Turning the waste stream into a resource stream for local communities
Support a community nonprofit and save money at the same time! Unique modern and vintage lighting in our reuse warehouse and in the Community Forklift Marketplace is 25% off.
This Saturday – Monday, March 18 – 20, take 25% off the price on hundreds of lights, from modern fixtures to antique chandeliers. The discount includes glass shades and globes, overhead lights, flush-mounted lights, wall sconces, outdoor lighting, fluorescent fixtures, and lamps. Facemasks are not required at Community Forklift, but they are encouraged. If you choose not to wear a mask, please help keep our community safe and be mindful of those around you. Thank you! Our warehouse hours are Monday – Sunday, 12 – 5 pm.
We’ve listed a selection of the lighting from our reuse warehouse online in the Community Forklift Marketplace. This Saturday – Monday, March 18 – 20, browse the lighting collection there and save 25% as well. Within five days of purchase, visit our warehouse for pick-up.
Community Forklift provides free home repair supplies and other essentials to households with limited resources through our Home Essentials Program. If you or someone you know needs lighting or other supplies but will have difficulty paying for them, please take a look!
Please note: discount does not include light parts or electrical supplies in the reuse warehouse, select specialty items, items in our eBay store, or items from our consignment partners. Items with missing or damaged price tags will not be sold. May not be combined with other discounts or promotions.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
This weekend, take 25% off the marked prices on ceramic, porcelain, stone, terracotta, vinyl, and glass tile! You can visit the Community Forklift Marketplace to get an idea of some of the tile we have available; however, we do not sell tile online, so please visit our reuse warehouse to purchase. Wood flooring and carpet are also included in the 25% off discount.
Facemasks are not required at Community Forklift, but they are encouraged. If you choose not to wear a mask, please help keep our community safe and be mindful of those around you. Thank you! Our warehouse hours are Monday – Sunday from 12 to 5 pm.
Community Forklift provides free home repair supplies and other essentials to households with limited resources through our Home Essentials Program. If you or someone you know needs flooring or other supplies but will have difficulty paying for them, please take a look!
Please note: tile discount applies only to bundles and boxes of tile, not loose pieces. Discount does not include roof tile, wood tile, select specialty items, items listed on eBay, or items from our consignment partners. Items with missing or damaged price tags will not be sold. Discount may not be combined with other discounts or promotions.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Would you like to share a project that you’ve completed using salvaged materials from Community Forklift? Send photos and a short description to outreach@CommunityForklift.org or tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter!
The high concentration of Community Forklift finds in this photo is breathtaking! The buffet, lamps, rug and even the dinner plates are all from the reuse warehouse. Thanks to Kelly and Jon for giving these salvaged materials a new home and supporting our nonprofit!
Peggy paneled this fireplace wall in her basement using salvaged doors and other materials from Community Forklift’s reuse warehouse. Fantastic! I love how the door handle above the fireplace doubles as a hook for artwork. Upcycling for the win!
This shower renovation looks amazing and – even better – uses salvaged materials! The thin, gray rows of accent tile are from Community Forklift. Using two different types of tile is a great way to incorporate salvaged tile into your space when there isn’t enough of either tile to use alone. Also, necessity is the mother of invention, and you can get some creative results too!
Peggy created this awesome basement bar using salvaged materials from Community Forklift! The upcycled red worktable is topped with a reused door with a salvaged tile work surface inset where the glass once rested. Genius! Thanks for sharing your space, Peggy!
February 2023: Reuse ideas for salvaged materials from Community Forklift
January 2023: Salvaged Materials from Community Forklift find new uses
December 2022: New reuses for materials from Community Forklift
November 2022: Creative projects using salvaged materials from Community Forklift
October 2022: Upcycling projects using salvaged materials from the reuse warehouse
September 2022: Upcycle salvaged materials into fantastic creative projects
August 2022: Fantastic projects made with salvaged materials
July 2022: New uses for salvaged materials from Community Forklift
June 2022: Creative uses for salvaged stuff
May 2022: Creative uses for salvaged materials from the reuse warehouse
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Trey is no stranger to our reuse warehouse! He found the blue toilet that was missing from his midcentury bathroom at Community Forklift and paired it with a salvaged vanity and vanity top as well.
