If you are new here, welcome! My name is Jamie and I like to flip furniture, I like to clean old furniture up, whether it is performing a paint job, stain job, or just cleaning grease off of the surface, I want to save old furniture. Of course, keeping these items out of the landfills is a huge plus, but I won’t lie either, I often try to make a profit along the way.
Anyway, this article is all about what you can do with the furniture you are trying to get rid of. Most people throwing out old furniture have no clue whether or not the piece has any value in the furniture market. Often it is just taking up space and their number one instinct is “it needs to go”. If you are tossing some furniture out, do some quick research to make sure you aren’t throwing away a few hundred-dollar bills.
What to Consider Before Throwing Away Furniture for Free?
Consider the Condition
Many of you throwing away furniture probably think “it’s dirty” or “it’s out of style”, but that does not mean it needs to go to the dump. People have different preferences on styles, and remember styles go in and out all the time, just consider Mid Century Modern furniture, that stuff is hot today. It may be worth something so do your research.
See if the furniture has a name, often it is stamped underneath, or on the inside panels. Do a quick google search and you can see if it has any value. Anyhow, I thought I would mention this before giving it away because it is an option that benefits you, but giving away furniture is always an option.
Let’s talk more about the condition on whether or not your furniture is junk or worth donating to someone else.
The way I look at it is, if the piece of furniture has all its counterparts, there is potential somebody will want to buy it or take it home for free. As I said, I flip furniture, I like to fix or clean up used furniture and get it back to the market. So if all the pieces are there I can likely figure out a way to bring it back to life! Sometimes pieces are missing and I still want to cut it up, screw legs on, and do a full furniture makeover, anything to keep it alive.
What type of condition means the furniture is garbage?
- extremely burnt
- dangerous amounts of mold
- extreme water damages
- extreme termite damage
- and there’s more…
What’s the verdict on the condition? If it can’t be repaired at any cost you are better off tossing it, but I like to avoid the landfills so I will go over some proper ways to recycle furniture down below in this article. If there is any chance it can be repaired, cleaned up, and brought back to life, someone like me will come along and snag that piece up and do their “magic”.
I will emphasize that it has to be REALLY BAD for us to not want the piece of furniture.
The Type of Furniture?
This is actually more important than you would think. The type of furniture you are trying to get rid of changes things up, but why? Well, you can donate a lot of furniture items to thrift stores and local organizations, however, a handful of them avoid items like beds, mattresses, sofas, and similar items. Often these are not considered sanitary and will not be accepted, making it more difficult to get rid of these pieces for free. Covid really slowed down donations based on sanitary issues, which makes sense.
Sometimes it is the size, it’s just too big, these stores don’t want your “junk” filling up their space for other items. They may just not have the space either. You may need to consider proper recycling or junk removal.
I will say that the pieces furniture flippers want are often solid wood, making them much easier for you to get rid of for free. So if you have wooden furniture you need to remove, it won’t be difficult. There are types of furniture that are in higher demand than others, and I will list them below:
- dressers
- nightstands
- end tables
- cabinets
- desks
- tables
- coffee tables
- chairs
- sofas
- sectionals
If you have any of the mentioned items above you will have little trouble getting rid of them for free, trust me. Of course, there are factors that make them easier to move than others. For example, a good condition sofa can be listed online as free and it will likely be picked up that day. If it is scratched by a cat, has stains, and smells like cigarettes, it will not be easy to get rid of for free.
When you can’t donate it as is, you may need to clean it a bit so it is in a better condition for someone to want it. Or you will have to start re3searching how to locally recycle the materials, hopefully, you can avoid the dump and the fees.
Where You Live Kind of Matters
Yeah, location is important for a lot of things. If you live in a large city disposing of furniture for free is often simple – list it on a local marketplace and in minutes you can have someone picking it up. Cities will also have easier recycling options too. However, living in smaller locations makes things much harder. I have lived in a place with less than 20,000 people and also a city with over one million, it can be different. A small town will likely be even harder because you have much more limited options.
