How to Dispose of Furniture
Furniture can be problematic to deal with when you decide to move away or just want to have a new look for your rooms. It’s problematic, but it all depends on what furniture you are getting rid of and what services are available in your area. If it’s not completely worn out, giving it to family members or even donating furniture to them should be the first option. If it can be reused, always try that first. Otherwise, these are some of the options to take if your furniture is already on its final legs and there are loads of damage on it. Prior to throwing away furniture, two questions are required to be answered first. How much furniture do you need to get rid of? How quickly do I need to dispose of it? The method you choose to dispose of the furniture depends on those answers.
- Leave It at the Curb
Be sure to check with your local service provider first, but disposing of furniture can be as easy as leaving it outside on your curb. There are a couple of downsides, for example, not all furniture can be left outside. Mostly smaller furniture pieces can be left outside and be picked up easily. There are some services that can also charge extra because it is not considered to be a part of your usual trash. They may limit how much can be picked up, decide when the furniture can be picked up, or even require you to wrap the furniture in plastic before it can be picked up. Leaving your furniture on the curb is a great option if it’s a few small pieces of furniture that doesn’t need to be disposed of quickly.
- Take It to a Scrap Dealer
This option is more specific to what material your furniture is made of. Scrap dealers pay others for their metal furniture such as chairs, tables, or bed frames, and resell it for profit. You get paid for removing your own junk, but have to locate and deliver your furniture to the local junk dealer on your own. It could require multiple trips depending on how much you are giving away and the scrap yard could be far from you. If you’re not far from a scrap yard and have the means to deliver your furniture in one go, then definitely go for it.
- Haul It to the Landfill
Landfills should be the last option to use to drop off your old furniture. Landfills are essentially locations where all the trash you could think of goes to. The waste decomposes on its own then you dispose of more junk. It’s great for getting rid of all of your furniture, but can be quite far and could require multiple trips. This is time consuming and takes a lot of effort to do. It is low cost or sometimes even free, but should be done if close to a landfill location so the disadvantages can be reduced. Call your local landfill locations because some are public and easily accessible, and some can be private and may not dispose some types of furniture.
- Hire a Junk Removal Service
This is primarily if you have big furniture to get rid of quickly and don’t mind how much you have to pay for the service. Junk removal services will send professionals to your location and calculate the cost to use the service based on the total volume of your items. Once the cost has been totaled and agreed upon, they will take the furniture right away. It’s well organized because they will offer a scheduled date for when you decide to remove your furniture and you don’t even have to lift a finger. It’s quick and painless, but may not be the best way to remove your load if you intend to clear out whole rooms of furniture because it will get more costly per item. Be sure to check other junk removal companies to see what else may be provided.
- Rent a Roll Off Dumpster
This option seems to be a good balance of all your needs and costs. Dumpster services will drop a container at any location needed, you load the container, then let the service know it’s ready to be picked up. Dumpsters come in a variety of sizes so you can use it for any amount or size of furniture you want to get rid of. It’s a great option for cleaning out your home to get rid of old junk but at your own pace! The only two downsides are that you have to load the dumpsters on your own and that dumpster options can be restricted based on the location. The advantages outweigh them though because rates are provided before the rental arrives and guarantees the removal of your furniture on any scheduled date provided.