Habitat ReStore North Wales/Lansdale donation center opens in Lansdale ahead of fall grand opening

Donations from the community continue to pile up at the Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties ReStore North Wales/Lansdale donation center in Lansdale Borough ahead of an autumn opening at Montgomery Commons Shopping Center in Montgomery Township.

According to Habitat Restore North Wales/Lansdale, no definitive date has been set for the opening, as the organization is waiting on building improvements and construction to be completed.

Meanwhile, a drop-off location is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 200 W. 8^th St. in Lansdale. No appointment necessary.

Various donations at the Lansdale drop-off warehouse (Credit: Habitat ReStore North Wales/Lansdale)

(Credit: Habitat ReStore North Wales/Lansdale Facebook)

If boxes are needed to donate items, no problem – ReStore has them at the donation center.

Habitat ReStore North Wales/Lansdale is also seeking volunteers to help sort and stock the new location. You can register to volunteer here: https://volunteer.bloomerang.co/JE/n9bvm14p8hh2mv.

So, what can ReStore accept and not accept? It will take clothing, building materials, silverware, kitchen appliances, DVDs and CDs, garden tools, toys and more.

Habitat ReStore will not accept the following: China hutches, old-school entertainment centers, opened paint or hazardous materials, and damaged, stained or heavily worn-out items.  

Sign outside the 200 W. 8th St., Lansdale drop-off site (Credit: Facebook)

Below is a list, provided by Habitat ReStore, of items it will accept:

• Left shoes We believe in second chances)
• Right shoes (It’s only fair)
• The clothes from that part of the closet (Yes, THAT part — no judgment)
• Things you bought on your trip to the beach because they had your name on them
• Tables with four legs (or three, if it’s doing its best)
• Your fancy family China set (Don’t worry, we won’t tell Grandma)
• Cups, wine glasses, and Laura’s coffee mug. (Laura, seriously. Let it go)
• The giant skeleton decoration — truly a sound financial investment
• Pots and pans that leap from cabinets like they’re in a cooking competition
• That treadmill buried under a pile of “optimism”
• That couch and chair set that never matched anything (You tried, we see you)
• The dresser (Because it’s too full)
• The clothes (Because your dresser is too small — we’ve all been there)
• End tables
• Start tables
• Middle tables (Yes, we’ll complete your table trilogy)
• We amore armoires
• “Bookcases” full of junk and guilt — we’ll take both
• Fresh coffee. Tables. Fresh coffee tables.
• Bed frames, framed beds, framed art, framed puzzles — all the frames
• Kitchen gadgets/appliances (Even the avocado slicer you used once)
• Waffle makers, fondue sets, popcorn machines — we salute your Pinterest phase
• Bread makers (Because every thrift store is part of the bread maker circle of life)
• Mirrors — We love them. They love us back.
• Tools — especially the four hammers and two mystery wrenches you might need someday
• Christmas decorations — it’s summer, Brenda. Set them free.
• Accent chairs (even the loud ones that never knew their place)
• The dining chairs, and dining table, that you use, all the time.
• Patio furniture (Bonus points if it doesn’t come with a wasp nest)
• Glassware, glass there, glass from everywhere
• Plates. Frisbees. Frisbee plates.
• Bowls. Balls. Bowling balls. (Why not?)
• The #1 Mom & Dad trophies. (Rare, but we know they’re out there somewhere)
• Silverware — even the real silver
• Serving dishes / Stray cat food feeders
• Bakeware (No questions about how it got into your trunk)
• Books (If it has pages, we’ll take it)
• Magazines (Bonus if they aren’t from 1998)
• CDs (We love a good throwback)
• DVDs (We are your backup streaming service)
• Vinyl records (Yes, we’re that hip)
• Gloves (Left & right)
• Belts (Too big or too small)
• Purses (With or without money)
• Backpacks
• Jewelry (Even the diamonds and pearls)
• Linens (Sheets, towels, blankets — even the one with cartoon ducks)
• Curtains
• Rugs
• Picture frames (With or without that one vacation photo)
• Artwork (We appreciate all creative phases, even abstract confusion)
• The 10 flower vases you got free with the roses
• Decorative things you forgot you owned but still feel oddly guilty about

