Am Vets will pick up, and I think I've had Salvation Army pick up too.

You can ask at your local thrift store. Mine has volunteers that will pick up if they can.

Our local thrift store doesn't pick up. No AmVets here in Connecticut either. Any other suggestions?

Check with some of the smaller, local charities in your area. Some of them will pick things up.

Check with churches in your area. Some of them can use the furniture themselves (in a teen lounge area, for example), or know of people who need furniture. They might have someone willing to come and pick it up.

Rent a truck and haul the stuff to the dump. Or borrow a friend's truck.

Check your trash pickup rules. We can leave furniture out on the curb for pickup. Appliances need a $15 sticker.

Put it out on the curb with a big "Free" sign on it.

Post a note at work or send an email around that the furniture is free and available for pickup. I did this the last time I moved and everything I listed was claimed in an hour and picked up within three days.

If anyone you know has college-aged kids or kids just out of college, check to see if the kids might want the stuff.

I haven't had the same experience as just with offering free furniture. I get a fair-to-good amount of emails, but not usually a barrage of them.

I've had pretty good luck with offering furniture for free on CL, or on Freecycle (www.freecycle.org). I don't post pictures and it's never been a problem. (I figure that if it's free, the recipient shouldn't be too picky.) Seriously, it's super quick to write up something like, "free couch, approx. 8 ft long, sage green, clean". I don't post my phone number, only my email address.

I also give people only one chance to pickup before I move to the next responder (unless the person contacts me and asks to reschedule). I try to pick someone who tells me their reason for wanting the item, rather than the people who write a 2-3 word email like, "I want it" or "I'll take it" or "Still available?" I also try to avoid the sob stories.

As you can tell, the main caveat with giving away furniture on CL or Freecycle is that you do get a lot of flakes. People who just never show up, no call, no email. If you don't absolutely have to get rid of the furniture right away, and can keep it until you finally get someone to pick up, it can be great b/c they will pick up.

Well, the biggest piece is a 20-year-old Ethan Allen sofa. The fabric was navy in a former life, but is faded & torn now. Conceivably, someone might want it to reupholster. Perhaps I could sell it for cheap then give the money to charity.

I'd prefer to give it directly to a charity. Anybody have a favorite organization or cause?

Even if I have to pay a trash hauler to get rid of it, well, at least that's some guy doing an honest day's job to put food on his family's table.

ARC. I had two friends who donated their time as teachers. It's a wonderful organization, dedicated to those who need it more than some, as they cannot provide for themselves in any way.

In Nashville, they come pick up your items. Maybe there too?

Here is a link that might be useful: The Arc (association of retarded citizens)

St. Vincent de Paul picks up, at least here in SoCal, and is far less picky than some of the other charities. Women's shelters often need furniture as well.

Freecycle, free on Craigslist, too.

Charities are getting so much junk these days that have had to limit what they take to items in good condition. If it's worn and torn, I don't think anyone is going to want it. Reupholstering or having a slipcover made is a major expense. That said, we have given away a number of things on freecycle (including a couch and loveseat). I would give that a try first.

Our county will pick up bulk items at no extra charge on trash pick-up day -- you just have to call or send an e-mail ahead of time. You might want to check with your trash pick-up service.

We donate ours to the local Peanut Butter & Jelly Theraputic Preschool. They operate a "free" store for families in need, who they know and work with in the surrounding communities. They keep a list of things people need and will come out, pick up the larger items and take them directly to their homes. I've donated beds, dressers, sheets, blankets, winter coats, chairs, tables, phones, bikes, clothing, books, toys, and a good working washer, dryer and fridge to them over the years. But, the key is that everything has to be in good condition and working; No junk that should go to the dump.
The thought of somebody getting a needed dresser or whatever for nothing, freeing up their hard-earned money for other necessities means a lot to me. I'm just very grateful we have something like that here in our area.
If we didn't I'd donate it to Goodwill.
Lynn

I also offer things that non-profits won't pick up through FreeCycle.

Michael

We just donated an entire single bay of our garage that was full of furniture to a local charity. All in good shape but since we have just moved into a new home it didn't fit in our new space. Haven of Peace, a local abused women's and children's shelter was glad to come and pick it all up. They said they are always looking for good used furniture to set up these women and their families who often leave their homes and husbands in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their back. You might try your local women's shelter. And also, as mentioned, Salvation Army is great about picking up large pieces.

