Green Outlet: Committed to the environment and community

Married couples Mary and Jack Dinan and Lauren and Roy Schlagenhaft decided to open their business three years ago because they saw a need for it in the area. The business is Green Outlet in Honesdale, PA—a store that sells new and used furniture, appliances, décor and more.

Amid the many chairs and tables in rows around me, and light fixtures hanging above my head, I recently sat down with the two women of the four-person team to talk about their store. It felt like a wonderland of home furnishings, an interior decorator’s dream.

“We felt that Honesdale could use this kind of a store, that it was a good idea [because of the trend] to repurpose and recycle. There were some similar stores leaving, and we thought there was a need,” said Lauren. Most of the items in their store are recycled. They buy things from individuals and contractors, as well as from closeouts, discontinued items and estate sales. Mary said they source from a wide array of places and avenues. They have dressers, kitchen and dining room sets, washers and dryers, bathtubs, mirrors, and small things like tins, plates, boxes; the list goes on. “You could buy a tiny thing for 50 cents here, or you could buy a kitchen. We have something for everybody,” said Mary.

True to its name, Green Outlet is a green business. I asked Mary and Lauren about how their store is sustainable, and they both said it’s because the things in their store would have otherwise ended up at the dump/in the trash. “Things that normally would get thrown in the dumpster have a chance at being reused,” said Lauren. “I can’t imagine how much we’ve actually saved from being tossed in a landfill.”

The pair also said that a lot of people who come to their store buy things to repurpose. Mary said someone came in recently looking for a countertop and instead bought a table to make into one. “We love when people are clever about things. It’s heartwarming,” she said. Lauren added, “Some of our customers are extremely clever, and it’s great. They bring us pictures of things they’ve done. It’s very cool.”

They said that if you are looking for something specific, they will take your name and contact you if anything comes up. They also make a point of stocking the store with items they know people want.

Not only do they have a wide variety of things to sell, they also get a variety of people who come into the store, from locals to visitors to second-home owners and even people from far away. In fact, during my visit, there was a couple from Long Island whose home was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy. Their daughter lives in the area, and so they have been coming to Green Outlet frequently to refurnish their house. “We sell to spectrums of people, everyone from someone who needs to furnish their first house to collectors, to antique dealers,” said Mary.

Lauren and Mary said one of the benefits of buying used furniture and appliances is that they are unique (you won’t find it anywhere else). They pride themselves on featuring top quality and offering good value (not as expensive as something new). “We have a lot of customers who will check here first before they go to the big box stores,” said Lauren, adding, “Most of my house is from here; there are not many items that I didn’t get from here.”

Both women said they have seen a lot of wasted items and materials over the years. “I personally have seen an awful lot of waste” said Mary. “I think when you come to a certain age you want to try to contribute to society in some way. This is my personal feeling of contributing; I feel like I’m doing a good thing. I’m serving the earth and I’m also serving the community, and that’s important to me.”

[Green Outlet is located at 45 Brown Street in Honesdale (the green building near Agway). It is open every day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Its website is kept up to date with photos and prices of what’s in stock. It also has a Facebook page. Visit www.greenoutletonline.com, or call 570/253-1275.]