College move-in week can be fraught with stress, largely due to the expenses that go into apartment or dorm shopping. The list of back-to-school essentials is overwhelming and seemingly endless.
Luckily, Gainesville makes it easy. The college town has resources that allow students to not only save money on furniture and decor, but also to shop sustainably.
This year, total college spending is expected to reach $88.8 billion, with about 14% of that amount going toward apartment and dorm furnishings. Of all furniture nationwide, 12 million tons end up in landfills every year.
Several local stores aim to prevent this trend.
Gail Jones is the manager of Haven Attic Resale Store, located at 300 NW 8th Ave., less than 2 miles northeast from the main UF campus. Purchases at the thrift shop go directly to support Haven Hospice, an organization offering end-of-life care and grief support to families throughout North Florida.
Dedicated to taking in as many items as possible, 64-year-old Jones and her staff receive thousands of donations a day and recycle whatever is in poor condition.
“We're in such a throwaway society,” Jones said. “I'm hoping that this generation will be better about understanding that things have more than one life.”
When students buy brand-new products for their apartments, which they sometimes only occupy for a year, they are adding to the “crazy cycle” of waste, she added. She also encouraged students to not only buy reused furniture and decor, but to donate their items after moving out.
Those donated items might end up in stores like Reuse Planet, located at 1540 NE Waldo Road. The store is dedicated to selling pre-owned furniture, decor, appliances and miscellaneous household items. Employee Tiffany Ernspiger said she and her staff see potential in every piece that comes their way.
“I really stand for our mission of keeping things out of the landfill,” Ernspiger said. “(Reuse Planet) gives items a second life.”
The store has been in business for almost four years and is another shop made possible by donations. Compared to big-box retail stores, 35-year-old Ernspiger said, Reuse Planet offers higher quality products for cheaper.
“We're giving people the opportunity to be able to have something that's made better, something that's vintage or antique,” Ernspiger said. “They just don't make furniture like they used to.”
Reuse Planet is owned by parent company The Repurpose Project, located just down the road on 23rd Avenue, which specializes in selling items not accepted at most thrift stores.
Two Santa Fe College students browsed the outside portion of The Repurpose Project, a colorful junkyard of bicycles, bottleware and more, on Tuesday morning. Inez Horta and Isabella Deschiave were sifting through the album cover decor bins, looking for items to personalize their new abodes.
Deschiave, an 18-year-old business management freshman, said secondhand shops like The Repurpose Project offer quirkier and more sustainable products than conventional retail stores.
“At Walmart, the items are modern. Here, everything is unique and benefits the environment,” Deschiave said of The Repurpose Project.
For Horta, The Repurpose Project is one of several affordable options she relies on for back-to-school shopping. The 18-year-old architecture sophomore also advised students to scour Facebook Marketplace and Sorority and Fraternity Row for discarded items on the curb.
“Saving money is a big incentive for college students,” Horta said.
Contact Isabel Kraby at isabelkraby@ufl.edu. Follow her on X @isabelgkraby.
