Ideas on getting rid of furniture

[Jerry1]

DW is in the final stages of dealing with her mothers house. Closing is a couple weeks away. So I went to the house yesterday and they are in trouble. They thought they could sell the furniture and now realize that’s not possible. Also found out that what they thought was their fall back position won’t work either. The thought Habit for Humanity would take it - nope.

So, I come to you, my super informed cyber friends. How do you get rid of this stuff? I know I can take it to the landfill but any other options? There’s two bedroom sets and a dining room set. All on the modest side in terms of style and size. All in good shape. Old but gently used. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[footenote]

Is there much traffic on the street? Could you put it on the street with a "FREE!" sign?

Similar: any colleges nearby? Returning students are usually interested in free or cheap furniture.

 

[calmloki]

DW is in the final stages of dealing with her mothers house. Closing is a couple weeks away. So I went to the house yesterday and they are in trouble. They thought they could sell the furniture and now realize that’s not possible. Also found out that what they thought was their fall back position won’t work either. The thought Habit for Humanity would take it - nope.

So, I come to you, my super informed cyber friends. How do you get rid of this stuff? I know I can take it to the landfill but any other options? There’s two bedroom sets and a dining room set. All on the modest side in terms of style and size. All in good shape. Old but gently used. Any ideas appreciated.

We live in two towns of about 9,000 and 40,000 populations. We've had great success just putting things at the curb with big "FREE" signs on them. Feels good to recycle stuff to others rather than the landfill. One man's trash and all that. Just got rid of my old creaky desk chair on Sunday that way. I've also picked up stuff off the curb, normally to break down for desired components, like 6" casters or just the wood to use in other projects.

 

[Aerides]

Are there other charity pick ups in your area? We have about a half dozen different ones to try from Goodwill, Breast Cancer, Veterans, Faith Farm, etc.

A super-discounted-freebie garage/estate sale... or get the chain saw out and compact it down and recycle what you can?

 

[omni550]

Wondering why won't Habitat for Humanity pick it up?

What about another charity...Salvation Army, VA, Goodwill, St.

Local thrift stores?

Craig's List?

Donate to a battered women's or homeless shelter?

Local furniture bank?

Possibly call a few churches for ideas?

List on Freecycle?

Put it outside with "FREE" signs?

 

[stevemac]

Also try freecycle.org, and Craigslist (highlight that it's free).

 

[KB]

I recently had Salvation Army come and pick up a bunch of furniture and household items I didn't want. They do use the disclaimer that they can refuse anything. My city does a bulky pickup for the items that SA refused.

 

[Jeffman52]

Salvation army or Goodwill. Both of those will normally take furniture (except mattresses and box springs) no questions asked.

 

[candrew]

I would say the two best ideas posted thus far are contacting charity pick-up orgs along with placing furniture pieces curbside with "free" signs on them.

Both of those approaches have always worked for us. I've been most surprised at what scavengers will pick-up curbside if it's marked "free".

 

[brett]

When we downsized, what was not claimed by friends and relatives, was picked up by the Women in Need store. We were careful not to send them anything that was in unsatisfactory condition or was too large for today's homes.

We disposed of the contents of four bedrooms, an office, LR, DR. It all went. For friends and relatives we told them that Women in Need was picking up on a certain day. If they wanted anything, it had to be picked up before that date. You snooze you loose.

 

[Mmm Rrr]

Our local Catholic Charities doesn't pick up but they welcome that kind of furniture for apartments they provide to homeless families. We ended up in a situation like yours and made 3 trips with my BIL's pickup truck to get my mother's furniture to them.

We do have a local charity that will pick up - it's called the Union Gospel Mission. Even they needed a few week's notice to schedule the pickup. I'd suggest calling any smaller charity that runs a thrift shop.

 

[YakGrl]

The third and fourth and final time I had to clear a relative's apartment, I called College Hunks Hauling Junk. They quickly cleared everything and will donate what is possible and dispose of the rest for a reasonable fee based on size of load. I felt better that they would attempt to donate what was possible. At that time it was worth the expense to not need to call in friends for help, and not need to spend time and energy. That is one of the bonuses of now having resources to pay for needed services. I am finding I enjoy paying for services to make life easier rather than spending on acquiring things that don't improve my life. After clearing multiple people's homes when they need to move or pass, I am becoming phobic about "stuff".

 

[HadEnuff]

I had a similar issue. I got rid of nearly everything by putting it on Craigslist for FREE, and Facebook Marketplace was also a good way to get rid of FREE stuff.

Good luck.

 

[HadEnuff]

The third and fourth and final time I had to clear a relative's apartment, I called College Hunks Hauling Junk. They quickly cleared everything and will donate what is possible and dispose of the rest for a reasonable fee based on size of load. I felt better that they would attempt to donate what was possible. At that time it was worth the expense to not need to call in friends for help, and not need to spend time and energy. That is one of the bonuses of now having resources to pay for needed services. I am finding I enjoy paying for services to make life easier rather than spending on acquiring things that don't improve my life. After clearing multiple people's homes when they need to move or pass, I am becoming phobic about "stuff".

