Where Can I Throw Away Furniture For Free?
Have some used furniture you’d like to get rid of? Hold on before throwing it to the side of the road or having to drop it off at the nearest landfill. Sure, it may appear to you to be garbage. To someone else, however, it is a perfectly functional dining set.
You can donate your furniture to your local furniture bank, shelter, Goodwill, Salvation Army, or school for free. Other options include listing it on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, buy and sell groups, setting it on your curbside, burning it (if it’s purely wood), or bringing it to the landfill. However, the landfill does charge fee per item.
Instead of dumping used furniture, you can give it a second chance, benefiting both the environment and someone in need. Below, we will go through several of these options, so stay tuned to find the best one for you.
Donate Your Furniture
In some cases, you may be required to transport your old furniture to a drop-off position to donate it. However, this is not always the case. You can sometimes arrange for it to be picked up as well.
There are benefits to donating furniture. Not only are you providing someone with necessities, but all donations are tax-deductible.
If you’re having trouble finding a place to donate, Furniture Bank Association of North America (FBANA) – can help you find a furniture bank near you. Furniture banks provide free or low-cost home furnishings to those in need. Many will come to your house and pick up lightly used furniture.
If you don’t have a household goods bank nearby, you can try your local Goodwill or Salvation Army. Some of the stores don’t pick up their phones, so you may have to email them or travel down to talk with someone. Make sure you bring photos, though.
Another option is Habitat for Humanity International ReStore – In most communities, ReStores pick up tenderly used furniture, among many other things, and sell it back at a reduced price.
If none of these options allure to you, homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, and thrift stores are frequently in need of furniture. Feel free to check with them as well.
Sell or Trade Your Used Furniture
Each time you toss away used furniture, you contribute to the waste. And possibly squander even more money. Someone is willing to pay a decent amount for an old recliner.
People looking to buy can find items on a variety of classified websites. Start with Craigslist. If you live in Canada, you should also look into Kijiji. If you’re not comfortable with this, try selling through your friends on social media.
It is also worthwhile to investigate trade routes. Rather than trying to sell something, trade it for something you need. This is a simple way to participate in recycling and reuse.
Junk
You can get someone else to pick up your old and unneeded furniture for you if you want to be hands-off.
Companies such as 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Everything is taken care of; all you have to do is schedule a time for them all to come by and start picking up your belongings. They also claim to reprocess and donate everything possible.
Put It In Online
Only because you do not like it doesn’t mean no one else does. Craigslist ads have indeed been known for selling or giving away bizarre items.
Unless your furniture is infested with bedbugs, it’s feasible that someone else will want it. However, use some reverse psychology: giving one’s item a price, even if it’s a cheap cost, tells the purchaser that your item is worth picking up.
List It On Facebook Marketplace
Mentioning your furniture on Facebook Marketplace is the simplest and quickest way to get rid of it for free. The “free” listings on the marketplace tend to disappear the same day that they are listed, no matter what it is.
Marketplace has an algorithm in which it finds people who have similar interests to what you’re posting and puts that across that individual’s shopping interface. This allows your free furniture to have so much more exposure than just Craigslist or curbside.
Another one of the reasons it is a huge advantage over any other option; you can list the item you want to be removed and say, “It is free, but you must come to take it apart and eliminate it yourself.”
Is It Safe to Meet Up in Person to Give Away Furniture?
Listing on the internet is free, but there’s one thing you should keep in mind: If you want, you can let a stranger into your home to pick up the furniture. However, this can be dangerous, and we recommend not allowing them into your home.
If you can move the furniture outside, you are reducing the risk of anything going awry. You can put the furniture in the driveway when they are on their way to pick it up. Depending on the size of the furniture, you could also meet them in a busy parking lot of a local hardware store.
Also, it’s a good idea to take a peek at their profile; if anything raises a red flag, you should meet them elsewhere and avoid giving them your address.
Or, if you can afford it, you can also offer free shipping, which will make giving away your piece on Facebook sometimes easier and faster. Then you keep them from knowing exactly where you live.
Leave Furniture On the Curb
Leaving your furniture just on the curb is a very low-maintenance way of getting rid of it for free. The only thing you have to do is place it on the curb in front of your house. Although, we do suggest putting a “free” sticker or sign to let people know it’s free to take.
This works best if you live in an area where individuals can keep driving by and see the free item; if there is little to no traffic, it may take a long time for anyone to pick it up. However, in most urban developments, your furniture will be gone in a couple of hours.
We do not recommend leaving tables and chairs outside in the rain because they will deteriorate and no one will take them; you risk rendering the furniture worthless.
If the furniture is ruined and becomes worthless, you may be required to pay a dump fee. Then, it will go straight to the landfill.
Goodwill
Goodwill is another nonprofit organization where you can donate your furniture for free. Goodwill thrift stores are located throughout the United States and sell used furniture, clothing, and other items.
You may have seen Goodwill donation boxes at your nearby grocery store or somewhere similar; however, these are only recommended for clothing.
Since we’re talking about home furnishings, Goodwill accepts used furniture that is in good condition. What exactly is a decent condition, you ask? Who knows, but as we previously stated, if it can be repaired and isn’t completely destroyed, someone is likely to purchase it, so they will likely accept it.
Equipment, construction materials, baby cribs, car seats, mattresses, and some other items are not accepted by Goodwill. It’s always best to call Goodwill before bringing your furniture there to ensure they take it.
Local Facebook Buy and Sell Groups
Something else you can do is post your home furnishings on a local buy and sell group using the Facebook app on your phone or by going to facebook.com.
There are a number of active groups, and you should have no trouble finding somebody else taking an interest in your free items.
How do you locate these groups? Search “your location” on Facebook, then add “buy and sell,” and you should get a few options depending on where you live.
You can enlist the groups while you wait for the approval. Check that you are permitted to post free items; some groups have rules that you must follow.
It is best to use this method in conjunction with submitting on the Facebook Marketplace; it simply increases the likelihood that someone will see your free listing. You can then deliver it to them for free or have them pick that up on your lawn, simple!
Craigslist
Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with Craigslist; we will give you a brief overview of how this would work. Craigslist is one of the biggest online classifieds internet sites where you can buy, sell, give it away, search for housing and real estate, and even browse discussions on a variety of topics.
You will have no problem posting free furniture on Craigslist. You have to create an account, which takes less than 60 seconds. After completing and verifying your email, visit craigslist.org, preferably your free classified location.
This whole process will be entirely automated as long as you’ve enabled location settings on your device. If not, use Google to search for Craigslist and enter your location.
After that, click the for sale section and post in the top right corner. Finish the newly listed operation, add images, and you’re done!
Landfill
We understand that there are times when you have no other options. Perhaps bedbugs have infested that old sofa, and maybe it’s just beyond repair.
Before putting it out on the curb, make sure your municipality’s curbside program recognizes bulky items. If not, you may be required to transport it to a drop-off spot.
There is typically a fee when transferring furniture to the landfill. Whether you have it for curbside pick-up or bring it yourself, you still have to pay.
Burn It
Of course, we don’t recommend this if it’s fabric, plastic, or what have you. But if you have an all-wood entertainment center or nightstand, you can break it apart and use it for the next bonfire. Don’t roast food over the fire, or it may ruin you from bonfire food for the rest of your life.
Heather is a passionate writer who loves anything DIY. Growing up, she learned everything from home repairs to design, and wants to share her tips with you. When she's not writing, she's usually hiking or searching for her next DIY project.
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