How to Dispose of Old Couch (8 Different Ways)

Before you spend any energy taking your couch out, let us remind you that placing the couch in the trash bin is not a great idea.

Waste disposal authorities aren’t equipped to dispose of bulky furniture items, and your couch might end up becoming a permanent feature of the nearby trash bin.

While you may not mind it, this can hinder the waste disposal authorities from collecting other trash, leading to trash being spoilt in the trash bin and the trash bin becoming a home to uncountable bugs, insects, and animals.

Therefore, you need to think and decide exactly how you want to dispose of your couch.

Here are the safest and the most common methods of couch disposal that may help you make up your mind.

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Disposing of It by Donating

Disposing of an old couch by donating it is the easiest method.

You can put up a picture of the couch on social media platforms or websites like craigslist to ask if anyone might be interested.

You can ask the person who wants the couch to arrange for a pickup.

As you will not be charging anything for the couch, people might be willing to arrange for a pick up by themselves.

Asking people to arrange for pickup will make the whole situation much easier for you. You will not have to worry about doing anything to the couch.

You can let it sit in your living room or by the entrance for someone to come and pick it up.

If you are willing to make some effort, you can donate your couch to your local goodwill or some other charity center.

Many charity shops and thrift stores happily take unwanted, used furniture.

Disposing of It in a Yard Sale

If you have several items to get rid of, you can arrange for a yard sale at your home.

If you don’t want to drag the couch outside to the yard, you can take a picture of it and display that picture along with other items in the yard sale.

If someone shows interest in the couch, you can let them take a look through the window.

Disposing of a couch in a yard sale is safer than selling it on the internet.

In a yard sale, you may end up selling your couch to a neighborhood acquaintance, letting whom inside your home is less likely to pose a safety issue.

Disposing of It by Selling

You can sell the couch at places other than yard sales too.

If your couch is in good condition, you can list it on the Facebook marketplace or post pictures of it on your social media to find interested buyers.

If you choose to sell your couch online, you may need to clean it thoroughly before taking its pictures.

You will also need to take pictures of any visible wear and tear on the sofa.

You wouldn’t want to hide the wear and tear from buyers online as they will refuse to purchase the sofa upon seeing it all in person when they come to pick it up.

Disposing of It on a Curbside

If you want to get rid of your couch urgently, you can arrange to dispose of it at the curbside.

However, before taking this route, check your local laws for instructions regarding curbsides. Many cities in the United States do not allow the disposal of things at curbsides.

If you dispose of your couch at the curbside without checking the local laws, you might get in trouble.

Firstly, the authorities will make you take the couch back inside your home.

This whole scenario can make your efforts of getting rid of the couch go in vain. You will have to spend time and energy to take the couch back inside.

Secondly, you might have to pay a hefty fine.

Moreover, the couch might have become home to bugs, germs, or rodents during its time outside.

By being forced to take the couch home again, you might end up infesting your entire home.

Therefore, it’s always advisable to check in with local authorities before using the curbside for unauthorized use.

It will save you time, energy, and money and might even save your entire home.

Disposing of It by Recycling

There are many ways to recycle an old couch.

You can contact a nearby recycling company to ask if they would be willing to take the couch.

You can ask them to pick it up from your place if you don’t have the time or means of dropping the couch off them.

They might charge you a small fee that would still be much less than what you would have spent delivering the couch yourself.

Disposing of It by Upcycling

You can upcycle your couch if its frame is intact. There are various ways to make an old couch useful again.

You can choose to do the job yourself, or you can get professionals on board. If you choose to do it yourself, you can get a lot of help through YouTube tutorials.

The first step to upcycle a couch is to change the tufting. You can add new tufting to the couch or completely remove it to make room for replaceable seats.

If you choose to keep tufting, you can get new covers made for it. The covers can be printed, patterned or plain.

They can be made of cotton, denim, leather, twill, suede, or polyester-cotton blend fabric. You can choose the fabric of the cover depending on your home’s needs and aesthetics.

You can also change the couch’s legs or paint the existing legs for a completely new look.

You can paint the legs a dull gold or copper if you want a luxe touch to your home.

You can also keep them black or brown for a classic look or paint them a matching color as the carpet or tiles in your living area.

Painting the legs of the couch in a similar color as carpet or tiles will give an elevated look to your couch and make your living room’s floor look bigger.

To finish upholstering the couch, you can add contrasting cushions and a throw to make it look cozy and inviting.

You can also add tassels and pompoms to the cushions and throw them if you want to pull off a boho-chic aesthetic in your living room.

Disposing of It by Trading In

This method may not always be possible, but it is always worth giving a shot.

If you want to dispose of your old couch only because you have fallen in love with a new one, the chances are that your old couch will be in good condition.

If that is the case, you can talk to the furniture dealer where you eyed the new couch. Approach the dealer and ask if they would be willing for a trade-in.

The trade-in might depend on the condition of your old couch.

If your old couch is in good condition, the furniture dealer might offer you a discount coupon for future purchases or a bargain on the new couch.

On the other hand, if your old couch has a lot of wear and tear on it, the dealer might end up dropping off the shipping charges on the new couch or reject the deal altogether.

Disposing of It by Taking It Apart

If nothing else works, you can get rid of an old couch by tearing it all apart.

This method can be time-consuming, but it is a sure way of getting rid of an old couch in your own time, without anyone else’s involvement.

You will need to unhook all the various parts of the couch from each other.

Don’t forget to collect the loose change at this stage of dismantling the couch. You may also need to vacuum the couch if there’s dust or small trash on the couch.

For easy disposal, assign various trash bags for various materials. Place all the staples and screws in one trash bag, tufting in another, cover in another, and so forth.

Label the trash bags before tying them up and placing them in appropriate trash bins.

Once the entire couch has been disassembled and stuffed into trash bags, you can donate the frame as it will require further time and effort to take it apart.

The wooden or metallic parts of the couch frame may not be able to fit in trash bags. You will need to cut them using an iron cutter or chop off the wooden parts using a sew.

Once you have cut up the frames into smaller pieces, you can place them in trash bags categorized by material and in dedicated trash bins.

If nothing else works, you can always haul the couch to your local dumpster or landfill site. However, the world is already dealing with an insurmountable trash problem.

If you can take some time and dispose of your old couch in a useful way, you can feel good about doing something for the earth while disposing of an old couch.

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