The staff and board of directors at Community Forklift are happy to introduce you to our new Executive Director, Trey Davis! Trey is well acquainted with our mission to divert usable materials from the landfill and redistribute them to the community. As a longtime customer at the reuse warehouse, he has himself diverted quite a few salvaged items to his own home over the years!
“Community Forklift is at the intersection of sustainability, construction, and design — three areas that have always been at the center of my professional and personal pursuits,” Trey says. “This is an incredible time to be joining the organization and I look forward to building on the team’s success as we grow our nonprofit’s reach, explore new opportunities, and expand our community engagement.”
Trey has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the land use and nonprofit industries, having most recently served as the Vice President of Membership and Marketing for the Urban Land Institute. He began his career as an urban planner in James City County, VA, and earned an MBA from Georgetown and a BA from Duke University. He has also taught courses on sustainable development.
Trey started in his new role at Community Forklift on February 27, so if you see him out and about in the warehouse during your next visit, say hello! We’re looking forward to the future of our nonprofit, including exploring how to continue supporting the Zero Waste initiatives of local governments, expand our small business incubation for local craftspeople and artists, and increase educational and workspace training programs. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for updates!
Q: What inspired your interest in reuse and conservation?
A: My father and grandfather were both in construction and always seemed to have a project going on around the house too. As a kid, I got to explore a lot of job sites and help out with weekend projects. Stories about history, design, craft, and technology are embedded in the fabric of buildings, and you can see and touch that when you’re working on them. I learned pretty quickly that even in old buildings, there are elements that have plenty of life left in them. Our resources aren’t infinite, and newer isn’t always necessarily better, so why toss what can be reused?
Buildings also have a tremendous impact on how we experience and identify with our communities. As a teenager, I got involved with the preservation of the train station in my hometown. People from across the area supported the project and shared recollections of life events connected to the depot. That experience led me into urban planning and an abiding interest in small scale development and reuse.
Q: As a Community Forklift customer, what’s your number one tip for a trip to Community Forklift’s reuse warehouse?
A: Come with an open mind and be prepared for some fun surprises! We have a lot of inventory and it changes often, so chances are good you’ll find what you’re looking for. Chances are also good you’ll find a few things you weren’t looking for and didn’t know you needed. I like to do a loop through the whole warehouse just to see what’s there. I almost always see something that sparks new ideas or elicits a “whoa – that’s cool!”.
Q: What are some of your favorite DIY projects that you’ve worked on?
A: Last summer, I built a canoe at Penland School of Craft. We started with plans and a pile of lumber. Two two weeks later, we were paddling our canoes across a lake. Creating something that combines art and function is deeply satisfying. It’s especially fun to do that in a shared workspace where you can trade tips and inspiration with other folks tackling the same challenges.
The bow window on the front of our house was another fun project. It had a number of loose and broken panes and rather than change the character of the house by replacing it with a modern window, I was able to retrofit it with 12 panels of double paned glass. I love projects like that which restore or enhance the unique features of a house that are so often lost in renovations. Finding blue tile and a blue toilet to bring our 1960s bathroom back to its original look was a lot of fun too. (My prediction after a decade of mostly white and gray in interior design: warmth and color are coming back!)
Q: You led the restoration of a historic steam engine for the Virginia Museum of Transportation. How did you become involved in that project?
A: Seeing a locomotive sitting in a museum is one thing. Experiencing one in operation is something else entirely. I was 6 or 7 the first time I saw one pass through my hometown as part of a special excursion program and I was hooked. When the program ended in the 90s, N&W 611 and the other locomotives went back into museums. Twenty years later, when the Virginia Museum of Transportation announced it was exploring the possibility of restoring 611, I volunteered to help and eventually became chairman of the committee leading the effort. With a team of 300 (very dedicated) volunteers, we restored the locomotive, built business plans for its operation, and ultimately operated passenger excursions and special events. Spectators still line the tracks wherever 611 goes, which is just incredible to see. I’m proud to have played a role in making those special experiences accessible for new audiences.
