How to Get Rid of an Old Sofa

You new couch is going to look great in the living room, but if you are like most people you probably haven’t given much thought about what you are going to do with the old one. Although most furniture places will deliver your new sofa right to the door, there are few furniture places that will take the old one away. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to get rid of that old sofa before the new one arrives.

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  Contact the Salvation Army or other charities in your area. The Salvation Army and AM Vets often picks up donated furniture items. Many thrift stores that work with charity organizations do so as well. Since your sofa is going to another family, however, evaluate the condition of your sofa before you call to schedule a pickup. If the sofa is in extremely bad condition, it is usually better to find another way to dispose of it.
• Place your old sofa out in your yard near the street with a “Free” sign on it. Many people cannot resist something that is free and will take the sofa off your hands even if it is in less than excellent condition. As an added benefit, you won’t even have to load it up for them, simply put it outside on a nice sunny day and watch the sofa disappear.
• Sell your sofa on Craigslist.com. If your sofa is still in good useable condition, you may find that you can get a little money for it. Move your sofa to the garage or onto the driveway so that people can view it without entering your home. Although Craigslist is an excellent way to sell old furniture, there are some people that access these types of websites that could wish to do you harm. Use caution and common sense before inviting strangers into your house.
• Give the sofa away on Freecycle.com. Freecycle’s principle is that “it’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.” Place a description of your item on Freecycle and interested parties can contact you for further information. Simply offer it to the first person that contacts you and then if they do not show up, offer it to the next person on the list until it is gone.
• Tear down the sofa and dispose of it in the trash. It might surprise you to learn that it is actually quite easy to tear down a sofa and make it into smaller parts. This allows you to put the majority of the pieces of it into regular trash bags. You can then add a trash bag or two into your trashcan with your weekly trash. If you have larger untreated pieces of wood left over from the sofa, you can safely burn them outdoors or cut them into smaller pieces to reuse elsewhere.
• Call your trash company to see if they will pick the sofa up if you leave it by the road. Some trash services pick up larger items for a fee. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce or courthouse to see if your community participates in a yearly “clean out your house” campaign. Some communities sponsor certain days during the year when a trash service picks up unwanted household items for free.
• Contact local churches in your area to see if they accept furniture donations for families in need. Even if they don’t accept these types of donations, they may know of someone who could use the furniture and can help you get in touch with them.

Rose Singer writes for several design blogs and recommends sofasandsectionals.com when shopping for a new sofa.