ReStoring homes and lives

It's a handyman's heaven.

Walk into the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore in Hayden, and you'll be greeted by rows and rows of parts. From sinks to cabinets, doors to light fixtures, hardware to pipes, there's a little bit of everything related to building and furnishing a home.

"We take just about anything," said Renee Taylor, ReStore manager. "We're always looking for donations."

The proceeds from the ReStore helps the local Habitat for Humanity build and repair homes. They're also helping the environment by recycling good, usable materials. "We're not trying to make a fortune," Taylor said, "just raise some money for a good cause."

Ten percent of its net income is tithed to the national organization, which uses it worldwide in locations that have the most need.

ReStore is primarily a retail outlet where quality used and surplus building materials and home furnishings are sold for much less than normal prices. If you're looking for a special item that you can't afford to buy new, you might find it here.

It accepts pretty much anything except clothing, shoes and mattresses, Taylor said. The biggest sellers are appliances and doors. And it's always looking for donations - ReStore will even send out a truck to pick them up. It's a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible.

"Everything changes every day," Taylor said. "We don't know where we'll get it from or where we'll put it. Everything goes so fast."

The first ReStore was a small red barn on 16th and Hanley that was open one day a week. When it outgrew that space, It moved to Seltice Way and finally to its present location on Wyoming and U.S. 95 in Hayden.

There are 725 ReStores across the country, operated independently by affiliates with direction from the national organization. The local store is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and is run by paid staff and "absolutely wonderful volunteers."

ReStore is always looking for volunteers because it loses them to "real" jobs. In fact, most of the staff started as volunteers.

"It's great on-the-job training," volunteer coordinator Katrina Boyer said. Volunteers get retail experience, learning about cash register operation, pricing, customer service, and appliance maintenance and repair. "It's a good way for people to network. Young adults can count it as work experience, and put it on their resume." Working at the ReStore also fulfills court-ordered community service hours.

While most of us already know that Habitat for Humanity builds houses, it does so much more. Boyer also runs A Brush With Kindness, part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) program, offering painting, landscaping, weather stripping and minor repair services. Although ABWK only covers exterior repairs, due to Idaho's long, cold winters, the local affiliate has extended its services to critical repairs inside the home, as well.

To qualify, applicants must be in an owner-occupied home, meet the income standards, and have a need they can't meet on their own. The homeowner covers the hard costs, although a no-interest loan is available to cover those costs. They use ReStore materials when they can.

Volunteers provide the labor, although the homeowner is expected to contribute sweat equity. That can be anything from helping with the repairs, to cleaning debris from the yard before it can be landscaped, to making lunch for the crew (Habitat will provide the food). Or they can volunteer at ReStore or another local charity.

Volunteers like Greg Kunkel, a retired contractor with 30 years experience, are "near and dear" to Boyer's heart. Kunkel manages the construction end of ABWK.

"In this line of work, miracles happen so often that we have just come to expect them," Boyer said. "Having Greg join our staff was just one of those miracles. As a retired contractor, he brings a huge knowledge base which enables us to take on a wide variety of projects and serve a greater number of homeowners. He pretty much thinks he can fix anything, and I am finding that he is right."

Tuesdays and Saturdays are building days. ABWK has a regular group of volunteers - mostly retired men - that show up to do the work. Boyer calls them her "goldens." They have completed 80 percent of their projects, and are accepting applications.

Groups as well as individuals can volunteer to build or repair homes, using it as a team-building event or a service project.

Habitat needs applications for new homes, as well. Since 1989, it has completed 37 houses in our area. It currently has a two-bedroom home under construction that needs a family, as the original owners' needs changed.

To qualify for a home, homeowners must contribute 250 hours of sweat equity, which serves as their down payment. Habitat then sells the home back to them with a 30-year interest-free mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity's annual fundraiser, the Hearts for Homes Dinner and Auction, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Best Western Coeur d'Alene Inn. It includes a live and silent auction; KXLY's Mark Peterson will be emceeing the event. Tickets are $45/person, $360 for a table of 8, and are available through the Habitat office at (208) 762-4663, ext. 4.

If you're interested in being a part of the good work that Habitat for Humanity does, go to its website, www.northidahohabitat.org, and click the "Volunteer Now" button. And be sure to visit its Facebook page!

"Check us out before you go shopping," Taylor said. "You just never know what you're going to find. We may have what you need."

The ReStore is located at 176 W. Wyoming Ave., Hayden. For more information, call (208) 762-4352.