There are a few things to note and consider before getting rid of furniture for free, but let’s get into the detailed list below showing you where you can take or what you can do with your furniture.
19 Ways You Can Throw Away Furniture for Free
There are a handful of ways how you can get rid of the furniture you have for free without bringing it to a landfill. That is why I created this huge list of options for you to check out to see if any work best for you. This list includes a variety of charity donations, thrift stores, local marketplaces, auction houses, and tips/tricks you can do to throw away your furniture for a better cause.
1. List it on Facebook Marketplace
Listing your furniture on the Facebook Marketplace in my opinion is the easiest and the fastest way to get rid of furniture for free. Why do I think so? Well as someone who is looking for free furniture all the time I can tell you that “free” listings sometimes don’t even last 10 minutes. Often it is a war of people messaging you to come and pick the piece up, yup they will come to pick it up.
That is one of the reasons why it is a huge plus compared to any other option, you can list the item you want gone and say “it is free but you have to come and take it apart and remove it yourself”. The amount of work and effort you have to do is minimal in comparison to other ways.
How to get rid of furniture for free on the Facebook Marketplace:
- Take Photos with Your Phone
- Upload to Facebook Marketplace and make the listing.
- Receive messages and see who will come and pick it up when you are available.
It is easy, but there is one thing that is important to keep in mind. You can let a stranger in your home to pick up the furniture if you want, totally your call. However, this can be dangerous and I advise to not to let them into your home, if you can take the furniture outside of your house you are reducing any risk. Either selling or giving away furniture, when they were on their way for pick up I put it in my driveway. Sometimes I meet them at a local hardware store in the busy parking lot, this depends on the size of the furniture of course.
I would also do a quick look at their profile, if something gave me a red flag I would just meet them somewhere else and avoid telling them my address. You can always offer free delivery too, which will make giving your piece away on Facebook even easier and faster. Then you avoid them knowing where you live.
2. Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Habitat for Humanity is a huge organization that provides affordable housing, they build homes, and take donating to the next level. There is a lot more to Habitat for Humanity that I won’t get into here but you can jump over to their website to learn more.
Since Habitat for Humanity is so large it deserves to make this list. They offer what is called a ReStore, these stores are located all over the USA and Canada. These ReStores include a lot of items, you will find building supplies and a lot of furniture. It is a great place to take furniture you want to get rid of for free and donate it to someone who may need it. It is recommended you give them a call to see if your item is something they will accept at this time.
If you are interested in checking out the nearest ReStore location to you here are the links for USA stores and Canada stores below:
United States ReStore Locations – https://www.habitat.org/volunteer/near-you/find-your-local-habitat
Canada ReStore Locations – https://habitat.ca/en/restore/find-a-restore-near-you
Ask your local Habitat for Humanity restore if they do furniture pickup, some locations offer such service while others do not. Their website states that you can have sofas, chairs, tables, dressers, bedframes, cabinets, and bookshelves picked up by trained volunteers. Search and find the nearest location to you by clicking here.
3. Leave Furniture On the Curb
I think leaving your furniture on the curb is a super maintenance-free way to get rid of your furniture for free. The only work you have to do is to place it in front of your house on the curb. I do recommend placing a “free” sticker or sign so people know that it’s free to take.
This works best if you live in a place where people can drive by and see the free item, if you have little to no traffic it might take a long time for someone to grab it. But in most urban developments your piece of furniture will be gone in a few hours.
I recommend NOT placing furniture outside in the rain because it will ruin the furniture and nobody will take it, you risk making the furniture worthless and if that happens you may need to pay a dump fee. You want to avoid the landfill, remember?
4. Goodwill
Another nonprofit organization you can donate your furniture to for free is Goodwill. You can find goodwill thrift store locations all over the United States, they sell used furniture, clothes, and much more. You may have seen the Goodwill donation boxes sitting around at a Safeway store or somewhere similar, these are recommended for clothes though.
