Homestore sells good quality used furniture at affordable prices to people on a low income
How Homestore works: a day in the life...
At nine o'clock every morning Homestore drivers Jon and Dave load up the vans with the help of volunteers. The items have all been recently bought by customers, who benefit from free home delivery as part of the service.
All loading takes place under the watchful eye of Irmina, Homestore's administrator.
The first delivery of the day is to Ming and his toddler Jun. Their council flat is bare before we arrive with a mattress, table, desk, cabinet and new double bed which Ming had purchased the previous day.
With prices as low as £6 for the desk and £15 for the cabinet, Homestore is accessible for people on even the very lowest incomes.
Later we visit Marigold, a married mum of two living in Docklands, who had just moved into her new flat after six years of uncertainty on the Newham housing waiting list. "Life can be very hard," she told us. "Homestore is so useful, it has helped me save a lot of money. I'm happy and proud to finally be getting my home together."So where does all this furniture come from, that gives struggling households like Ming's and Marigold's the chance to build some stability and security in their home? It comes from the wonderful people of east London, making donations from far and wide across the city, from the Isle of Dogs to Loughton and from Dagenham to Archway. Thank you.
Making more for charity from your furniture donation
If you are a UK tax payer we can claim 25% extra on the price of furniture sold through the government's gift aid scheme. Every item has a tracking number, so we can follow an armchair on its journey from a donor's home to the living room of a customer. So, an armchair that sells for £15 will actually raise £18.75, which is ploughed back into the costs of running Homestore.
Over 1,600 people furnish their homes through Homestore every year. Find out more about our impact or listen to a BBC London radio report about Homestore's service.
