Getting Rid Of Old Furniture
The benefits of recycling furniture are incredibly well-known. Recycling your old furniture not only helps mitigate the harm we've inflicted on the environment but also gives us a chance to minimize clutter in our homes.
If you need replacement components for your old furniture, you might find them online with a quick search. You can do plenty of things to restore your old pieces and breathe new life into them.
Most pieces of old furniture have perfectly sound underlying structures – only the fabric looks a little worn or messy. If that’s the case with yours, then you might be surprised at how easy it can be to get it looking good as new.
Something as simple as a new fitted sofa cover from a company like Cover My Furniture can get your couch looking as pristine as the day you bought it.
Moreover, a sofa cover makes it easier to keep your couch clean, effectively extending its lifespan. A fitted sofa cover is easily removable, so if it ever gets messy or stained (a likely scenario in a busy family home), you don’t need to worry about DIY cleaning solutions or intensive scrubbing.
Instead, you can remove the cover and just put it through the wash before replacing it onto your sofa. It is that simple. Not only does it save you time and effort, but best of all it can keep your sofa looking and feeling good for long after the original covers might have lasted, enabling you to cut down on waste – not to mention the expense of having to buy a brand new sofa.
On the other hand, if your old furniture is to run-down to be restored, it might be a perfect time to repurpose it. Cut an old bookshelf in half to form a bedside table, or repurpose an old window frame to create a unique mirror frame.
Plastic, metal, paper, and glass recycle bins are readily available, making them the easiest materials to recycle. However, it is also relatively easy to recycle old, unused furniture.
Most people are unaware of this, contributing to the amount of furniture in landfills that pollute the environment. Follow our tried-and-correct ways to recycle your old furniture and be the change you want to see in the world.
Sell your unwanted old furniture
If you wish to give your old furniture a new home and earn some money along the way, consider selling it. Most individuals, however, do not feel it is profitable to do so.
You may be entirely sure no one would want your old coffee table or bookshelf. However, “One man's trash is another man's treasure” holds true in this situation. The amount of money and the interest people might have in it depends on the condition of your old furniture.
Selling your furniture used to encompass posting fliers around the neighborhood or holding a yard sale. You might still choose to do so.
However, it is much easier to sell your old furniture online. There are a multitude of different online marketplaces you can use for this task. To maximize the earnings, wipe your old furniture and take high-quality photos in good lighting.
Before shipping it, disassemble your old furniture. Taking it apart is easy; all it takes is a little persistence and patience. Once you properly disassemble and pack your furniture, it will be ready for a new home.
Restore or repurpose your old furniture
You might be surprised by how many methods there are for repairing and restoring old furniture. You can easily clean, strip, polish, and refinish an old table with the proper tools and knowledge.
If you need replacement components for your old furniture, you might find them online with a quick search. You can do plenty of things to restore your old pieces and breathe new life into them.
If your old furniture is to run-down to be restored, it might be a perfect time to repurpose it. Cut an old bookshelf in half to form a bedside table, or repurpose an old window frame to create a unique mirror frame.
There are many ways to recycle old furniture, but repurposing it is one of the best things you can do. The popularity of reclaimed wood furniture has grown in recent years, and it might offer your home a fresh aesthetic you didn't realize you needed.
Donate your old furniture
Many of the items we have in our homes might not be used frequently, while they could be of great help to someone else. Therefore, donating your furniture could be a great idea.
Beforehand, make sure your furniture is in good condition, functional, and can be transported to a new destination.
There are a few options you might choose to donate your old furniture. Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and the Furniture Bank are easy to contact and a good place to start. Many of these wonderful organizations now have furniture stores where they sell old furniture.
They donate all the proceeds from sales to charity. What makes them even more convenient is that some of them offer pickup services right from your doorstep. Other charity shops may not provide this service, so have a mode of transportation ready.
Your old furniture may make an excellent prop for a show or performance! Therefore, contact your local theater or different stage schools that might direly need old furniture.
Who knows, maybe they'll give you a free ticket to their event so that you can see your furniture on stage. Whatever option you choose, donating your old furniture will provide you with a great sense of joy, knowing it will be put to good use by someone else.
Your old furniture might be a perfect gift for someone
Gifting is one way to recycle your old furniture. Try contacting relatives or friends to see if they would be interested in your pieces. They might desire them, especially if they're moving to a new place.
If you plan to get rid of nursery items, such as cribs, be sure to give them away to people expecting a new family member.
If someone has a birthday coming up, now might be a great time to restore and gift away a piece of furniture you do not need. Perhaps your friend is a bookworm who would love your antique bookshelf, or maybe your friend needs a new desk to work from.
Be sure to present in the best possible light. Clean it, polish it and repair it if necessary. Do not be discouraged if they don't need your piece of furniture; they might know someone that would be grateful to have it.
Recycle your old furniture
If your furniture is too damaged to be repaired or not worth restoring, do not fret. To reduce dust and dander allergies, dispose of the item correctly.
And there is no better way to do that than recycling. Wooden and metal furniture is the easiest to recycle. While disassembling furniture, you might find easily recyclable items. If you find any metal or wooden piece, dispose of it appropriately.
Do thorough research on which things can be recycled for that specific item of furniture you are disassembling. Unfortunately, most pieces of furniture were not meant to be recycled, which is why this process might be more complex but still worth the effort.
Contacting your local recycling center could prove very beneficial. These centers often take all the furniture you might have without needing you to disassemble them.
By contacting your local recycling center, you also save yourself the trouble of researching since they could point you in the right direction for recycling your old furniture.
Properly discard your old furniture
If all the ways mentioned above to recycle your old furniture fail, it might be time to discard them properly. Of course, do this step with the utmost care.
This way, you will minimize the impact it will have on the environment. Do not leave your unwanted furniture on the curb expecting someone to take it away.
Be sure to contact your local municipality; they might provide free junk removal services right from your doorstep. If that is not the case, you might need to hire a junk removal service.
However, if all else fails, you might need to take your item to a landfill. Sometimes, when things are too bulky, you need to drop them off on your own at the nearest landfill.
Still, this should always be the last resort, considering landfills affect the environment we strive to protect in a lot of negative ways. If there is another way – go for it.
Find a storage solution that works for you
If you are still unsure about what you want to do with your old furniture, storage units might be just what you need. Storage units are perfect if you wish to put your pieces away before picking one way to recycle your old furniture.
There are plenty of different storage units to choose from on the market. They come in various sizes, prices, and levels of quality and safety. Therefore, you must conduct preliminary research.
Once you have chosen a storage unit, you must prepare your furniture for storage. You may accomplish this on your own or enlist the aid of loved ones or experts.
Whatever the case, be careful how you pack your furniture in your chosen storage unit. You should always ensure your items cannot topple over and are easily accessible.
Be wary of the weather your area has when storing furniture. Some places might be more prone to rain, so you must ensure your furniture is lifted off the ground in case some water makes its way into your storage unit.
Picking between all the ways to recycle your old furniture can be hard. You will sleep better knowing your items are safe and sound whenever their time to be recycled comes.