Since we are here to talk about furniture, Goodwill accepts used furniture, but it must be in a decent condition. The definition of decent condition you ask? Who knows, but as I mentioned above if it can be fixed up and it isn’t totally destroyed, someone is likely to buy it, so they will likely accept it.
Goodwill does not accept appliances, building materials, baby cribs, car seats, mattresses, and some items. Give your local Goodwill a call if you don’t want to waste some gas.
Locate the nearest Goodwill on their website – https://www.goodwill.org/donate/donate-stuff/
It is worth noting that some Goodwill locations across the US have a pickup option, they will come to your property and pick up furniture you want to donate. However, not all Goodwills provide such service so it is best to call your local Goodwill store.
5. Value Village
Now we are talking about a thrift store where I have made many donations and purchased a lot of stuff. Value Village was the first thrift store I was introduced to when I moved to the first large city in my life. It was pretty close to where I lived so I always made a trip over, once, twice, and maybe even five times a week. I had a thrifting addiction at one point lol.
Value village accepts furniture in a number of conditions, I have found pristine furniture and I have found stuff missing parts and falling apart. You can easily donate your furniture here for free, and hey, they often give you a 15% off discount coupon. Well, they did at the location where I lived, maybe they will for you, just ask for a coupon and see what happens.
I have had some issues donating though, I think it depends on who’s working at the time honestly. One time I had a leather lazy boy chair, my neighbors placed it on the curb and I had planned to clean it up. I didn’t have time before I moved across the country, so I decided to donate it along with some other furniture items. I had a small coffee table and a few end tables.
As I show up at the Value Village drop-off center, the man working tells me that they do not accept chairs. Which I knew they did, at least they did before, because they have sofas and chairs similar inside their store. So I was a little annoyed because I had the chair loaded in my truck and ready for drop off. I decided to just donate the other items and decide what I could do. I left the chair in my truck, came back the next day, I noticed that the same man was not working. So I drove up made the drop-off and the other younger guy working grabbed it, placed it in the bright green rolling bin, and took it inside.
I am unsure if the other man was lazy or the younger guy just didn’t listen to their rules, either or I donated a lazy boy recliner for free. All you have to do is pull up in their donation drive-thru and help drop off the items you want donated. They will not
Search Value Village USA Locations
Search Value Village Canada Locations
6. Salvation Army
Another well-known international organization is the Salvation Army. They help with a number of needs in the world much larger than just furniture donations. But I will focus on furniture and how you can get rid of yours for free with the help of the Salvation Army.
Salvation Army can be found in thousands of places across the US and Canada, the one awesome thing that differs the Salvation Army is their free furniture pick-up. You can head to their website satruck.org and you can enter your zip code to see if pick up is available in your location. You then list the items you will donate, place them outside your residence, then you should mark them stating they are for the Salvation Army or someone may take them away.
Like other options on this list, you can also take your furniture to drop-off locations for the Salvation Army to either donate to people in need or sell cheaply at their re-used style shops. Proceeds go towards funding their alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers.
7. Local Auction Warehouses
This is a great option that not too many people think about or even know exists. I like to find furniture at these online auction warehouses because you can find some great deals here. Many places will have the auctions in person too, this doesn’t matter for you though, you just need to find a place that has a physical location near you.
How I found these online and local auctions was simply searching on google “online furniture auctions near me” or just “auctions near me”. I found 5 places that had regular auctions selling new and used furniture, this means they need to get items to sell, right?
One day I was talking to the manager of one of these warehouses and I asked where they get all their items, he said a few ways:
- they buy items in bulk at low costs
- they have estate sales and split sales
- they receive free donations
And he said a few other ways, but honestly, I do not remember. Anyway, they take donations on a number of items. It is best to call these warehouses to chat with an owner or manager to see if they will take your furniture.
