Habitat for Humanity ReStore

I love shopping here! I get items at a low price and it helps build houses! The inventory changes daily so it’s good to stop in often.

Next time you place your igorance at someone who is donating dont. I just brought in a box and was rude to because I had to set it down on a chair for one second bc it was to heavy for me to carry since No one was helping me or my dad. I’ll go somewhere else next time.

I went to Restore today looking for carpet squares. In the past they had reasonable prices. I found some small stacks of 18×18 carpet squares in the middle of the store, for $ 2 a piece. I brought it to the manager’s attention, the price they have the squares listed for is more than Home Depot. I was told, maybe they are different quality. Yeah, the ones at Home Depot are better. I started looking around at some of the other prices in the store and noticed this was the trend throughout the store. The prices were either at, or over retail prices on the newish items.

They used to have good prices… key words being «used to.» I was interested in a lawn mower there and the manager said, it had no gas… I pulled on the started cord, to feel the compression of the motor, and it started. The manager started yelling at me, why did I start the motor… I said, you told me it had NO GAS… The manager continued yelling at me about starting the motor… and I kept saying… YOU SAID IT HAD NO GAS…
Another time I was looking at a large piece of carpeting… I asked that it be rolled out so that I could see if it was ok through out the roll. I was told no, because of safety reasons, then could not roll it out in the back… where there was plenty of room… I was told that I would have to buy it first, then inspect it in the parking lot, where there was lots of dirt and some snow… So I bought it and the guy on the forklift didnt have a good lift on the roll of carpeting and the carpeting started to fall off the forklift… The forklift guy told me to sit on the end of the carpeting, WHILE HE DROVE ME AND THE CARPET, to a place in the parking lot… I guess they are only concerned with safety, if it means a little more work for them…

This place is hit or miss, but it’s fun to browse no matter what! You can get really great deals on household products and lighting. I can’t speak to the rest of the items they carry it, but it’s worth it to browse their furniture alone. This is the best Restore I’ve ever been to.

This store is much larger than the Addison store and more of a selection. We went there today (Friday) and they had all their doors at 50% off. Also found 4 packs of light bulbs for $.50 and a 4×6 picture frame for $.50. It has a large and fairly clean bathroom too.

THE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FOX VALLY RESTORE FACILITY!!! While I have passed the Restore location near the Fox Valley mall numerous times since it opened it’s doors, it wasn’t until recently that I stopped in. WOW! I could kick myself for all that I have been missing by avoiding this store! The materials made available to restore & repair your home in this facility are so affordable & in amazing condition. Plus the staff are so friendly & helpful, it only made my visit there all the more pleasant. What a wonderful facility! I find myself telling friends & family what great deals I have found there & strongly encourage them to visit at their soonest opportunity! I know I will continue my patronage to The Restore, for they are the reason I can now afford the beautiful changes being made in my home.

My husband and I love looking at old things and thinking about how we could re-​purpose them. We also have a dream of building our own home and finding ways to use reclaimed and cheaper material to build it. In our search to see what was available, we checked out Habitat For Humanity ReStore.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores that sell donated building materials, appliances, furniture, and other things that people can use in their homes. Things are cheaper than regular hardware stores and the profits are used to support Habitat projects (building homes, etc.). Sounds great, right?
We went and… weren’t really impressed. I still love the idea behind these stores but this particular store bummed us out. Dark, messy aisles, mismatched pieces, very used furniture, broken items, and limited options. I’m aware everything here is donated, but I kind of expected the selection to be better. There wasn’t much we could use aside from a cool glass sink we found priced at $ 20. We didn’t buy it because we didn’t need it, but it wasn’t enough to encourage us to come back.
I’m sure a lot of people find stuff here, but not us.

I agree with Jennifer below which is my main purpose in writing this, to save a long trip. While it’s a great thing that these folks do and the money goes towards great things, I drove out from the city and only got $ 7 worth of stuff.
They had a wall mounted sink I was interested in but I could get the same sink brand new at Home Depot for the same price. I realize the money does better things at the ReStore, but I skipped it as I became worried about the weight of it.
The store is kind of like a Unique Thrift for home fix it stuff, thus requiring a lot of digging and time. They do get some new things in it appears too.
If you do go and you do see something you kind of like but aren’t sure, just put it in your cart while you ponder. I thought about 2 light fixtures but had changed my mind; when I got to the register, someone was purchasing them.
The pricing does vary — some stuff is cheap while other stuff is pretty overpriced.
It’s a good sized store, you can get lots of appliances or doors or small lots of tile, but you really need to be prepared with a list and exact measurements. If I lived closer, I’d probably stop in every once in a bit but seeing as I live in the city, I probably won’t make it back.

