Where do you donate items when you live in Aspen, Colorado?
There are few thrift stores in Aspen, Colorado. The rents are just too expensive to be supportive of the thrift industry. There are some consignment shops, mostly for boutique clothing, ski gear and outdoor sports gear. The one donation based shop I could find is fairly small. So what happens when someone in Aspen wants to donate very large things like furniture, art, home decor, or maybe a chandelier? Find out below!
This is one in a series of articles that explores unique and interesting sources for pre-loved items. Whether it be a thrift store, a consignment shop, a vintage or pre-owned boutique clothing venue, I’ll explore the most interesting collections on offer in a certain locale.
In addition to Glenwood Springs, I considered a number of towns close to Aspen in my search. I also found a Carbondale Colorado Thrift store to include here.
ReStore – Habitat for Humanity of Roaring Fork Valley
The sign in front of the ReStore in Glenwood Springs has a quote from their social media. It says “Best ReStore in the US”. I would enthusiastically agree! I’ve shopped at well over a dozen ReStore locations over the years, and I love them all. This particular location just blew me away though! I have NEVER seen such a collection of over-the-top and one-of-a-kind used merchandise at a thrift store.
This ReStore is located in an enormous building that looks like it is brand new. It is well lit, including high ceilings with day lighting. Everything is really clean and nicely organized. Furniture was grouped in dozens of livingroom-like collections, with items of similar styles arranged together.
There were two long walls of normally sized artwork, but there were also some pieces were VERY large that needed a bigger wall. This abstract on canvas has a King sized bed headboard leaning against the bottom, giving some scale for how truly large it is.
There were some antique and very unusual architectural pieces from Asia available when I visited. The ReStore staff carefully assess the value of the pieces as best they can. The store has a methodology for setting the price at a fraction of the estimated value, but even so some of the very unique items will end up in the several thousands of dollars.
Everyday stuff is priced at normal thrift prices: I bought Mikasa bowls at $2 each, for example. A West Elm metal bar stool with a wooden seat was $25. Everything I saw was reasonably priced for what it was. The store has a defined set of discounts that kick in the longer an item remains in the store and is based on colored tags. Discounts go up to 60% of the tag price.
In the market for a chandelier? ReStore has got you covered! While there were many normally sized choices (including LED models), take a close look at a few of the chandeliers in this picture. That is NOT an optical illusion. Some of the fixtures are taller than the staffer in the center of the picture.
There was a good selection of sectional sofas might seat up to 12 or 14 people at one time. Got your heart set on a rustic looking real leather couch with rawhide tassels and conchos? Yup, there were several to choose from. Raw-edge natural wood coffee tables? Yes. Dining Room tables with 8 or more matching chairs? Natch!
While you would probably have to rent a truck to haul it home, the Antler encrusted furniture of your dreams might be waiting for you in Glenwood Springs.
While I have focused on the unusual and very large pieces I spotted on my visit, there is a wide selection of the kind of merchandise you typically find at a ReStore Thrift store: used windows and doors, used appliances, plumbing fixtures, power tools, and lumber.
| Described in a few words … | Source for Outrageous & Very Large Furniture, Art & Rugs |
| Best thing I bought | Hand forged Wrought Iron wall brackets for my garden, $5 (see finished project below!) |
| Prices | Furniture/art/rugs priced at a fraction of their original price – but expect some big numbers on the really nice and unusual stuff. Building materials and common housewares are thrift store priced. |
| Discounts | 20% to 60% off older merchandise, based on tag color |
| Location | 53 Calaway Ct., Glenwood Springs, CO |
| Parking | Lots of free parking. Chargers for Electric vehicles are available. |
If you are in the market for a nice wooden cutting board, after reading the article Wooden Cutting Boards – So Much Safer than Plastic! – this ReStore has a huge supply of brand new wooden cutting boards. There are so many of them that I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a supply for quite a while.
This store is definitely worth the trip. Every staff member I interacted with was helpful and cheerful. Someone has spent a lot of time making the shopping area look nice – with wide usage of large artificial plants in pots and silk flower arrangements to decorate the room arrangements (most of which were not for sale) but went a long way towards making it a enjoyable shopping experience. I will definitely be visiting this thrift store again.
If you do manage to score some nice silk flowers or even an entire silk plant from a thrift store, you may be interested in how to clean them (since they often can be dusty). Be sure to see Clean Artificial Flowers Fast!
LuLu’s Thrift Shoppe
LuLu’s Thrift in Carbondale Colorado has a very warm, community based feel to it. Everyone seemed to know everyone. When you enter the store, you are greeted by a big gentle and friendly dog named Rambo. Then you get a chorus of hellos from the folks at the store. Things are clean, well organized, and the lighting is good.
I was impressed by this big collection of woven bracelets that seemed sized for men. I rarely see nice men’s jewelry, thrift store or in general retail. It all looked brand new or at least in top-notch condition.
As I walked around and looked through the clothing, the brands and the condition of the merchandise seemed to say “Consignment”, yet the prices were much more like nicer thrift stuff. The woman at the checkout counter assured me that they were 100% donation-based, thus the reasonable prices.
There was a good selection of women’s outerwear – many nice ski jackets and ski pants were on offer. There were several displays of semi-precious gemstone pendants on chains throughout the store. See one of the displays at the top center of this picture.
| Described in a few words … | Community Centric |
| Best thing I bought | Orchid pot with beautiful copper & turquoise glazing for $2.99 |
| Prices | Consignment level clothing at thrifty prices. |
| Discounts | Staffers let you know as you walk in about the current sale(s) |
| Location | 574 CO-133, Carbondale, CO (Colorado Hwy 133 – the main street through the center of town) |
| Parking | Lots of free parking – strip mall arrangement |
This is a small space, but well worth a visit. It is located about 5 miles down the road (towards Aspen) from the ReStore, so catch both places the next time you are planning on skiing or hitting the Hot Springs in Glenwood Springs!
Be sure to see other articles in the Thrift Store Junkie series!
- Thrifting in SW Denver
- Thrifting in Oakland and Berkeley, California
- Thrifting in Salt Lake City Utah
- More locations coming soon …
Are you a ‘Thrifter’? If not, be sure to learn why you should join the ‘reuse’ economy at Benefits of Thrifting – Top 10 Reasons for Thrift Shopping.