Q: What type of food would you most look forward to seeing at a Community Forklift First Friday event?
A: BBQ pulled pork is a perpetual favorite of mine. I’m from the foothills of the Carolinas where tomato-based sauce is king, but I’m a big fan of the eastern Carolina vinegar-based style too.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Save 25% on appliances, including dishwashers, ranges and cooktops, refrigerators, microwaves, stove hoods, wall ovens, washing machines, and dryers. The discount runs Saturday – Monday, March 4 – 6, and includes both modern and vintage items. We offer a 3-week return policy on most Forklift appliances and we also offer 5 days of free storage to give you time to arrange for transportation, if needed!
Please wear a facemask that covers your mouth and nose while in the public spaces at Community Forklift. Thank you! Our warehouse hours are Monday – Sunday, 12 – 5 pm.
Community Forklift provides free home repair supplies and other essentials to households with limited resources through our Home Essentials Program. If you or someone you know needs appliances or other supplies but will have difficulty paying for them, please take a look!
Please note: discounts do not include items from our consignment partners, water heaters, window air conditioners, other heating and cooling equipment, items listed in our eBay store, or select specialty items. Items with missing or damaged price tags will not be sold. Discount may not be combined with other offers.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Sometimes the items donated to Community Forklift come with surprises inside. Have you seen one of these Avis tab buttons before? When I found this one in the bottom of a vintage trunk, they were new to me!
The 1.5″ tab buttons were available at Avis car rental counters and have a little tab at the top that you can fold over to attach the button to your lapel. With the slogan “In any language… we try harder” on the back, the front of the buttons featured the Avis tagline in a variety of languages. This one is in German, but it looks like the buttons also came in Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Flemish, French, Gaelic, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Tahitian, Thai, and Welsh.
The origin of Avis’s “We Try Harder” advertising campaign is also pretty fascinating. Since it started in the ’40s, Avis had trailed behind the car rental market leader Hertz. In the early ’60s, Avis launched this campaign that used its second place spot to advertise the company’s customer service: “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder. Or else.” The campaign was a huge success and narrowed the market-share gap between the two companies. You can read more about campaign slogan and the rivalry between the two companies in this Denver Post article.
April 2022: Vintage Photos: Summers of Yore
March 2021: Vintage Diet: “Dry Toast” and “Plenty of Steak”
June 2021: A Hidden Treasure Trove of History
April 2021: A Collection of History in More Ways Than One
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Support a community nonprofit and save money at the same time! Unique modern and vintage furniture in our reuse warehouse and in the Community Forklift Marketplace is 25% off.
This Saturday – Monday, February 25 – 27, take 25% off modern and vintage furniture at the Community Forklift reuse warehouse! Save on all sorts of styles and types of tables, dressers, shelves, wardrobes, desks, chairs, sofas, and more. We offer five days of free storage after purchase to give you time to arrange for transportation, if needed! Facemasks are not required at Community Forklift, but they are encouraged. If you choose not to wear a mask, please help keep our community safe and be mindful of those around you. Thank you!
We’ve listed a selection of the furniture from our reuse warehouse online in the Community Forklift Marketplace. This Saturday – Monday, February 25 – 27, browse the furniture collection there and save 25% as well. Within five days of purchase, visit our warehouse for pick-up.
Community Forklift provides free home repair supplies and other essentials to households with limited resources through our Home Essentials Program. If you or someone you know needs materials but will have difficulty paying for them, please take a look!
Please note: discount does not include bathroom vanities or kitchen cabinets, mantels, appliances, select specialty items, items from our consignment partners, or items listed on eBay. Items with missing or damaged price tags will not be sold. May not be combined with other discounts or promotions.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Community Forklift’s reuse warehouse is just one part of the reuse equation. Our nonprofit depends on the generous material donors who support us by providing the new and gently-used items that flow in and out of our space every day. Without donated materials, we wouldn’t be able to carry on our mission of diverting usable items from the landfill and providing them free or at low-cost to the community.
