive director of ReStore, and VISTA volunteer ErikaFrank help customers like Brian Christianson find great deals of surplus buildingitems. (Photo by Lin Mullenneaux)

The ride is pretty bumpy as I negotiate my minivan past constructionequipment and over the frequent dips and rises of the gravel road. But asI reach the peak of a small hill, the landscape-in-transition spreads outbefore my eyes—the nearly completed hotel and convention center onthe banks of the Iowa River, surrounded by acres of brown razed land ofthe old Coralville industrial park at the intersection of I-80 and FirstAvenue. Except one lone metal-frame building sits down the hill to my rightwith a big simple sign proudly announcing my destination: “ReStore.”

It was a bit of an adventure to get here, but plenty of others have made thejourney, too, this early Saturday afternoon. A buzz of activity surrounds meas I am greeted by Erika Frank, an Americorps VISTA volunteer and recent Universityof Iowa graduate who spends her days running the Iowa Valley Habitat for HumanityReStore. We enter a small office at the front of the warehouse-like building.With clear dedication and enthusiasm, Erika shares with me ReStore’smission and operations.

New Life for Surplus Goods

Most everyone probably knows about Habitat for Humanity, an internationalvolunteer organization that provides housing for low-income families. ReStoreis one of HFH’s most innovative ways of raising funds. The store acceptsdonations of new and gently used building materials, hardware, and housewaresfrom individuals, businesses, contractors, and remodelers—anyone whohas something appropriate to give—and resells them at deep discountsto the public. Over 150 ReStores operate in the U.S. and Canada, eight of themin Iowa. One hundred percent of sales go right into Habitat for Humanity homes.And ReStore is also an environmental organization, with one of its major goalsbeing to divert usable building materials from the waste stream. In fact, Coralville’sReStore started out a little over a year ago with a $75,000 grant from theIowa Department of Natural Resources to help keep as much as possible out ofthe landfill. And everyone can benefit by saving big bucks on materials forhome improvement projects.

Boxes, Bins & Shelves of Treasures

Erika and I tour the large warehouse space, a building donated by the Cityof Coralville and shared with other nonprofit organizations. Within the nextyear, however, the structure will be razed for the ongoing Iowa River Landingredevelopment project, and ReStore will move to a new home (undetermined asof yet). But today there is no sign of impending demolition. A family arrivesto volunteer, and the two small girls eagerly commence sweeping out the emptyReStore truck. A couple rummage through some bins of hinges and other doorand window hardware, marveling at the prices. A lone man with a bushy whitemustache and large dark-rimmed glasses earnestly examines some plumbing supplies.I mention to Erika that it must be fun to come back often just to see whatnew merchandise is in. She chuckles and says that, yes, there are regularswho even have their self-designated times and show up every week like clockwork.A doorbell rings—someone is here to drop off a donation. Erika opensthe garage door, and an elderly gentleman standing outside wonders if he candrop off some paint. Erika says as long as it is unopened or just barely used,that’s okay. The man laughs a little and says, “Yeah, I’vegot three cans of the wrong color.”

The cavernous ReStore space is filled with doors, windows, cabinets, hardware,flooring, shelving, and raw materials like lumber. A few bathtubs sit at theends of aisles. Chandeliers and more modest lighting fixtures dangle from amakeshift shelving unit. Boxes of new tile sit atop a multi-level display area.A row of stoves awaits future days of preparing macaroni and cheese. Althoughmany ReStores don’t accept appliances, the landlord and college studentmarket is so robust in the area that reselling them easily is feasible. Atone end of the store sits a large display of different types of Stanley shelvingunits, all new and in their original boxes. Dozens of new cans of spray paintare perched atop some shelves at the end of an aisle. ReStore is often thedestination of retail store and contractor over-orders, misorders, slow-movinginventory, and merchandise returns. A brand-new Anderson window waits for anew home at a bargain price because it was just a bit too small for its intendedspace.

Although never ungrateful for the generous impulse to donate, ReStore doesnot accept every item. Used materials must be used only gently, undamaged,and pretty much ready to be installed. Anything that might be a health hazardcannot be resold. That is why new but not used carpet is accepted. The storestrongly recommends that donors call ahead and discuss a possible donation.This is exactly what I did myself a couple of months ago when I had two sinkswe had replaced taking up space in our garage. I couldn’t bring myselfto dump them in the landfill, so I called up the ReStore. I have to admit theywere a bit skeptical, as they tend to get overloaded with certain types ofsinks, but luckily what I had fit fine into their inventory.

Volunteers are Always Needed

There are plenty of other ways to give back to the community through ReStore.Volunteer time is just as important as item contributions. There is plentyof opportunity to serve in sales and cashiering, customer support, checkingand cleaning donations, setting up displays, marketing and outreach, buildingand exterior maintenance, and donation pickup. An internship (unpaid) is availablefor someone with the skills to help research and apply for grants. ReStoreis always grateful for sponsorship and publicity—something as simpleas posting a flier in your office up to full sponsorship of events and advertisements.Monetary and equipment donations are always welcome. In fact, partnershipswith ReStore are growing. For example, Century Farm Harvest Heat has donateda corn-burning stove to the store, helping create a toasty corner for volunteerson cold winter days when the unheated building just doesn’t keep themwarm enough. (Even today, on a chilly spring afternoon, Erika keeps her stockingcap and jacket on.) With the black stove displayed prominently and promotionalmaterials available to passersby, Century Farm also benefits from having thepublic see just how effective this increasingly popular, efficient, and cleanheating source can be.

After wandering the store on my own for awhile, sometimes wondering if thatlight fixture might look nice outside our back door, or if I need a new (andcheap!) supply of tub and tile grout, I’m ready to leave, albeit empty-handedtoday. I’ll certainly be back, though, before I head off to the retailhardware or home improvement store. If I can save a few (or many!) dollars,and if I can help those struggling to own their own homes, the adventuroustrek over a few hundred feet of bumpy gravel road is worth it. Besides, theadventure of not knowing exactly what you’ll find within the unfinishedwalls of ReStore is fun. And certainly next time I pull out a lighting fixtureor a door at home, I’ll see if I can move it from my garage, not to thelandfill, but to ReStore.

I thank Erika again for so generously sharing her time with me. As I get intomy van, a carful of new re-storation adventurers arrives. Whether giving ortaking, they are part of an active stream of doing good on this early springSaturday afternoon.

All About ReStore

ReStore is located at 2401 Scott Blvd SE in Iowa City. Shopping hours are Thursday,Friday, and Saturday from 9:00-3:00, and donation hours are Monday throughSaturday from 9:00-4:00 (donations are 100 percent tax deductible!). Callingahead about possible donations is recommended. Call (319) 338-5687, visittheir website: www.ivhfh.org, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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