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Visit the Warehouse
and See What's New!4671 Tanglewood Drive
Hyattsville, MD 20781
301.985.5180
Click here for directions
Hours: Wednesday 12-7
Thurs-Sat 9-5
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A huge THANK YOU to all who participated in our recent
survey--we really appreciate the honest feedback!
Some highlights:
The overwhelming request for more hours was to be open on Sunday
afternoons--we're looking into what staffing needs we will have to meet your
request!
Overall, you gave us high ratings on all attributes of our
Customer Service--the one thing you thought needed improvement was the Quality
of Products, specifically getting rid of some of the junkier items! You think that we take too many donations of
items that are too far gone to be useful to anyone anymore, and that the prices
are great overall but the broken/junky items should be drastically reduced in
price, given away free, or simply thrown out.
We'd like to remind you to check out our Free Friday Discount Aisle--many
items with drastic discounts are located there.
When it came to general suggestions for our warehouse,
overwhelmingly the biggest complaint is the lighting, with several customers
even suggesting that we rent out headlamps at the register! You'll be happy to hear that we've received
some grant funding that will help with capital improvements such as better
lighting! Meanwhile, we do have a drawer
full of flashlights and tape measures at the front desk that customers are free
to use--just ask a staff member or volunteer, and leave your keys as a deposit
to make sure we get them back!
You also ask that we work harder on our store organization
and displays, especially including signage.
We are working on this, but rely in large part on volunteers to help us
with sorting and organizing all our donations--please be in touch with Ruthie if
you have a few hours to help out.
94% of survey respondents said that you shop here primarily
for your own home, and 25% of respondents additionally said you shop here as a
handy-person. Partly in response to
this, we are planning a series of How-to workshops to enable local handypeople
to acquire additional skills, and to increase the knowledge of area homeowners
for simple do-it-yourself projects involving reused materials available at CF. Read the article at the right for more info! |
MEET THE STAFF:
Bea Trickett,
Special Projects Coordinator
 Nancy: What do you listen to in the car?
Bea: The radio now that I have an antenna
again--country, gospel, top 40, jazz, and slow jams are most often playing.
N: What is your favorite beverage?
B: Sparks! But it's been outlawed now,
so I need a new one. Coffee and tea are what I
drink most often.
N: What do you do for recreation?
B: I like dancing to rockabilly & zydeco with old gentlemen in honkytonk
bars--but I haven't found as many good places to do that here as there were in Minneapolis! I also like making
ridiculous videos, fixing bikes, volunteering interesting places as a means of learning new skills,
having friends over for potluck dinners, craft skillshare nights, and turning
any kind of event into a contest or arm-wrestling match.
N: Where did you grow up?
B: Partly in New Orleans, mostly in northern Virginia--and we lived with my
grandparents in Cornwall, England almost every summer. (My mum
is British and my dad's from Louisiana--I'm a dual citizen.)
N: What brought you to Community Forklift?
B: Initially Ruthie--I met her at a neighborhood party, and then I came to volunteer for the Green
Festival where I saw the job posting. I like how CF is a great community resource!
N: What is your passion?
B: I want my life to be about helping people remember skills
our society doesn't value anymore, like sharing things & skills with each other, finding things outside the economic system, shifting peoples' priorities,
putting less dependency on money making our decisions for us--moving folks towards self-sufficiency & genuine independence.
The shorter & more specific answer is growing food and equipping people with the
confidence and skills to do so in an urban setting!
Bea works part-time at CF, maintaining the website, database, craigslist postings, newsletters, ordering supplies, and bottom-lining the new workshop series!
Bea can be reached by email at
[email protected]
or by phone at
301-985-5180
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Earn free stuff!
As a nonprofit, we don't have the budget to buy ads. We have grown only because YOU have been spreading the word! Thanks to all the Forklift Fans that have put up flyers at their offices, posted messages on town listserves, and talked to their neighbors at community festivals.
Now that spring is here, we're getting even more invites to events...so we need help!
Can you pitch in on one of the dates below? We need volunteers to hand out brochures at our booth, as well as folks to help at the store. Just call 301-985-5180 or email [email protected] to find out more. Remember, you earn free stuff; volunteers get $5/hour in store credit!
* Sat, March 7, 14, and 21, Volunteer Orientations - show up at 10 am to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Forklift
* Sat. March 28, Tool Sale, Community Forklift warehouse
* Sat. & Sun. March 28-29, Go Green America Expo, Gaithersburg
* Sat. April 4, Howard County GreenFest, Columbia
* Sat. April 11, Frager's Hardware Festival, Capitol Hill
* Sun. April 19, River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation Earth Day Celebration, Bethesda
* Sun. May 17, Spring Cleaning Work Day (tentative), Community Forklift warehouse
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March Sales!