What we couldn't give away for FREE we used a similar outfit, which I think is a franchised kind of deal all over the country called JDog Trash Hauling....owned and operated by veterans I think. Our local JDog did a great job for us and quite reasonable I thought.

Here's a link https://www.jdogjunkremoval.com

 

[38Chevy454]

Another source for getting rid of the furniture for free, or maybe selling for a low amount, is Facebook marketplace. Especially if it is free, you will get people to come pick it up. Helped my sister move cross country a few months back and she had real good luck selling stuff or giving it away on FB marketplace. People took stuff that I would have thrown away. For selling the key is price it to sell, you can make a few bucks if you want to.

Hard to believe that some charities will not pick up good furniture. Could also call a local church that would be able to pick it up and help someone in their church.

 

[Scrapr]

Had some old inflatable rafts I wanted to get rid of. Put on Craigslist Free, & Next Door. They were gone in an hour...including the free sign!

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Years ago I used 800gotjunk and their fee was very steep and I would have been better off renting a truck. I'd try craigslist free, nextdoor.com, etc. first, and if it's not an overwhelming amount of stuff you can try putting it on the curb with a free sign, if you get enough traffic. I used to live in an old house in a neighborhood with alleys and whenever I put something in the alley it was gone by the end of the day, especially on weekends. If you are able to take it to the dump, could you take it to Goodwill or similar instead? Either way, it's a hassle.

We have a consignment store in our town that specializes in estates. They won't take just anything on consignment, but they have a monthly auction to dispose of the less marketable stuff.

My experience with the charities is that often they need a fair amount of advance notice, so maybe OP is running into this issue and doesn't have the time to wait?

When I had to take care of DF's estate we got lucky and the young couple who bought the house told us to leave whatever we didn't want and they would either use it or get rid of it.

In any case, good luck! This is a lot of work; more than I ever realized until I had to go through it.

 

[Chuckanut]

From what I have heard, ordinary furniture has a remarkably low resale value. A few years ago an acquaintance bought an entire used solid oak bedroom set, about six pieces for the same price as cheap particle board with a thin veneer stuff sells at a certain international Big Name furniture store.

 

[ckelly78z]

Check with local churches who help under privileged families out of the rough spots they find themselves in. I had a recliner, and a desk, that they came and picked up to go to a different home. I thanked them profusely !

You may check with local food banks that know of other folks in dire need.

 

[ncbill]

Emptied a recently-deceased relative's house over the past few months.

Had family come get what they wanted, sold as much as I could via craigslist, but in the end I had to pay have a good chunk (loved on by cats with their claws) hauled away to the dump (same for a large, decrepit upright piano in the basement)

In my experience charities only want furniture that is suitable for immediate resale.

 

[Senator]

When I was a section 8 landlord, I had to get rid of a lot of furniture, mattresses and box springs.

Mattresses and box springs, you can take the hides off and recycle the springs. The same with sleeper sofas. There are a lot of metal in many pieces of furniture.

Tables and chairs you can bust the legs off and throw them away.

Couches and the like can be cut up and thrown in a dumpster of garbage barrel.
A reciprocating saw and a circular saw are your friends.

Lots of stuff can be burned. Mattresses make a great fire. Burn them at night so they do not smoke.

 

[Jerry1]

Thanks for all the advice. We'll start calling other charities today. I just got back with a load of stuff (tools) that DW thinks the local school will want. I see junk, she sees value opportunity. I feel bad for even giving it to the school, but they said they'll take it. I guess they have a dumpster for that which they don't want. As said, the furniture is the biggest problem. I'll try charities and if that doesn't work, I'll try the college guys. I don't care at this point what we get for it, just trying to keep it out of the landfill.

 

[RobbieB]

I've found the putting it in the driveway will work for most all hard furniture. Not so for anything upholstered.

20 yard dumpster and toss the stuff in!

 

[Midpack]

We sold some furniture on eBay and nextdoor (but you get 5-10 cts on the dollar), donated some to Habitat, AmVets, the local mens shelter and the young couple next door, and the rest went to the end of the driveway with a big FREE sign on it. Nothing sat at the end of our driveway more than end of the day, and most items disappeared well before noon.

Only thing we couldn't get rid of was a king mattress and box springs. We contacted our trash service, and they will take one large item (along with normal trash) once a month for free if you notify them in advance. Some do it more often, some less in some cities. And they would take more than 1 item on regular pickup but there was a charge per item ($40 per IIRC) for more.

Good luck.

 

[timo2]

Our last two moves 'Habitat for Humanity ReStores' came and picked up our furniture.