Tart Lumber is one of these businesses that supports reuse by donating to our nonprofit. This past fall we were thrilled to receive a donation of lumber, Trex decking, interior trim, and more. Previously they have also provided doors, windows, and cabinetry, often using their own trucks to bring large loads of materials to our warehouse.
“Thank you to Tart Lumber for being a fantastic supporter of our mission,” Community Forklift Director of Donations Tom Patzkowski said. “The items they donate are in high-demand among those who shop at our reuse warehouse store and we are so pleased to be able to connect them with people who need their surplus materials.”
The company has been providing the DMV area with building materials since 1951, when Lynwood Tart began selling lumber in Arlington, VA. Now owned by Elizabeth Tart Fritsche and her husband, Craig Fritsche, Tart Lumber has expanded to include a full-service lumber and hardware store, a 9,000 sq. ft. design showroom, and a custom millshop all at one location in Sterling, VA.
By choosing to donate their overstock and other excess materials to Community Forklift, Tart Lumber reduces waste and conserves natural resources, while supporting the communities in which they operate by providing low-cost building materials to those who need them. Their materials also help support our community giving programs that provide free items to non-profits and households with limited resources.
Thank you to Tart Lumber for supporting Community Forklift and lifting up our community through reuse!
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
The Community Forklift nonprofit reuse warehouse has some great styles of salvaged tile. Saturday – Monday, February 18 – 20, take 25% off the marked prices on ceramic, porcelain, stone, terracotta, vinyl, and glass tile! You can visit the Community Forklift Marketplace to get an idea of some of the tile we have available. We do not sell tile online, however, so please visit our reuse warehouse to purchase.
Facemasks are not required at Community Forklift, but they are encouraged. If you choose not to wear a mask, please help keep our community safe and be mindful of those around you. Thank you! Our warehouse hours are Monday – Sunday from 12 to 5 pm.
Community Forklift provides free home repair supplies and other essentials to households with limited resources through our Home Essentials Program. If you or someone you know needs tile or other supplies but will have difficulty paying for them, please take a look!
Please note: tile discount applies only to bundles and boxes of tile, not loose pieces. Discount does not include other types of flooring or furniture, roof tile, wood tile, select specialty items, items listed on eBay or Chairish, or items from our consignment partners. Items with missing or damaged price tags will not be sold. Discount may not be combined with other discounts or promotions.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
Families and volunteers at Carrollton Elementary School in New Carrolton, MD, redecorated the school’s staff lounge with the help of some free materials from Community Forklift’s reuse warehouse. Dulce Santos, Community School Coordinator at Carrollton Elementary, shared that the school was inspired “to create a warm, welcoming staff lounge to show hard-working school staff and teachers [that] they’re valued and appreciated.”
While some effects from the Covid-19 pandemic have started to fade, still in 2022 Dulce noticed that the pandemic continued to affect schools. “The pandemic has taken a toll on our students, but also our teachers,” Dulce said. “Teachers have made adjustments to their curriculums, delivery of instruction, technology, while maintaining a safe and socially-distant classroom environment.”
“Having families taking on this project … demonstrated the gratitude they have towards our school staff.”
Dulce Santos, Community School Coordinator at Carrollton Elementary
According to Dulce, families and volunteers came together to show school staff and teachers appreciation by redecorating the lounge into a vibrant space where staff can relax and recharge. “Having families taking on this project … demonstrated the gratitude they have towards our school staff. Staff can enjoy a staff lounge that contributes [to] lower stress levels, helping to keep them healthy and engaged,” she said.
Community Forklift provided a wall mirror and coffee table for the newly refurbished space. The items were distributed through our Community Building Blocks program, which provides free materials to nonprofits, schools, and community groups for projects that serve the greater community. If you know of an organization that could use free materials, please share our website with them! They can reach out with questions to Susana, our Community Giving Manager, at 301-985-5180 x 303.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
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