Whether you are purchasing furniture, moving house or decluttering, disposing of large furniture items and unused/unwanted items can be tough. People no longer haul stuff to the curb. So, how should you dispose of unnecessary furniture? Here are 7 nifty ways of how to get rid of old furniture.
Donate to Friends and Family
The most effective option is to give away your surplus furniture to friends or family members who might find pleasure in them. There are bound to be people in your social circle interested in your items. You could make good use of social media and have your friends share and help you advertise.
Approach Charity Shops
Giving your large and unwanted furniture to a charity shop is highly effective. Here, there are high chances that the furniture will be reused. Charity shops are always grateful for such donations. Their customers often prefer to purchase second-hand goods from them because they are sold at cheap prices.
Some charity shops will come and collect the furniture from your house for free. Only ensure the furniture is in good condition and has no major stains or tears. You could also consider donating the furniture to daycare centres, schools, hospitals and libraries.
Sell your Unwanted Furniture
eBay and Craigslist are sure ways of getting rid of your heavy furniture and making money while at it. Craigslist is the topmost and oldest online garage for items for sale. The best way for you to achieve success in this platform is by using the ‘curb alert’ or the ‘free stuff’ features. The two allow you to list your item as a free pickup.
Once it has been posted in the free section, you can be sure it will be picked almost immediately. You could also take advantage of second-hand stores if your items are in good condition. Venerable yard sale is another avenue that has been tested and tried. However, it is important that you expect prices to be rock-bottom bargains.
Find Scrap Yards that do Large Trash Pickup
Scrap yards are not only defined as a market of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. If you are wondering how to get rid of heavy items that you consider trash, a scrap yard can also get it into better use. Look for scrap yards that pick up large items safely, efficiently and in an eco-friendly manner.
If you do not want to have trash piling up in your yard, giving it to scrap yards is a great way of having them recycled instead of having them end up in a landfill. Appliances such as an air conditioning unit, a refrigerator, lawnmowers an oven and more can be recycled.
Repurpose your Furniture
If you don’t want to sell or give away your furniture, you could reuse it. Maybe you just replaced your old furniture with a new one and you are not willing to get rid of it. A little bit of creativity can be applied to come up with completely different and new furniture. For instance, old wooden chairs can be used as nightstands. An old sofa could be placed in the garage’s game room or the deck.
Place it in the Curb with a ‘FREE’ sign
If you are an urban dweller, this is a sure-fire way for you to get rid of your furniture. You only need to place it in the curb with the ‘free’ sign and then walk back to your house.
Before you even get to the window to check if there are any interested parties, the item will have already been carried away. Understand that this method only works in some locations, and the items need to be moderately sized. You have to be in a high traffic area for this tactic to work. If you live in a dull low traffic location, this idea may not work.
Talk to Furniture Banks
There are furniture banks that pick up large items in your house. They come to your home and remove all the furniture you want to dispose of and take it to their furniture bank to give to individuals transitioning out of displacement and homelessness. For the items you are donating, you can expect a tax receipt for the fair market value.
Find out if the Furniture can be Hauled Away
If you are replacing old furniture, see if the people delivering the new item can haul your old items away. You could read their fine print or call them ahead of time to find out if there are any such special provisions. If they cannot haul it away for free, you could coax them with some fee to have it disposed of.
You could also consult your city council. Most have services for hauling away unwanted items that are heavy. Some of these items can be recycled by the agencies responsible for solid waste management.
It is no secret that heavy unwanted items can be challenging to get rid of. Upholstery furniture may also not find a good market especially if it is damaged. So, there are many viable furniture removal options. Lastly, you can find scrap yards that do large trash pickup.