A bag of outgrown kids' clothes and a working dishwasher used to end up in the same place in Evergreen. Both could go to 1232 Evergreen Parkway, where the Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity ReStore took appliances, décor and tools and resold them to fund the nonprofit's home-building work. Now the two are headed in opposite directions. The clothes stay in town at a single address on Meadow Drive. The dishwasher needs a truck and a trip to Arvada, Littleton or Boulder.
That split is the new layout of Evergreen's secondhand life. With the holidays coming and garages filling up, it helps to know which half of town each item belongs to before you load the car.
What closed, and what it used to take
In September, the Canyon Courier reported that Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity was closing its ReStore and had canceled its annual Hard Hats and High Heels fundraiser. "The board was forced to make the unfortunate decision to close the ReStore," board member Tony Lumpkin told the paper. "We know how valuable it has been to the community and the decision did not come lightly." The nonprofit has been based in Evergreen for 36 years. It serves the Jefferson County foothills, Clear Creek County and parts of Park County.
Some online directories, including Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver's ReStore locations page, may still list the Evergreen store. The Parkway building no longer takes drop-offs.
The ReStore's real job was taking the heavy, awkward, remodel-sized items no other shop in town would. That category is where Evergreen now has no local option.
Meadow Drive picked up everything that fits in a bag
Two donation shops share one address. EChO ReSale, run by Evergreen Christian Outreach, and the EAPL Thrift Shop, run by the Evergreen Animal Protective League, are both at 27888 Meadow Drive. Across the street at 27905 Meadow Drive, the Evergreen Sustainability Alliance's EverGREEN Refill Station now runs on the first floor of Meadow Drive Village, inside Sol Studio Space.
The Refill Station moved because of the ReStore. It had occupied part of the ReStore's second floor, and the Canyon Courier reported that Habitat gave the alliance a few weeks' notice to relocate. Sol Studio Space owner Jacqueline Smith offered the space. She also runs Creating Space Colorado, a business that helps residents downsize by selling or donating what they no longer need. "I tell [clients] daily that what they think is trash is something people want to use, and they don't need to fill their dumpster," she told the paper. ESA executive director Wendy Neuman told the Courier the alliance went from paying no rent to paying rent, and it plans to look for business partners to help cover the cost.
The two donation shops look interchangeable from the parking lot. Their intake rules differ in ways that matter on drop-off day.
| EChO ReSale | EAPL Thrift Shop | EverGREEN Refill Station | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address | 27888 Meadow Drive | 27888 Meadow Drive | 27905 Meadow Drive, inside Sol Studio Space |
| Shop hours | Mon–Sat, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Mon–Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sat, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Wed and Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sat, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Donation hours | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Mon–Fri, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sat, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Not a donation site; bring empty containers to refill |
| Children's clothing | Accepted and in great need | Not accepted | n/a |
| Furniture | Email photos for approval first | Email photos; accepted when space allows | n/a |
| Proceeds support | EChO Food Pantry, shelter and case management | Rescue animals | ESA sustainability programs |
The children's clothing line is the clearest example. EAPL doesn't accept children's clothing or items. EChO says it is "always in great need of children's and men's clothing." One curb, two doors, and a bag of kids' jackets belongs at only one of them.
Timing matters too. EAPL takes donations until 3 p.m. on weekdays. EChO's intake window closes at 1 p.m. and is closed Tuesdays and Thursdays. EChO also limits each donor to one drop-off per donation day, no larger than two 13-gallon trash bags or medium boxes. It also asks that donations never be left after hours. The shopping center's security cameras record license plates, and the center's management will take action on items left behind.
Holiday closures are worth noting this month. EChO closes at 2 p.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, stays closed Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, and closes again December 24 through January 1. A post-holiday purge will run into that week of closures.
