About us
Home Basics has been furnishing people’s futures for over twenty years as a local furniture and household reuse charity working across the Scottish Borders, ensuring affordable furniture is accessible to people in urgent need of furnishing a comfortable home. Our quality household and furniture items are also available to everyone to purchase at competitive prices through our two retails stores in Walkerburn and Hawick. Home Basics is dedicated to having a positive impact in three key areas of today’s society:
People | Environment | Local Community
Meeting needs of local people
Everyone Benefits! Home Basics sells reusable items to everyone through our stores, which allows the operation of our charity to be self sufficient. Stock can move through faster allowing even more items to be saved from landfill on a weekly basis.
Encouraging local people to reuse first, before seeking to buy new, means quality items do not go to waste and fantastic products can be sourced at less cost.
Our beneficiaries are referred by the Council Homelessness Service and other local support organisations. Individuals are also able to ‘self-refer’ if they are in receipt of means-tested benefits. Home Basics offers a discount scheme for products and delivery costs to these primary beneficiaries.
On average 400 vulnerable people plus around 200 children benefit from the help and support of Home Basics charitable activity each year.
Providing a safe, comfortable and pleasant home, encourages independence and empowers vulnerable individuals to take back control of their lives. From this position they are often able to regain a sense of belonging to power their future.
Home Basics is proud to be furnishing people’s futures across the Scottish Borders.
Preventing landfill and minimising carbon
Home Basics’ reuse and repair ethos proves an important contributor to the local circular economy. Collectively, Home Basics, customers and kind donors benefit the environment by preventing tonnes of furniture and household items going to landfill each year. Quality items can redeem their original purpose and be used, thus minimising the demand for new production of lesser quality items.
We help tackle challenges in society by encouraging participation from the community and changing the mindset of individuals to build a reuse society. Choosing to reuse an available item rather than sourcing new has a positive impact on our struggling environment.
Through established partnerships and together with local authorities our informative message helps influence behaviours and prevent quality and useable items going needlessly to landfill.
Helping individuals and families on the edges of mainstream society is our primary aim, however our retail stores are open to everyone. Sales of quality furniture and household items generates income to support the organisation’s long term work. Home Basics reserve some essential items in short supply for our main beneficiaries, but the majority of our furniture and household stock is available to everyone and raises funds for our work enabling a sustainable operational charity.
Encouraging a reuse society
Home Basics has an economic impact in local communities. Offering fantastic furniture at a great price has a financial impact on tight personal budgets, yet adorns a home with unique quality items.
We not only create local jobs, volunteer opportunities, work placements and training, Home Basics relies on volunteers for the success of our operation. Our whole team carries the reuse message becoming mini ambassadors in local communities. To find our more please click here.
We strive to encourage a culture of reuse and repair. Transforming attitudes and behaviors, demonstrating how community members can reduce waste to gain maximum longevity from their household and electrical items.
As an established reuse charity, Home Basics has developed strong working relationships with local partner organisations spanning the public and private sector. Understanding and meeting the needs of its community and local authority priorities to achieve a circular economy.