A woman walked into the store the other day and brought in some old electronics for recycling. She admitted to hanging on to the lot for the past 5 years because she didn't know what to do with it.  She DID know that she didn't want it going to the dump!

Not everyone has the space nor the patience to hang on to something obsolete or broken for that length of time.  But I applaud her choice to dispose of it safely when the opportunity presented itself.   That's what recycling is, a choice, at least for now.  No one is mandating that you divert your recyclable items away from the landfills and in the hands of facilities that will break down the items and extract its goods. But why wouldn't you choose to be part of the solution? 

There is so much information out there to help us figure out our trash, Here are a few links to get you started
http://recyclinginbc.ca
http://www.rcbc.ca
http://www.regeneration.ca
http://www.return-it.ca

Sadly it takes a personal experience to bring to light  this sensitive subject.  My mother-in-law passed away on January 6, leaving behind 7 adult children.  We are fortunate that some of the siblings live near  her home and are able to deal with all of her belongings at their leisure.  This is not always the case, many of you might have children who live out of town, out of province or even out of country; do they know what to do with your estate?  
There are many ways of dealing with furniture and houseware items, gifting it to family & friends for one, selling it or donating it to your favorite charities.  Whatever you choose, make sure your family knows your wishes, help them by way of preplanning or even just listing items and recommend the charities by name and what they can take.  
New Life Furniture has been blessed by numerous furniture donations from estates.  All of which have had a positive impact on our ability to raise money for Kootenai  Community Centre Society who fund programs which help the women and families in need of safety and guidance.
Your family will appreciate all the time you took to help them through this truly difficult time.

December has been an interesting month here at New Life Furniture and Recycling.  We've been preparing  for a change of Executive Director at Kootenai Community Centre Society for a while.  We say a great big Thank You to Dina Bambrick for her devotion to her job and all the amazing things she accomplished as Executive Director.  All of us at NLFR wish her a happy retirement! 
We've also, during this  process, had the pleasure of getting to know Laura Milton and are so proud to be working with her under her new role as Executive Director.  With all these changes, it has allowed us to see what is working well and where we can do better. So many ideas...so little time left in 2015! 

We will leave you with best wishes for you and your family in the New Year and look forward to exciting new things in 2016!

As a relatively new member to the Creston Valley, I have been so impressed by what the community has to offer. There does not seem to be a shortage of places where you can get directly involved and feel like you are making a difference. Volunteering at New Life Furniture has put me in touch with some amazing locals and I've had the pleasure to welcome new people to the area.
 
I would like to make use of this blog and post items that will marry what we do at the front end of the store and what happens at the back in our recycling department.  All while continuing to spread the word that we are a non-profit enterprise for Kootenai Community Centre Society whose services are all about STOPPING THE VIOLENCE PROGRAMS  in the Creston Valley.
Please check out their website and see what they do for our community - http://www.kootenaicommunitycentre.org/

Fall has, well, fallen' upon us here in the Kootenay's... As we start to see shorter days and cooler weather we find that our Valley residents are having those extra minutes in their home to go through items that they have kicking around for our fantastic little recycling department and our quaint reuse facility... We are doing our best to serve you and look forward to serving our community members through the fall, into the winter and for many, many years to come.

We are looking to hire a student for our facility! Are you 16years or older? Still in school? Drop us off a resume!