The ReStoration Corner

Bihari Desai first started volunteering with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity when he worked at Xcel Energy, but his passion to give back would last beyond his professional career.

Now a retired project manager, Bihari volunteers for two four-hour shifts each week at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. As a volunteer, he stocks and organizes shelves, disassembles and organizes scrap metal, and helps customers. He is one one of 40 regular volunteers that help run both Twin Cities Habitat ReStore locations.

With Earth Day approaching on April 22, you may be thinking of ways to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. You might be considering things like carpooling to work, composting, supporting environmentally-friendly businesses, or donating your items instead of throwing them away.

But what about that remodel project you've got planned? Did you know that most debris and leftover materials from a renovation will end up in landfills? There's also the issue of off-gassing from materials made with toxic chemicals. But there are ways to make your remodeling project more eco-friendly. Here are a few of our favorites.

Did you know most scrap wood leftovers end up in landfills? While wood is biodegradable, most wood used in DIY household projects is chemically treated. When this type of wood is sent to the trash, chemicals can leak into the ground and eventually the water table.

If you have leftover scrap wood from that remodel you did last summer, or from the reclaimed wood headboard you created for your bedroom, don't throw it away. Use it to make something unique and beautiful. Here are some fun ideas to get you started.

The ReStore team is excited to announce that our next big sale is taking place on Saturday, April 21! During this Earth Day Sale (OK, it's actually a pre-Earth Day sale), shoppers can save 30% OFF everything at our Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Restore home improvement outlet locations.

When you think of repurposing old items, you probably don't think about your interior doors. You might consider repurposing the hardware from the door, but the entire door itself? What could you possibly make using an old door? Actually, a lot of things!

Interior doors are quite versatile and can be made into a variety of fun projects like a picture frame or a bookshelf. To help get the creative juices flowing, here are seven unique DIY projects using old interior doors.

After opening its doors in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis in September 2016, the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity ReStore home improvement outlet has become a staple of the neighborhood. Now, a year and a half later, it has hit a huge milestone: one million dollars in sales. And all that goes right back to making Habitat homes affordable for homebuyers across the Twin Cities.

The ReStore team is proud to announce that we are officially a Bicycle Benefits participant!

Showing off your style and personality isn’t limited to the way you decorate the rooms inside your home; you can create a one-of-a-kind look to your house’s exterior too. Whether it’s painting your front door an eye-catching color or planting flowers and shrubs in your front yard, your home should resemble you both inside and out.

Personalizing your space is what shows like HGTV’s Curb Appeal, Design on a Dime, Color Splash, and House to Home are all about. So, channel your inner designer and try some of these home exterior upgrades that will make a big impact.

Sun shining late into the evening, warming temperatures, and melting snow can only mean one thing: Spring is near. And it's the perfect time do some spring cleaning.

Before you get trash-happy, consider items you can donate. You may be surprised to find that much of what you don't need or want anymore can be donated. You'll not only keep items out of the landfill, but you'll make another family very happy.

But where do you start? We'll help you identify some of those things you didn't know you could donate (and tell you where to donate them) and some things that are better sent to the trash.

It's easy for your garage to fill up with extra building materials after completing a home improvement project. But if you want space to park your car, you'll need to give that stuff a new home—and we don't mean out back in the dumpster. Odds are, there are some diamonds in the rough that could be re-used, recycled, or donated!