Whether you’re moving house, redesigning your home’s interior or just having a big clear out, it can be tricky to know what to do with old or unused furniture. There are plenty of ways to dispose of your furniture entirely, but there are also lots of things you can do to give it a new lease of life, like upcycling and donating. Explore our top tips below for more inspiration on what to do with your old furniture.
1. Sell it
This could be as simple as driving your furniture round to your local second-hand furniture shop and asking them for a quote, but if your furniture is from a prestigious designer or era, you might also look into selling it to an antique store, or at auction.
There’s also a multitude of ways you could sell your furniture online, using marketplaces like eBay and Facebook. If your furniture is in especially good condition or could be considered “vintage”, then you may get a better deal by using a site like Etsy, Shopify or Vinterior, which tend to be full of collectors.
2. Donate it
If you’re keen to get rid of some furniture and you’re not fussed about selling, you could take it to a local charity shop. Lots of national charities have specialist furniture branches, including Oxfam, British Heart Foundation and Sue Ryder – some will actually offer to collect your items directly. You could check for local charities in your area too; homeless shelters and foundations for vulnerable people are often looking for furniture.
3. Store it
Storage for furniture is the ideal solution if you’re temporarily downsizing, you’ve inherited some furniture you don’t want to sell yet, or you simply want to put some pieces you’ve collected away for safe keeping. Our furniture storage units are humidity controlled, so your furniture won’t suffer from damp or damage as it might in a garage, and they’re available in a wide variety of sizes, so no matter what you need to store, there’s a unit to match. Check out our self storage calculator to see what size of storage unit would work for you.
4. Upcycle it
Got a piece of furniture you love the design of, but hate the colour? Give it a makeover or transform its use completely by upcycling it. For a simple aesthetic upgrade, you could sand down an old chest of drawers, paint it in a new shade you love and replace the knobs for that finishing touch. There are even ways to transform the functionality of your furniture entirely. With a few tweaks and a new coat of paint, you could turn a rickety stepladder into a display unit for your plants, or convert an old crate into a bedside table.
5. Recycle it
Another great environmentally-friendly option is recycling your old furniture, if it’s past the point of salvaging or reuse. Finding your nearest household waste recycling centre is easy, just head over to the website for your local council and all the tips in your district will be listed.
You can also use a site like Freecycle to recycle your old furniture. Freecycle allows you to list your items for free, so someone looking for a similar piece of furniture can come and collect it. It’s quick and convenient, plus you may even find a few things you like on there yourself!
Got furniture you need to put in storage? Find your local Space Station branch and get a quote for furniture storage near you today.