A box of open, but unused, American Olean tiles, available for purchase at Habitat ReStore North Wales/Lansdale come the fall (Credit: Habitat ReStore North Wales/Lansdale Facebook)

A pallet of Italian tiles at the Lansdale drop-off location (Credit: Facebook)

Yes, we take building materials too (We’re kind of handy like that):

• Lumber (Usable lengths — we’re not wizards)
• Plywood / skateboard ramps
• Drywall (Full sheets or close enough)
• Tiles (New, in boxes — not your leftover grout-dusted 7-pack)
• Flooring (Laminate, hardwood, vinyl — new and boxed, please)
• Doors (Interior, exterior, mysterious — we don’t ask)
• Windows (Unbroken. Please. We’re not glaziers.)
• Sinks
• Toilets (Clean — we cannot emphasize this enough)
• Light fixtures (Bonus if they don't flicker ominously)
• Electrical supplies (Outlets, switches, wire — shocking stuff!)
• Plumbing supplies (Pipes, fittings, dreams of fixing a leak solo)

Oh, And These Too:

• Garden tools (Even if the only thing you’ve grown is regret)
• Flower pots (With or without dirt — we’re pot positive)
• Sports gear (As long as it hasn’t retired itself)
• Musical instruments (Yes, even if they only play one note now)
• Toys (Clean, complete, and ideally not haunted)
• Board games (We’ll find the missing piece ... eventually)
• Puzzles (Same rules apply)
• Craft supplies (Glitter tolerated, but not encouraged)
• The sewing machine you swore you would learn to use
• Yarn (Fluffy donations are our favorite donations)
• Fabric (For those “learn to sew” plans)
• Bicycles (With or without a rusty past)

About Habitat for Humanity ReStores

Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers that sell building materials, appliances, new and gently used furniture, and home accessories at a fraction of the retail price. In fiscal year 2024 alone, Habitat ReStores raised over $142 million to help support Habitat’s mission while also diverting reusable material from landfills. With more than 1,000 stores in eight countries, Habitat ReStores use their proceeds to help build or improve homes locally and around the world. To shop, donate, or volunteer, visit Habitat.org/restores.

Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties (Habitat MontDelco) is driving its ReStore program forward with ambitious plans for growth. Under new leadership, Habitat MontDelco is launching a flagship anchor ReStore in the Montgomery Commons shopping center (Montgomery Township), overcoming past locational challenges and setting the stage for expansion. This store, projected to be among the largest nationally, is the first step in a five-year goal to establish at least six ReStore locations across Montgomery and Delaware Counties. Every purchase and donation at a Habitat MontDelco ReStore directly supports the organization's mission, with net proceeds funding affordable homeownership and critical home repair programs throughout the local community.

About Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties

 Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties ("HFHMDC") has dedicated over 35 years to providing affordable homeownership opportunities and other supportive services for income-qualified households across Montgomery and Delaware Counties. Since our inception in 1989, we have provided 112 affordable mortgages and have served over 250 owner-occupied households through the provision of critical health, safety, and accessibility repairs, with a specific focus on veteran and older adult households. Looking ahead, our affiliate has been awarded nearly $10,000,000.00 over the next 3-6 years. While these funds are beneficial, they are limited to specific uses, predominantly for capital expenses in these areas, such as the building of new housing units and the repair and rehabilitation of existing ones.

In order to keep pace with the ever-outsized demand for affordable housing and related services, HFHMDC has made structural changes to key departments, such as scaling staff and offering competitive wage rates to create sustainable programming models. This has included doubling our Home Repair program staff, as well as planning to scale our Construction Department to continue to increase our output of affordable mortgage opportunities. In this economic climate, and especially resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the conversation on the need for comprehensive housing solutions is encouraging, and funding is being made available, largely by governmental entities. Over the next 1.5 years alone, through a $7.2M contract with Delaware County, HFHMDC is committed to serving nearly 200 households through our Home Repair program. Additionally, we intend to identify, acquire, rehabilitate, and sell (affordably) at least 20 housing units over the next 3 years. Both of these aims far outpace previous performance by HFHMDC and rise to the challenge of meeting the housing needs that exist across Montgomery and Delaware Counties.