Where Can I Throw Away Furniture for Free? The Ultimate Guide

Wondering where can I throw away furniture for free or how to dispose of furniture when moving?  Well then, this guide is for you!

Did you just splurge on new furniture? That adorable side table you have always wanted and that perfect couch that’s been on limited sale?

Perhaps you bought a new dining table to seat your extended family? Excited about the upcoming delivery but not sure what to do with all your old stuff?

Perhaps your new apartment or house has old appliances or mattresses that you aren’t inclined to use.

Disposing of heavy junk is not as easy as carrying it to the trash cans and leaving it there for the sanitation workers to collect, which is why we are here to help!

This article is a simple guide that covers all the economic options available to you if you are trying to get rid of old things.

Where Can I Throw Away Furniture

Let us learn the various methods that you can use to dispose off your furniture.

1. Examine Your Old Furniture First

Before you carry your belongings out to the curb, examine them.

Some of your furniture, like wooden chairs, wardrobes, or tables with scratches, could be restored to their previous glory with compound filler, a putty knife, and some polish.

Sometimes all a couch or mattress requires is some patching up and fumigation before it’s as good as new again.

Your refrigerator might only need a small replacement part and a thorough cleaning.

If you are moving into a bigger house or apartment, you’ll probably buy a lot of new things to fill the extra space.

By salvaging and re-using some of your old furniture, you will have a bigger budget for high-end items.

So, instead of thinking about getting rid of old broken stuff, your first thought should be, ‘is it really that worn?’

If you do not know how to repair these yourself, you can always seek professional help. There should be plenty of local services available to you for the same.

But if you’ve made up your mind and are ready to part ways with old belongings, here’s what you can do with broken furniture.

2. Donate Your Old Furniture

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’.  If you are not inclined to using old appliances and such, don’t head to the landfill just yet. Go green.

Patch it up and donate it to someone who might find it useful. It can add value to someone else’s life, which is always a win-win.

Depending on the organization you are donating it to, you might not even have to haul the items yourself.

They might send someone to pick it up, thus saving you the back-straining ordeal of having to carry it out yourself.

Here are some organizations that accept used items as donations.

# Furniture Bank Association of North America (FBANA)

FBANA will guide you to your nearest furniture bank.

They will not only pick up your old things from your house; they will also donate these to people in need for free or at a very subsidized rate.

# Goodwill and Salvation Army

Consider Goodwill and Salvation Army your plan B if there aren’t any furniture banks available within your location.

They’ll also likely send someone to pick it up from your home.

# Habitat for Humanity Re-store

A Christian non-profit organization, Habitat for Humanity, endeavors to build homes, communities, and hope.

Your tables or chairs or bookcase could prove instrumental for the same.

If not, there are always homeless shelters and thrift stores to check out. They’re always looking for household items and other donations.

3. List it Online

No matter how worn out it is, list all your odds and ends on second-hand online stores like eBay and Craigslist.

For all you know, it might still be worth something to someone else.

Try listing it for a small price first, but you can list your items for free if you get no hits. People love free stuff. Don’t be surprised if you wake up to dozens of people offering to come and pick it up.

First-year college students are always on the hunt for free and cheap stuff online. Hobbyists often source old things to fix or recondition.

Think of Craigslist as a glorified trash can.

4. Scrap Dealers

Scrap dealers are your best bet if you want to evaluate your old belongings and see if it’s worth something. It does not matter how antiquated or shabby it is.

Your odds and ends have some scrap value, and you are guaranteed to get some money for them. And if not, they will at the very least take it off your hands.

Scrap dealers take apart equipment and wood paraphernalia and find ways to make use of its smaller pieces such as springs from a mattress or bolts and nuts from a chair, as well as wood, metal, and fabrics.

But, what if your furniture has deteriorated beyond any hope of renewal? What if you’ve exhausted all your selling or donating options?

Since you’re already spending a great deal on moving, it makes sense to want to save money on disposal costs.

If the item is beyond repair and you are wondering ‘where can I throw away furniture for free?’ here are your next options.

5. Kick it to the Curb

An excellent option for smaller movable items like stools, boxes, night lamps that you are having trouble selling is to take it straight to the curb.

Plain and simple. They are easy for you to carry and for whoever might be interested in them. Be sure to put a ‘free stuff’ sign on it. Your curb will be clean in no time!

Do check with your local community association for rules as some areas don’t have this option.

If that is the case in your neighborhood, you will need to contact your local trash management service or company to see if they accept these or larger items on a regular trash collection day.

Most of the time, they don’t, but if you’re lucky, they might. You can even check this information on their company website.

You cannot leave padded, stuffed, or fabric-based items on your curb unattended for days on end.

It may attract infestation, which makes it a health hazard. If there’s no way to dispose of these for free, you might have to schedule a bulk pick-up, which can cost you somewhere between $50 to $60—tall price.

Often, electronics or e-waste is handled by a different department. Inquire about what items will be considered and how much.

If you are buying new furniture, ask the company if they have an exchange or discount offer. They might accept your old items and shave the balance off your new purchases.

If you have no choice but to have it landfilled, consider freight costs.

How to Dispose of Furniture When Moving?

If you are moving and incurring those costs anyway, you can throw in a little tip and persuade the moving guys to help you to get rid of old broken furniture as well.

They will drive it all the way to the municipality’s drop-off location for you, saving you time, effort, and money.

How to Get Rid of Old Broken Furniture?

Of course, you may have a lot of old broken furniture at home.

Also, you might have bookcases or sofas that are not only beyond repair but decaying or growing fungus or mold, in which case no one would be willing to take it off your hands, not even for free.

If anything, they will charge you for disposing of it.

This guide’s title is ‘where can I throw away furniture for free’ and so we have discussed all the various means through which you can profit from furniture or dispose of it for free.

But you should remember that free isn’t always an option.

If you have a lot of bits and pieces and most of them are unusable, and there aren’t any businesses or scrap dealers in the area, then you might have to call a junk haul company.

What if you cannot afford a junk haul company?

• Rent a Truck
• Call a friend with a truck

Things to Keep in Mind When Planning How to Dispose Furniture

Disposal of heavy or bulky items costs vary from location to location. Here are some things to keep in mind when planning how to dispose of your furniture:

• Quantity
• Total weight and volume
• Whether you want to hire a service or dump it yourself

Conclusion

If you have a lot of furniture and want to get rid of it economically, you might want to consider renting a truck and hauling it yourself to the landfill.

It’ll cost you truck rent, gas, and landfill charges, which range from $10 – $30, but it’s cheaper than hiring a professional service, especially when you have a heavy load and none of it is reusable.

Better still, if you know someone who has a truck, you can ask them to help you move old, unwanted belongings at the cost of a beverage or two and a nice meal.

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