When I wanted to remove an old refrigerator and upright freezer from my MIL's basement, I checked the ads in the community newspaper for her area and called someone who advertised haul away services. He and a helper hauled them both off for $50.

What possesses someone to go to the effort of placing an old refrigerator in a basement???????

St Jude is a wonderful charity. They are one of the few that most (over eighty percent last I heard) that goes straight to the children's care. Where are many other well known charities that amount goes to administration. Sad but true.

Here is a link that might be useful: St Judes.

The title of this made me laugh. We live in a remote, seaside area with little in the way of services. We have just moved here to live full time and have a number of pieces of old furniture as well as appliances to discard. We just recently took a 20-year-old overstuffed, out-of-style chair to the town landfill and they charged us $20.00 to dump it! I think the next time we'll sit what we have at the end of the driveway and try the "FREE" sign fist. We live on a beach road and even off-season there are plenty of trucks and cars that come down our way.

I am going to investigate charitable pick-ups, but would be surprised if that's something available to us out here.

Possibly there is a Church that would take it or know of someone who is in need of furniture. You may be surprised at how many people call churches (at least Catholic ones, as that's been my experience in working for/with them) looking for furniture, etc.

One Catholic Church here has a storage unit for such items. They take two trips a year to a little town in Appalachia (WV) to help the people who live there.

Birthright is another organization that sometimes can take furniture (to give to pregnant women who are in need, if they've had to move, etc due to being pregnant).

HTH

We have a group here called Christian Community Action. They take pretty much anything and have two stores in town where they sell it.

If I don't think it's good enough to pass on to them I put it at the curb before bulk pick up. It almost always gets picked up before the next days pick up. People probably go around collecting this stuff to sell at garage sales or something. They have so much more energy than I.

"Well, the biggest piece is a 20-year-old Ethan Allen sofa. The fabric was navy in a former life, but is faded & torn now. Conceivably, someone might want it to reupholster. Perhaps I could sell it for cheap then give the money to charity."

No offense, but it doesn't sound like an item that many people would want or could use. Reupholstering is pretty pricey anyway so that wouldn't be anyone's bargain. I'd suggest paying to have it removed. As you say, that gives someone some money for doing the labor.

And before I get jumped on by those who will say 'beggars can't be choosers' etc, I think that in today's world of mass production when there are a lot of decent items being discarded, charities shouldn't be expected to come haul off decades old, faded and torn heavy furniture. That is a service to you, not the charity.

I've called Salvation Army and also a homeless assistance agency here in my town, similar to what has already been described. They have a 'showroom' in which families transitioning from shelters to permanent homes can pick out what they need. Then again I tend to be a serial remodeler, unfortunately. So the stuff I've been discarding is relatively new and although not top of the line, still in pretty good condition. I do have a massive tv armoire that was cheap to begin with and now has the back coming apart, the door hanging etc. I'm going to have my son take that to the trash station when I get ready to replace it; I wouldn't donate it because it is junk.

Ann

A couple that do pick ups around here are:

Salvation Army

ACRC - Cancer fund (800 805 2152)

Purple Heart, but no furniture

A local college or YMCA might have wreck halls or students that need stuff.

Call the Hartford Salvation Army. They came and picked up my 10-yr old oak futon (good frame, but could use a new mattress) when local ones wouldn't. The Salvation Army in RI came to get our Lazy Boy double recliner sofa that was 15 years old - just the cheesecloth underneath was shredding. I think if the cushions are still firm and you haven't had pets, maybe somebody could throw a slipcover on it. Ethan Allen is a good brand.

My mom had 2 recliners that were replaced. She put them at the end of the driveway with a sign 'Free' and they were gone.

Barb

If putting stuff at the end of the driveway with a FREE sign doesn't work, change the sign to $10, and it will probably be gone the next morning.

Seriously, dh had a customer who couldn't give away stuff from his warehouse even with a free sign and lots of needy people in the area. But as soon as he put a sign on it with a monitary amount, it was gone. When they thought it had value, they wanted it.

AmVets, Goodwill, Salvation Army, FreeCycle or CL. Sometimes it is just impossible to give stuff away. I have been trying for over a year to get rid of a computer desk that is in perfect condition but people on CLs don't show up and every charity that I called either did not want it or could not take it because it was made of metal??

Go to www.freecycle.org and see if they have a group in your neighborhood. You post in the Yahoo Group that you have something to give away and usually there are plenty of people who want it. You never have to see them if you don't want. Just tell the first person who replies the date and time it's going to be on your porch and they can come get it while you're at work or whatever. It works great!