What gets donated keeps moving after intake. EChO says unsellable shoes go to Soles4Souls, extra books go to local schools, daycare centers and correctional facilities, and some furniture furnishes homes for clients getting back on their feet. For a $75 fee, EChO delivers purchased furniture to Aspen Park, Conifer, Evergreen, Genesee, Indian Hills, Kittredge, Marshdale, Parmalee Gulch and Tiny Town. It picks up approved furniture donations in the same towns.
The list Meadow Drive turns away
The Meadow Drive shops' exclusion lists, read side by side, cover a lot of what the ReStore used to take.
- EChO ReSale won't take: mattresses or box springs, TVs older than three years, broken electronics, computers and screens, exercise equipment, or anything toxic, flammable or hazardous.
- EAPL Thrift Shop won't take: large appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers, hardwired fixtures, bed frames, mattresses, large electronics, helmets, or hazardous materials. Small appliances such as microwaves are fine.
Neither list covers cabinets, doors, lumber or the dishwasher from a kitchen remodel. That is the gap the ReStore leaves behind, and for now it means a drive down the hill.
Anything that needs a truck goes down the hill
For remodel leftovers and large appliances, these are the options.
- Arvada ReStore, 5045 N. Robb St., Suite 200. It takes donations daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and sells appliances, cabinets, lumber, brick and stone, flooring, doors and windows, plumbing fixtures and tools.
- Littleton ReStore, 7890 W. Quincy Ave. Its donation dock is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and it carries the same range of building materials. Drop-off at any Metro Denver ReStore is free.
- Habitat Metro Denver pickup. Standard residential pickup runs Tuesday through Saturday, is usually available within two to three business days, and costs a $40 appointment fee as of October 1, 2026. Items must be left outside or in a garage. The pickup page has an address map for checking whether a home falls inside the service area. Lumber has its own rules. Pieces must be at least 6 feet long and free of nails and paint, and pickup requires at least 100 linear feet.
- Resource Central Materials Reuse, 6400 Arapahoe Rd. in Boulder. It runs a drive-through donation lane Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and offers free pickup for qualifying donations. It takes appliances, cabinets, doors, plumbing, lumber, trim and sheet goods. Its posted rules exclude appliances containing CFCs and require complete, intact cabinets and lumber at least five feet long.
Every option here has a condition bar. Habitat considers working, clean, undamaged appliances and structurally sound cabinets with doors and drawers attached, and every donation needs staff approval. Its donation page also excludes nonworking appliances, used batteries, electronics, fluorescent lighting, mattresses and paint. A broken range and a cracked vanity have no reuse destination on this list.
What still stays local
A few smaller loops run on their own schedules, outside the thrift shops and the ReStores.
Books and media can go to the Evergreen Library at 5000 County Road 73, which accepts one box of books, DVDs, CDs and LPs. Kitchen scraps can go into the Evergreen Sustainability Alliance's household compost program. It costs $15 a month and uses a secure drop-off at the Buchanan Community Garden that is open around the clock. Food waste goes to A1 Organics in Keenesburg, and subscribers get finished compost back in spring. Household hazardous waste, which every shop above turns away, has its own destination down the hill at Rooney Road Recycling Center, 151 S. Rooney Road in Golden. The center takes it year-round by appointment, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and its site links to a separate accepted-items page that lists items and fees.
The Refill Station is the reuse loop that makes the shortest trip. It sells refillable cleaning and personal-care products, plus home goods from Colorado makers including 7220 Soap and Mercantile, Humble Suds and Old Pine Candles. You weigh your own container, fill what you need and pay only for the product. Neuman told the Canyon Courier that a local refill shop means residents "don't have to go down the hill for this."
That's the new layout. Bags and boxes stay on Meadow Drive. A dishwasher, a set of cabinets or 100 feet of clean trim goes to Arvada, Littleton or Boulder, or waits for a $40 pickup.
If you're clearing out a foothills house before a sale or a move, the leftovers are part of the plan, from the furniture EChO will collect to the remodel materials that need a truck. Closing Colorado can help you work out the order: what to donate, what to haul, and what to leave for the next owner. Start Your Mountain Move.