Semiannual Tool Sale March 28!
Come at 9 am to get the first look at our
vintage and modern hand tools, small power tools, and hardware!
(Volunteers may use up to $75 of
their store credit on tool sale items)
50% off Ceramic Tile
Take half off all regular ceramic
tile (Sale does not include subway, mosaic, stone, glass, or other specialty
tile).
50% off Toilets
Take half off all tanks, bowls, lids,
and complete toilets marked $35 or below.
50% off salvaged Wood Windows
Take half off all used rectangular
wood windows with clear glass (Sale does not include surplus windows; vinyl
windows; specialty shapes or frosting; or antique, pebbled, or painted glass).
Cherry Armoires: NOW ONLY $125!
We have over a dozen wood armoires, which measure approximately 3'
wide and 6' tall, and 2' deep! They were used in hotels as TV cabinets,
and some of them even include a 19" Phillips TV set!
Low, low prices on surplus
fire-rated slab steel doors!
Priced as marked. Doors usually sell for $120 - $150
retail. Our price is only $15 - $20!
We hate to have to
say this, but...
don't bother scratching price tags off! Any item without a price tag
is not eligible for the March sale.
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Attention
Contractors:
WANT
MORE BUSINESS?
Give
your customers a break!
Don't
pay to dispose of used building materials
Now
more than ever, people want to save money on home projects. You can offer them a tax deduction for
donating their salvaged building materials to Community Forklift.
Sign
up for a "Contractor/Handyperson Orientation" at Community Forklift and find out what
we take, how it works and how to make it work for you! We will answer all your questions so that you
are prepared to offer these services. We make it simple and easy. Space is limited, so please make sure you are
available!
** SUNDAY,
MARCH 22 at 11:30am,
serving coffee and doughnuts OR TUESDAY, MARCH 24 at 3:30 serving pizza and soda.
To
sign up please email [email protected]. Send her your contact information
(name, phone number, email) and the date you would like to attend.
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Presenting...CF's 1st Ever
Workshop Series!
Customers are always asking us how to use certain items that we
sell--we're working to put together a comprehensive how-to workshop
series that will enable our customers to make better use of our reused
materials!
Once a Month, Sundays at 2pm
March: How to re-use materials in your garden, facilitated by CF employee Bea Trickett, CF Customer Helen Williams, & CF Board Member Elizabeth Leigh
April: How to rewire a simple light fixture, facilitator TBD
May: How to diagnose and repair a leaky water wasting toilet, taught by Plumber YB Leaky
Limited Space
Pre-Registration and Pre-payment Required
$15 per person workshop fee
($17 if using Paypal to cover their fee)
Click here to sign up, and for more details!
If you or someone you know would like to facilitate a workshop teaching some aspect of working with reused materials, please contact Bea Trickett at [email protected]
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Clutter beware -
there's a Tiger on the loose!
On January 26th, Community Forklift got an unusual donation! Local home & office organizer Judy Tiger, of DC-based "Just That Simple" (www.just-that-simple.net) celebrated "Get Organized (Go) Month" by providing a pro bono day of office organizing services. Said Judy, "The goal of this mini-makeover was a more efficient and enjoyable work space for a very deserving nonprofit leader. I chose Community Forklift because of the great work they do for the community and for the environment."
I know this is hard to believe (snort), but some of our staffers are packrats. Also, we're so busy in the warehouse that papers tend to stack up in the office. But Judy was fantastic! She helped Jim reorganize his space more logically, so that filing is less of a hassle. She also gave Ruthie advice about attacking the piles and staying motivated. Check out these drastic before & after photos:
Jim's office BEFORE Jim's office AFTER!!! Ruthie's office BEFORE Ruthie's office AFTER!!!
It was a typical job for Just That Simple, which serves homes and offices across the DC area. They offer personalized, non-judgemental, creative, and practical solutions to clutter and chaos, including hands-on organizing and creating systems to stay organized. From one closet to a whole house, from one desktop to the whole office, Just That Simple helps people reclaim their work spaces and homes. The goals? Homes and offices that are enjoyable and efficient, where there are easy-to-find places to put everything away, where it is easy to work and to relax, and where friends and guests are welcome.
Just That Simple is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and the local WDC Metro Area Chapter of NAPO. This is the fifth year that NAPO has dedicated the month of January to GO Month, to raise awareness of the benefits of getting organized and of hiring NAPO professional organizers. During GO Month, NAPO's dozens of chapters and thousands of members hold events across the country.
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