Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia and the National Capital Region operates its Alexandria ReStore at 869 South Pickett Street, open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Sundays, with donation drop off accepted at the bay doors around back from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store functions as a nonprofit home improvement outlet built entirely on donated goods, selling building and home improvement materials alongside furniture, appliances, cabinetry, doors, windows, and general home goods, all priced well under retail. Its own messaging welcomes a wide range of shoppers, from DIYers, homeowners, renters, and landlords to contractors, interior designers, environmentalists, and self described treasure hunters, reflecting how broad the customer base for donated building materials and furnishings really is in a dense, older suburb like Alexandria.
What makes the Pickett Street store useful beyond its bargain pricing is its role funding Habitat for Humanity’s home building and renovation work across the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia region, an area with some of the highest housing costs on the East Coast. Every sale on the floor, whether a salvaged door, a used refrigerator, or a box of leftover tile, goes toward the affiliate’s mission of expanding access to affordable homeownership for local working families. The Alexandria location keeps slightly earlier weekday hours than the affiliate’s Chantilly store, opening at 9 a.m. rather than 10 a.m., which gives early risers and contractors starting a job a chance to shop before the workday gets underway. Merchandise at both stores sells as is with no cash refunds, though items can be exchanged within 30 days with a receipt for store credit, a policy typical of donation based resale operations trying to keep prices low while still protecting shoppers from a bad transaction.
Sitting just off South Pickett Street in a light industrial and retail stretch of Alexandria, the store gives residents of the city and nearby parts of Fairfax and Arlington counties a nearby option for discounted renovation materials without driving further out into Northern Virginia. Because inventory depends entirely on what area residents, contractors, and retailers choose to donate rather than a curated buying plan, the mix of doors, cabinets, appliances, and furniture shifts week to week, and regular visits tend to turn up the best selection. Donors dropping off usable materials also help keep functional building supplies out of area landfills, turning what might otherwise be construction waste into both a bargain for a shopper and a funding source for a new Habitat home.
In short, the Alexandria ReStore on South Pickett Street is a donation funded home improvement and furniture outlet whose proceeds go directly toward building affordable homes across the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia area, making every purchase there a small, direct contribution to a neighbor’s path to homeownership.
