Habitat for Humanity ReStores are the one donation destination that wants what every other charity refuses: cabinets, countertops, doors, sinks, toilets, tile, and surplus building materials, alongside furniture and working appliances. Most ReStores also offer free pickup for large items, which makes them the go-to for renovations and estate cleanouts. The catch: every ReStore is locally run, so rules vary store to store. Here is how the system works.
No thrift chain takes construction goods; ReStores are built for them. Typical accepted lists include kitchen and vanity cabinet sets (with doors attached), countertops, interior doors, windows, lumber, tile, sinks, bathtubs, and toilets, plus lighting and hardware. For anyone mid-renovation, that turns demolition day into a donation instead of a dumpster fee, and contractors use ReStores the same way. If your donation is a kitchen, ReStore is not just an option, it is effectively the only one.
ReStores also take the classics: sofas, sectionals, tables, bedroom and office furniture, patio sets, and working appliances including refrigerators, ranges, washers, dryers, and dishwashers. The condition bar is real: new or gently used, excellent working order, no damage, stains, or missing pieces, and upholstered or leather pieces free of tears and pet damage. Items that fail are declined at pickup, so photograph honestly when scheduling.
Most ReStores offer free pickup of furniture, appliances, and building materials, and many affiliates let you schedule online, often with photo upload so the store confirms your items in advance, exactly the friction-saver AMVETS uses for furniture. Because each affiliate runs its own trucks, coverage, wait times, and what qualifies for pickup vary; a call or the local ReStore's website settles it in minutes.
ReStore sales fund the local Habitat affiliate's home building and repair work in your own community, and donating diverts usable materials from the landfill at the same time. It is one of the most direct donation-to-mission pipelines in retail charity: your old cabinets literally help fund the next Habitat house. We profile Habitat affiliates and their service areas across nearly every state.
Last updated June 2026. Errors: [email protected]
The order of operations matters. Call the ReStore before demolition: they will tell you what qualifies and may schedule pickup for the tear-out week. Remove cabinets as intact sets, keep doors on and hardware bagged, protect countertops from cracking, and leave appliances connected until the pickup is confirmed so you can demonstrate they run. A kitchen removed carefully can be worth hundreds of dollars in resale to your local affiliate; the same kitchen crowbarred out is worth nothing. Some affiliates run deconstruction services that remove the kitchen for you in exchange for the donation.
For furniture, ReStore competes with the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul, and condition standards are similar. For appliances, ReStore is often the most willing taker of working large appliances, which AMVETS and GreenDrop exclude outright. For building materials, there is no competition at all. The practical split: renovation and estate goods to ReStore, bags of clothing and small goods to Pickup Please or GreenDrop, mixed furniture loads to whichever truck serves your area fastest, compared in our furniture pickup guide.
ReStores belong to independent local Habitat affiliates, not a central chain, so one store's yes is another's no: urban stores drowning in sofas tighten furniture rules, stores near new-home construction load up on builder surplus, and pickup radius depends on the affiliate's truck budget. The habit that saves wasted trips: treat habitat.org/restores as the directory, but treat your local store's own accepted-items page and phone line as the authority. The variation is the price of a model where every dollar stays local.
ReStore donations are deductible like any 501(c)(3) gift, and building materials are often the highest-value noncash donations a household makes: a cabinet set or nearly new refrigerator can be worth hundreds at fair market value. Document with photos, keep the receipt, and remember the thresholds, Form 8283 above $500 in annual noncash gifts, qualified appraisal above $5,000 for a single item or set. Our donation value guide and tax deduction guide cover the mechanics.