My neighbors and I can always tell the end of the school semester. Our alleys and streets mysteriously fill up with dumped sofas and console television sets as college students head on back home to Mom and Dad.
Getting rid of an old sofa is just not that hard to do. By making a few simple calls, college students and even us non college types can get rid of that old sofa without lifting a finger.
Thrift stores
If your old sofa is still in good usable condition (that is, has all the cushions and legs, doesn’t stink, isn’t torn, clawed to pieces or horribly stained) thrift stores will be happy to take your old sofa. They’ll even send a truck around and a couple of burly guys to carry the sofa down the stairs and out of your house. Best of all, they’ll give you a nice donation receipt which may come in helpful at income tax time.
Goodwill, Salvation Army, Deseret, and St. Vincent de Paul are just a few of the nationally known charities that make house calls.
Give it to friends
Know of some underclassmen who can use a sofa? Give them a call, and tell them to help themselves.
Give it to a fraternity or youth organization
If you belong to a campus ministry group, fraternity or sorority house, or some other organization, chances are they can use a sofa in non-smelly and presentable condition. Most youth organizations also fall under the classification of a non profit and should be happy to give you a receipt for tax purposes.
Free cycle it
If the sofa is somewhat on the skanky side, advertise it on freecycle.com. Freecycle is a recycling network where people list their free items in hopes of finding someone who can use it. Make sure to include a complete description in the freecycle ad, and let the prospective owners know that it is strictly You-Haul.
Set it outside next to your driveway
No takers from freecycle? Set the sofa out in front of your house, next to the sidewalk with a huge “Free, Help Yourself” sign posted on it. Chances are that the sofa will probably disappear within a week or so.
Call the trash crew
If all else fails, you can always call your local trash carrier. Just because a sofa doesn’t fit in a trash barrel, doesn’t mean the trash guys won’t take it. By calling ahead and making special arrangements, the trash company will send around a special truck and crew to pick up your discarded sofa, generally free of charge. All they ask is that the sofa is put out with your regular trash and clearly marked for trash pick up.
Now wasn’t that easy?
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