There comes a time in every household when a piece of furniture has fulfilled its duty. But there’s the hassle of getting rid of it, especially the bulky pieces such as sofas or desks.
Most large items won’t fit in the car. That’s presuming you have a car. Many tips don’t allow vans in unless you pay a fee and book in advance.
You could hire a skip and have a bigger clear-out without venturing further than the kerb. The downside of course is the cost, plus the waiting for the skip company to come and collect the thing. Not great either if you just want to dump a single armchair.
Before you consider risking the law and going fly-tipping, take a look at these 5 free and easy ways to get rid of furnishings. Save yourself major effort and even net yourself some cash in the process.
eBay your cult furniture
The first place people think of when they want to sell easy to post items. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t list furniture. State ‘pick up only’ to put the onus on the buyer and don’t worry about being out of pocket as it’s free to list the first 20 items each month. There’s a fee of 10% of the final sales value but only if the item sells.
Great for items such as Ikea’s hugely popular Expedit shelving. Expedit gained a cult-following among record collectors and DJs as the shelf dimensions are perfect for storing their valued vinyl.
Although Kallax, the replacement shelves Ikea introduced, supposedly has similar dimensions, the thinner wood makes it less sturdy and hasn’t won many fans. This means you’ll have a great chance of offloading your bulky shelving unit to a local aficionado.
Facebook sales groups – an underrated and low-risk way to sell locally
Selling via one of Facebook’s sales groups is growing in popularity thanks to its convenience and low-risk nature. There’s no fee either. If you want cash for your furniture you’ll keep all the profit.
Big items sell better locally as the buyer has less distance to travel to come and collect. It’s easier to look for local items in this way rather than using eBay which makes it difficult to search by location.
Online classifieds are an easy way to off-load to a target group
Gumtree is a free classifieds site; an online version of what used to fill the back pages of the local newspaper. They don’t charge to post a listing and it’s a great place for items such as beds or bikes. The pages are often scanned by house sharers looking for bargains to furnish their pads with.
Preloved is a lesser known but equally good site to try if you don’t have any luck on Gumtree. They offer to turn your clutter into cash and don’t have any fees.
Also consider forums which often have classified or for sale noticeboards. If you have items of interest to a particular group – say parents, head for online parenting forums.
Netmums have a huge ‘local to you’ for sale and for free board. It doesn’t cost to post other than the time taken to set up an account and is perfect for shifting kids’ furniture. You can list that unused buggy that’s taken up residence in the loft while you’re there.
One man’s clutter is another man’s gold
Maybe you don’t think your item is worth selling. There’s plenty of folk scanning Freecycle for old furniture ripe for upcycling so it’s worth a shot. Freecycle is a not-for-profit movement facilitating reuse and keeping stuff out of landfills.
Alternatively, try Freegle who claim to have 2 million+ members across the UK. It links up people who have stuff to get rid of with people who need it.
These sites are popular for bulky, hard to dispose of, items such as sofas, desks or chairs. Plus you’ll get to meet your neighbours and there’s the great feeling you get of giving something away.
Get a good feeling by helping a charity
In fact, you might get the donating bug. If your furniture is clean and meets health and safety regulations, you could do worse than donating it to charity.
The British Heart Foundation offer a free collection for furniture or large electrical items. They do house clearances too if you want to go all out. You’ll be getting rid of those bulky items for free and the charity gets things to sell, win-win!
Next time you’re having a clear-out, don’t just focus on the small stuff. There’s plenty of places to off-load the bulky things too for minimum effort.
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