How to Dispose of Furniture

Having furniture like a chair, table, sofa, or bed to get rid of can be a frustrating situation. Most trash-disposal services will not pick up furniture. If you live in an apartment or condo complex, the furniture may not fit in the dumpster, the trash company won’t pick up loose furniture, and your management company may fine you for trying to throw oversized furniture away. If your furniture is still in decent condition, you can try to sell it or donate it to a used furniture store. If the furniture is clearly trash, most cities and some rural counties have furniture disposal drop-off locations for oversized items.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Throwing Furniture Away

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    Schedule a curbside pickup for old furniture with your city for an easy option. In most cities, the local government’s trash-management department coordinates curbside pickups for oversized pieces of trash (including furniture) that do not fit in dumpsters. Contact the relevant city office, and ask when they can pick up your furniture. Then, set the furniture on the curb in front of your house or apartment.[1]
    • To find the best furniture-disposal method in your city, use the website: https://www.wayfair.com/furniture-disposal-guide. Input your location, and contact the organization that the website suggests.
    • While curbside pickups are typically free, they’re also infrequent. Cities may only facilitate curbside pickup as little as once per year.[2]
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    Take furniture to a drop-off location if your city doesn’t offer pickups. Most counties have a trash dump or landfill that accepts oversized pieces of trash, like furniture. Additionally, many charitable foundations and thrift stores also accept dropped-off furniture.[3] Be aware, though, that you’ll need to arrange transportation for the furniture yourself, as these drop-off locations do not pick up furniture. If you live in a rural area, this may be a better approach for disposing of furniture than a curbside pickup.
    • To find a drop-off location, search online for “bulk trash drop-off in [your] county.”
    • Residents of the city or county in which the drop-off location is located can typically drop furniture off for free.
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    Contact a company that disposes of bulk waste if your city can’t help. These companies work like conventional trash-pickup organizations, except that they specialize in picking up large objects, including furniture. Be aware that these companies schedule pickups, so you’ll need to work out a date and time when the workers can come by to pick up the furniture.[4]
    • Companies that dispose of bulk waste include Bagster and 1-800-Got-Junk. To find additional bulk waste disposal companies near you, search online for “bulk waste disposal near me.”
    • Based on the location of your residence, the pickup service can cost between $120 and $640 USD.[5]
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    Rent a dumpster if you’re going to dispose of many pieces of furniture. If you’re gutting a house or apartment building and know you’ll have many pieces of furniture, you can rent your own dumpster. These are typically rented for a period of 1 week.[6] Look around online to find a dumpster rental company.
    • Depending on the size of the dumpster that you rent, and where you live, the rental can cost between $120 and $1,400 USD.
    • You can fill the dumpster with as much furniture as you like, as long as it doesn’t overflow the top. The dumpster rental company will pick up the dumpster once it’s full, and dispose of the contents.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Donating or Selling Used Furniture

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    Take the furniture to a used household goods store to dispose of it quickly. Many stores that sell used clothing and household appliances will also accept used furniture. Transport the furniture to one of these store locations, and explain that you’d like to donate the furniture. Staff members will probably inspect the items to make sure they’re in good enough condition to resell.[7]
    • For example, Savers accepts dropped-off furniture. You may also be able to drop off used furniture at local shelters.[8]
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    Ask if furniture vendors can pick up the furniture to avoid transporting it yourself. Various stores that re-sell used furniture will be willing to pick up your items. Keep in mind that you’ll need to coordinate a time and date when the furniture movers can come by your home and pick up the furniture. Stores that will pick up your used furniture include:[9]
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    Post the furniture on an online sales forum if you’d like to make money. Online forums are a great, efficient way to sell used furniture. See how much furniture similar to yours is selling for, and mark your furniture with a similar price. An added perk to this method of disposing of furniture is that you stand to make some money. The disadvantage of this approach is that you’ll be stuck with the furniture until it sells.[10]
    • For example, look around on a site like Craigslist until you see a piece of furniture in similar condition.
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    Give the furniture to a friend if you prefer a quick and easy disposal. Ask around in your friend group and see if anybody is willing to take the furniture off of your hands. A friend may even be excited to obtain a free piece of furniture when they had been planning on needing to purchase one.
    • If you’re tired of asking friends individually, find a way to ask many at once. Send out a mass email inquiring if anyone would like the furniture.
    • Or, if you’re in a social Facebook group, make a post inquiring about the furniture.
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    Set the furniture on the roadside with a “FREE” sign as a last resort. If nothing else works, you might get a stranger to take the furniture off of your hands for you. Write “FREE” in large lettering on a piece of paper, tape it to the furniture, and set it on the side of a road, well out of the way of traffic.[11]
    • If it sits out for more than a week, chances are it’s not going to get picked up. Be responsible and bring the furniture back to your home, then find another way to get rid of it.
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References

  1. ↑ https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/get-rid-of-practically-anything/
  2. ↑ https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/03/05/couch-conundrum-how-to-ditch-your-old-sofa/
  3. ↑ http://www.oprah.com/home/where-to-get-rid-of-your-stuff/all
  4. ↑ https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/get-rid-of-practically-anything/
  5. ↑ https://www.fixr.com/costs/junk-removal-service
  6. ↑ https://www.fixr.com/costs/dumpster-rental
  7. ↑ https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/get-rid-of-practically-anything/
  8. ↑ https://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-old-furniture/
  9. ↑ https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/get-rid-of-practically-anything/
  1. ↑ https://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-old-furniture/
  2. ↑ https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/get-rid-of-practically-anything/

About This Article

wikiHow Staff
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff
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This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 24,643 times.
9 votes - 56%
Co-authors: 8
Updated: August 4, 2022
Views: 24,643
Categories: Household Waste Disposal
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