Such a great place to spend your money & expand your creativity. All the while doing something good & supporting a great cause!

Everyone,
Elgin Winter Market — In side of Restore
Location/​Layout — ⁵⁄₁₀: The building is a former Lee Wards distribution warehouse on the North end of Elgin, which is located just south of Big Timber, and about a mile south of I90, on Route 31. The Elgin Market is held within the Restore space on the end of the complex. Parking is shared with a flea market, dance hall, and other businesses and can be tight depending on your arrival time. The market vendors are set up on fold out tables in the main aisle of the store, which allows for convenient shopping but limits the space available and the number of tables.
Products/​Variety — 4.5÷10: The Elgin Winter Market is not, and should not be, what most would consider a true farmers market. Thus, why there is no «Farmers» in the name. First, since it is a winter market and obviously local growers are out of season, most of the vendors are not selling fresh produce and proteins. While there is one stand focused on produce and a limited selection of meats, the produce is not local. Second, some of the vendors are selling memorabilia and other home/​hand made items, such as soaps. This is just for a heads up to manage expectations.
Service — 7.5÷10: Both the market vendors and the restore employees are very nice and helpful and will go out of there way to assist.
Overall Experience — 5.5÷10: The market is nice to have and we use it to get real cage free farm eggs and some grass fed meats during the winter months, which can be hard to find especially in our area this time of year. It is also nice that it is held on Saturday instead of a week day during working hours like Elgin’s summer Farmers market.

This is a great place to check out if you have a small project to do in your house. I suggest watching the website for «new arrivals» to see what great things are available from week to week. I have gotten all kinds of stuff for far less than retail to help finish projects in my house: Paint, Liquid Nails, shutters, hardware, etc.
And don’t forget to check out the ReStore in Aurora by the Fox Valley Mall too!

So my parents bought a new house and remodeled it. They had a lot of perfectly good items like basically 1.5 entire kitchens, tons of light fixtures, bathroom items, nice wood trim, cabinets, furniture and more. Instead of throwing everything away or selling it on Craigslist I thought I would reach out to Habitat to donate it all.
I absolutely hate it when I try to do a nice thing but people make it incredibly difficult.
I contacted habitat and didn’t hear back for days. They then told me I had to photograph every individual thing I wanted to donate (I could have filled a semi with the things I wanted to donate) and then e-​mail it to them so they could consider picking it up. My family’s house is located less than 10 minutes from the store which I explained. It didn’t matter. As if we weren’t busy enough remodeling two homes, we were told to take that much time and effort so that ReStore could decide whether or not our donation was worth it.
No thanks. Craigslist it is, I guess.

Are you a Do-​It-​Yourselfer? Then you have to go to the restore. They have TONS of stuff old and new.
kitchen cabinets
appliances
nails
screws
lights
doors
windows
wood trim
Blah blah Blah… If its in your house, they probably have it and a few things you don’t.

I have to say, as stoked as I am about the IDEA of this store, it did not live up to my expectations. I had heard great things about this place, so I was so excited to go check it out. I drove all the way from Buffalo Grove out to frakking Elgin to explore, and when I go there, i was really disappointed. I totally thought there was going to be more. And not just more, but also more newer stuff.
I still suggest stopping by if you’re in the area, because i’m sure the stock rotates pretty quickly and you never know what you can find… but if you live like 40 minutes away like me, don’t take a special trip. Also, make sure you check the hours before going.

Good prices, random selection, & a very worthwhile organization.
Contractors bring their leftovers from a job, & the re-​store sells them & does good things with the $. Wish there was one in Chicago

Lots of stuff for rehabbing homes or your own home too. Things from lighting to doors and trim, sinks, toilets, and entire cabinet collections for your home. All at decent prices and best of all you support Habitat.