Habitat SLO County announces new furniture restoration challenge

– Habitat for Humanity San Luis Obispo County (Habitat SLO) is holding a ReStore-It Challenge to support local affordable housing for families in need and promote sustainability. From June 4 to July 31, participants can enter by purchasing a $20 ReStore credit and taking home a piece of furniture to fix up from the San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles ReStore locations. Participants must return the restored furniture to the respective store by July 31 for customer voting. Winners will be announced Aug. 17 at The Big Deal ReStore Anniversary Event.

The ReStore-It Challenge encourages participants to demonstrate their creativity, traditional restoration skills, or innovative techniques to revive their chosen piece while promoting sustainable consumer habits. According to an article from the New York Times, “Each year, Americans throw out more than 12 million tons of furniture.” Renewing and repurposing furniture provides it with a second chance and keeps it out of landfills. So far this year, local ReStore customers have prevented 686,650 pounds of usable materials from ending up in the trash.

“Dining room tables and chairs, dressers, bookshelves, hutches, coffee tables – there is so much to choose from,” said Stephanie Wright, Habitat SLO ReStores Manager. “It’s nice to see old pieces come back to life in other ways.”

Participants can proudly exhibit their project by taking photos to show progress, posting photos on Instagram with #ReStoreItChallenge, and inviting Habitat SLO to collaborate @HabitatSLOReStores.

ReStore credit can be used on store items, and the proceeds go towards Habitat SLO’s Affordable Housing, Home Preservation, and Neighborhood Revitalization programs.

For more information or fun ways to get involved, visit www.habitatslo.org or follow Habitat SLO on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.