5 ways to recycle your old furniture

Did you know that most of the furniture used in homes and offices can be recycled? Many people already recycle common household materials such as paper, plastic, cans or glass bottles, but there are numerous ways to recycle your old furniture as well. Millions of household items are sent to landfills every year, and recycling will help in bringing this number down.

Here is a rundown of several ways you can recycle old furniture, instead of just kicking it to the curb for the trash truck to pick up:

1. Donate the item.

If you don’t need your old furniture, donate it to charity or give it to someone who needs it. There are several websites, such as Freecycle, that allow you to list unwanted items that people can collect from you if they are interested. You can also ask a store like Goodwill or Salvation Army to pick it up, or you can take it to their store location and drop it off.

2. Sell the item.

If you're planning to get rid of some other items, add your furniture to a garage sale or neighborhood yard sale event. You'll generate some cash while also ensuring the rocking chair or dresser you've outgrown has a new home. Just make sure they're still in usable condition. You can also sell your furniture on websites such as Craiglist.

3. Refinish or reupholster it.

Before you decide to get rid of it, consider refinishing your furniture to get a brand new look. Take the furniture to a professional restoration expert or go the DIY route. Use a little imagination and turn your old furniture into something new and amazing. Put on shiny new paint, or go the opposite route and get a vintage look by creating an artfully cracked or distressed look. For old couches and chairs, consider reupholstering the pieces with a fresh new fabric.

4. Repurpose it.

 Some creative ways to repurpose your old furniture:

• Use a ladder to hang towels or blankets.
• Reinventing an old door as a headboard for your bed.
• Repurpose a wooden packing crate as a side table to stack magazines.
• Reuse old lockers as shoe storage.
• Elevate your mattress with wood pallets.
• Use old travel trunks as bedside tables, coffee tables, side tables or display pieces.

5. Recycle it.

You can recycle the material of the furniture itself. If it’s made of wood, metal or some other recyclable material, you can take it straight to your nearest large recycling bin or community recycling facility.

Learn how to recycle old kitchen materials during renovation

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