8. Nextdoor App
Similar to using the Facebook Marketplace you can pop on this app and take a few photos and list your furniture for free. There is a section for free items on this app that makes getting rid of your furniture super easy. The way the app is designed kind of reminds me of Facebook but it is not a place where you have to add friends, you will see posts from people who are in your nearby location rather than your friends.
The marketplace is simple to operate, you just click “finds” with a tag image above it and you can see what is available in your local area. If you want to post your piece for free, just click the green pencil in a box while in the marketplace section, select furniture, add images/details, and post it! It is a pretty simple way to get rid of your furniture for free.
9. Local Facebook Buy and Sell Groups
Another option you have using the Facebook app on your phone, or just heading to facebook.com is posting your furniture on a local buy and sell group. There are a number of groups that are quite active and you should have no problem finding someone interested in your free items.
How can you find these groups? Search on Facebook “your location” then add “buy and sell”, you should have a few options depending on where you live. You can join the groups and wait until approval. Make sure you are allowed to post free items, some groups have rules you must follow.
It is best to use this method along with posting on the Facebook Marketplace, it just provides a higher chance of someone seeing your free listing. You can then deliver it free to them, or have them pick it up on your lawn, simple!
10. Craigslist
If you don’t know what Craigslist is don’t worry I will quickly explain. It is one of the largest online classifieds websites where you can buy, sell, give away, search for housing, real estate, and even search through discussions on various topics. I am from Eastern Canada, Craigslist is not as popular there as it is in other places across North America. But now I live in Western Canada and it is much more popular here, definitely a great place to buy, sell, and give away items.
You can post furniture for free on craigslist with no problem at all. You just need to make an account, which takes less than 2 minutes. Once created and email verified, just go to craigslist.org, preferably your craigslist location which will be automatic if you have the location turned on your device. If not you can search craigslist on google and then add your location too.
Click the for sale section, then at the top right corner, you can click post. Go through the listing process, add images, and you are good to go!
Head to Craiglist by clicking here to get your free listing up today!
11. Kijiji
I have used Kijiji a nice bit when I lived in Halifax, NS and when I lived in Newfoundland. It is basically Craiglist, but from my understanding, Kijiji is only in Canada. I did some research to see that eBay started Kijiji, it did well in Canada but not in the US. They rebranded to eBay Classifieds but still did not succeed and shut that down too.
Anyway, if you are in Canada check to see if Kijiji is an option in your location. In my opinion, I like how Kijiji works more than I do Craigslist. Head to Kijiji.ca here to create your account and list some free furniture items.
12. Ask Friends or Family
You may not have the space or room to hold onto a piece of furniture, but always try to keep your friends and family in mind. They may want a piece of furniture for their home or apartment, give them a shout. Call, text, message them on social media. They could come your way and pick up the furniture over the weekend, they may even come over for a drink and to socialize!
13. Make a Facebook Post
Similar to asking your friends and family, just make a post on your Facebook profile wall. You may have a lot of Facebook friends that you don’t really talk to much, but hey, they may want your furniture! Of course, this is really only possible if these friends live nearby and in the same town or city you reside in. I don’t think Jimmy in Australia is going to want your couch back in New York City.
However, it is another option for you to do while posting on Facebook Marketplace or local buy and sell groups on Facebook.
14. Local Thrift Stores
I have mentioned numerous thrift stores on this list, most of them are larger organizations being found in many places across the world. I thought I would mention local thrift stores in general because if you don’t have one I mentioned already you may have a popular local shop you can drop furniture off too.
How can you figure out if you have one? Search on google or Facebook “thrift store near me” or search “thrift store” and add your location name after it. Any thrift store nearby should pop up and you can call and ask if they take furniture, either do you have to drop it off or do they offer pickup.
15. Local Schools
If you have an old bookshelf, couch, chairs, or anything that may be useful for a local school you can see if they are in need. Give a few schools a call and chat with the right people to see if they could use any extra furniture. It may be that simple, then you can pack it up and make a simple donation door to door.
