A brand new year can often bring about a feeling of wanting to create a brand new you, and whilst this has many facets, one area that is easy to create instant change in is your home environment.
Now that Christmas is over, and you have gotten rid of your clutter, now might be the perfect time to think about restyling a room. In addition to re-decorating the walls and re-carpeting the floor; you might want to consider getting some new furniture to go with your new look, in which case you will need to consider what to do with your old furniture in order to make space for the new.
There are many ways to get rid of old furniture that can actually offer a bit of extra cash to pay for your new items, or at the very least, can offer you a free way to dispose of unwanted furniture without any additional cost or hassle.
1. SELL ONLINE
There are a number of places you can sell your furniture online. Listings websites such as Gumtree and Craigslist offer a classified ad format where you can include a description of the item along with tantalising photographs - indeed, it’s often photographs that sell the item and ads without photos are often passed by. The two main considerations people using Gumtree and Craigslist will have is proximity and deliverability; firstly, they’ll want to make sure that you are local to them - so make sure you advertise in the right section of the website. Secondly, the number one concern people using these websites express is how to get the item from the seller - particularly if it’s a large item of furniture - this is where services like Shiply come in, where companies compete in a bidding format to move your heavy or bulky items… by pointing potential buyers to these resource takes away their concern about having to move the item themselves.
The alternative to classified ads are online auctions such as eBay. There are more specialist auction sites around, but as eBay has the most prolific user base it is recommended to list the item on this site as it is likely to get the most attention. Importantly, you’ll want to set a reserve price which is the minimum price you’ll allow the item to be sold for - as if you fail to do this, you could end up selling the item for just a few pounds, even if it’s worth several hundred. Again, photos are the best form of advertisement as most users won’t read through lengthy paragraphs of text describing the item, and as the popular saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words.
2. DONATE
Donating your old furniture allows you to get rid of sofas, chairs, dressers and other large items without having to cart them to the tip or pay for them to be removed, whilst helping other people that are in need of furniture for their home. You could consider donating to a local shelter, furniture bank, or charities like the Salvation Army. The majority of charities have facilities to collect items at zero cost too. As much as having a few extra pennies is favourable, the feeling of having a mass clear out and having that much needed space in an instant is pretty priceless!
3. UPCYCLE
There’s often no need to get rid of unwanted furniture when you can upcycle it and convert it into something more attractive or more suitable for your needs. Finding decent storage can be tricky, but you may have the solution sat right there, just needing a lick of paint to create the perfect storage space for your needs.
How will you be making space this year?
*Collaborative post
