How to Dispose of Old Furniture (All Options)

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How to Dispose of furniture

Whether you’re moving, upgrading, or anything in between, sometimes you simply have to get rid of furniture. 

Sometimes the size and nature of these items make it hard to know what to do with them, though.

The good news is that you have lots of options when it comes to disposing of old furniture you no longer need. Here are ideas for how to dispose of furniture safely and easily.

Pass It Along

If your furniture is still in decent shape with some life left in it, passing it along to someone else is a great first option. 

This method alleviates unnecessary waste and results in the pride of knowing you’ve helped someone else.

Donating Furniture

There are several different ways to pass your old furniture along to someone else. Depending on your local area, many thrift stores would be happy to receive furniture donations.

Check to see where the Goodwill or Salvation Army locations are in your area. 

If you have one or two pieces of small furniture and a friend with a truck, you can dispose of your furniture quickly.

Some local organizations such as these also offer free pick-up services if you schedule an appointment, so be sure to check beforehand and schedule a pick-up if this is more convenient.

Besides thrift stores like these, there are also probably many organizations in your surrounding area that would welcome furniture donations. 

Check with local organizations that might be able to use the furniture themselves: Habitat for Humanity, Humane Societies, local churches, shelters, or food banks, and more.

Offer Furniture for Free

If you have a greater volume of furniture that will prove difficult to move, you can also offer it for free to passersby on the side of the road.

If you live in a suburb or other somewhat populous area, this method ensures that people who need or want your old furniture can see it. 

It also offers the benefit of not having to move it yourself.

Simply set the piece or pieces of furniture on the curb or at a safe place near the road with a sign that indicates the items are free to whoever wants them. 

Of course, you’ll need to consider factors like impending rain, and if you live in a more rural area, you may not have success immediately.

Sell on Facebook

If you want to get rid of your old furniture fast, putting a notice on Facebook Marketplace or another community page is a great way to let people know what’s available.

When posting on social media, always be careful to keep details about your home address and identity secure and only share them with people you trust. 

Also read: How to Get Rid of a Pool Table?

Junk Removal Services

While it’s great and highly satisfying to pass on old furniture to someone else who can use it, not all furniture is in good enough shape for a new home.

Sometimes, the furniture that’s seen better days should simply be disposed of. When this is the case, a great option is to look into disposal services.

These companies make it easy for you to downsize and upgrade by picking up what you need to dispose of in a variety of ways. 

Firstly, you’ll need to find a local junk removal service and decide what kind of service you need. 

While some companies only offer one kind of service, many offer multiple kinds, so you’ll want to decide what your needs are first.

You can schedule a team of junk removers to come and assess what needs to be moved, give you an estimate, and then haul away your old items for you quickly and easily.

This is the best method for people who have a few pieces of furniture and whose busy schedule doesn’t allow much flexibility.

Keep in mind that prices for this type of service can be high since you pay for labor as well. If you have lots of old furniture to dispose of, consider renting a roll-off dumpster instead.

Many junk removal services can facilitate this as well: they will bring a dumpster to your specified location and leave it there for you to load on your own time.

Then, after paying an up-front rate, the team will return at your scheduled pick-up time and haul the dumpster away for disposal of the items.

This is a flexible option that doesn’t necessitate your presence for pick-up but allows you to work at your own pace while deciding what to keep and get rid of.

However, you’ll need to do all the heavy lifting yourself, which is not always a feasible option for everyone in terms of health or time.

Still, with both these options, you get the convenience of a hauling service, which is invaluable, especially if you have multiple pieces of large furniture and no way to relocate them yourself. 

Keep in mind, though, that there is a cost associated with all methods of junk removal.

Landfill

If you need a low-budget, last-minute form of disposal, then disposing of your furniture in a landfill is your last choice. Realistically, many junk removal services dispose of items similarly.

However, if you don’t want to pay for that service, you can cut out the middleman and haul your own furniture to a dump or landfill.

You will need your own method of transportation. 

Renting a truck or u-haul for the day is an inexpensive solution, but for a few pieces of furniture, you can always ask a friend for help for free.

Research your local area first to determine what rules and regulations your local government has placed on the landfill or dump. Some locations won’t take certain kinds of furniture.

Some local dumps have covered areas where people can leave old furniture, and others can pick it up for free, like the curbside version but within the grounds of the facility.

However, keep in mind that landfills are harmful to the environment. They promote the decomposition of matter in a way that releases harmful gas into the earth’s atmosphere.

Recycling Centers

Conversely, consider a recycling center as an alternative to the landfill. At these facilities, many different types of items are broken down and recycled, either in whole or in part.

When it comes to furniture, depending on what it is made of, you can take it to a recycling center or a scrap metal facility. 

Both places typically take furniture, although it’s a good idea to research the recycling options in your area and contact specific facilities beforehand to understand their regulations.

With this option, you’ll need a method of transportation, and as there may not be a center in your immediate vicinity, it does require some extra effort.

However, recycling brings the satisfaction of knowing that you haven’t contributed to one of the numerous landfills across the country and added to the need for more.

Repurposing

If hauling large items of broken or old furniture isn’t feasible for you, and you don’t want to hire a service, consider recycling your furniture on your own.

Breaking down and repurposing parts of your furniture yourself is an opportunity to not only dispose of old furniture but create something new in the process.

For example, if you have a piece of wooden furniture that you want to dispose of, you can break it down into small pieces and use the reclaimed wood for another project. 

Many people turn repurposing into a hobby, and some even work at it as a side business or a standalone career. Even if that’s not for you, repurposing can be both satisfying and fun.

The downside of this option is that you might have to store the pieces of the old furniture for a while until you can think of a good way to use them. 

Even so, you can dispose of leftover pieces that you don’t use more easily than you can dispose of a full, whole furniture item.

If you decide to repurpose old furniture, make sure to clean it well first to ensure that it can occupy a new place in your home safely.

Final Thoughts

Old furniture that’s seen better days can still have new life left in it. 

Whether you decide to donate to an organization that can use it, pass it along for free to someone else, or recycle it yourself, reusing items can benefit others as well as yourself.

For old furniture that’s broken down and beyond new use, there are still multiple options for disposing of it in an environmentally conscious and responsible way.

Whether you want to expend minimal effort or are willing to do the work yourself, consider recycling centers first and only resort to landfills as a last option. 

At the end of the day, getting rid of the old and making room for the new is a necessary and exciting part of life. 

Take into consideration your budget, your health limits, and your timeline to help you decide which method is the best compromise between an easy solution and a responsible one.

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