16. Animal Shelters
If you have old items that are a little rough and thrift stores and donation locations deny you, give an animal shelter a call. Old fabric sofas, chairs, and even headboards make for a great cat scratcher. Even dogs will love a large couch to jump on to make a place for a nap. You never really know what animal can use your old furniture! Give a local shelter a call today!
17. Offer Up App or Website
Another app on the list is Offer Up, but you can still go on the website here. It is like other buy and sell apps, you make your account add your location and you can start to list your items. You can list them for free no problem!
Just take photos, make the listing inside the app and wait for messages from interested people. Check to see if the app is popular in your area first. You can ask around to see what apps are popular, there are a few big ones that are popular in specific locations. Knowing the right ones can make your free furniture go away much faster than using a ghost town app.
18. Local Churches
Just like schools you can check in with local churches to see if they are in need of any furniture. Some churches have kids/adult programs and other activities that require furnished locations. Contacting the church directly is a good way to check to see if they are in need of any furniture you are looking to get rid of.
19. Recycle the Materials (furniture recycling services)
Depending on the type and the material of the furniture you have you can recycle it. Metal from tables, box springs, bed frames, and other types of furniture can be recycled and you can even get money in return. Check out to see if there is a local scrap dealer in your area. It is best to do a quick google search for “metal recycling near me” and you should find a few options you can call and see what they accept.
What about other types of furniture, like couches, mattresses, desks, dressers, etc? It all depends on the recycling facility you have available to you. Many places have mattress recycling companies, however, these are often not free. There will be a charge for someone to come and pick up the mattress but certain companies you can drop them off for free.
There are now innovative companies using old furniture and recycling them to be used in new furniture creation, which is pretty cool. You can search to see if there is anything like that available in your location.
Throwing Away Furniture FAQs
Can I Throw Furniture in a Dumpster?
If you are gutting a house and you need to get rid of a lot of furniture at a time, you can rent a dumpster to toss all of the furniture out. However, the dumpster cost is determined by weight and furniture can get heavy quickly, which will cost you a lot of money. To save money you can use one of the free listed options above to throw your furniture away for free.
I think renting a dumpster is a bad way to get rid of your furniture, it fills up landfills and costs money. No thanks, I will pass. The only time this option becomes an option for me is if the furniture is no longer salvageable in any way.
What if my Furniture is Disassembled, What Can I Do With It?
No problem, you can still donate furniture that has been taken apart. It is a good idea to take a photo of the piece to show anyone what the item looks like so they know what is being donated. Also, if you take apart the furniture, make sure to bag any screws and tape them to the item so they are not lost during transit. The furniture can be worthless to many people without the proper hardware.
Calling a Junk Haul Company to Remove Furniture?
Yes, you can call a junk haul company to remove furniture from your house, however, this will often cost anywhere from $50 to $150 per item. The weight, size, and removal time will determine the cost of junk haul removal. If you want to save money avoid hiring a junk haul removal company because it is not a low-cost option for furniture removal.
How to Dispose of Furniture When Moving?
Sometimes you have a lot of furniture to get rid of at one time, so what are your options? Well, you could start listing each item online for free pickup. This will often work pretty quickly, you should be able to get rid of most items in a few days. You could try selling them at a low cost too, but this may slow down the process of getting rid of the furniture.
Try calling an auction warehouse near you, tell them how much furniture you have and you can give it to them and they can auction it off. Negotiate with them a split in sales, then you get money and so do they, everyone is happy. You may have to drop off the furniture at the location, or they might have employees come and pick it up, just call and ask.
Final Thoughts
I hope my detailed guide of ways how to dispose of furniture for free has helped you figure out what to do with your furniture. It can be challenging to figure out what to do with furniture you need to get rid of, but with a few options to choose from, I am sure you will figure out a solution that works best for you.
If there are any other options and places where you can get rid of furniture for free that you know of please send me an email at furnitureflippa (at) gmail (dot) com. I look forward to hearing your ideas!
