Get Rid of Couch for Free

Admit it, we all have that one piece of furniture that somehow always seems to avoid getting tossed out. Whether it's that old fake leather couch from your college days or that Lay-Z-Boy recliner that looks just like the one from the old TV show Frasier', it just has to go.

Sofas are one of those awkward pieces of junk that you can't just toss out. So, how do you get rid of them? Can you get rid of them for free? And, what does a couch removal service cost?

There are several options when it comes to getting rid of a couch free. Additionally, there are some other options like selling it, donating it, or hiring a professional company to come out and remove it for you. Below we'll present all these options so you can select the best method to kiss that old couch goodbye. 

If you've got a old couch that is long past its freshness date and starting to show its age, then perhaps it's time to find a new home for that sofa or couch.

Before we move onto various ways to get rid of a couch for free - we'll use this change to name drop AZ Junk Removal as the best way to get rid of a couch in Phoenix and any other unwanted junk.

1. Selling Your Couch Online

The first option is selling your couch for financial gain, and depending on the condition, you can have just as many savings if your couch still has at least 50% of a return.

You might need to strike a best-offer deal if your sofa is a little rough around the edges. All in all, here are your top choices for placing an ad online.

Selling an old couch is a great option, getting cash for something you were going to throw out anyway is the American Dream. Now, if it's an old broken down couch, it may be a better idea to skip this option and look at some at the others below.

These days the possibilities of online sells are endless. You can use any of a dozen different sites to sell your couch online, sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, and LetGo. All of these websites are pretty similar. Basically, all you need to do is take a few photos and post them with a description and a price.

Additional Tips for Selling a Couch or Sofa Online

You can also check out some of the apps on your smartphone. Poshmark, Trove Market, and Chairish are both designed to specifically sell furniture. VarageSale is another popular app that can get you in touch with dozens of potential buyers.

Finally, you can use your own social media prowess. If you have a million followers, just post a pic and a price on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and see if you get lucky.

If you really want to catch a buyer consider the following things when creating your post.

• Look Professional: Let buyers know you’ve done this before and you're good at it.
• Use Good Keywords: A good post is like a good pick up line, you need to know the right words for the audience, or else you're going to get a drink thrown in your face. The terms you choose will determine if your item pops up in someone's search, so choose them carefully. Pick out a handful of important keywords that describe your sofa to create your title. Then you can expand by providing a full description.
• Pricing to Sell: When you think pricing, remember this is your old stuff. It has lost a lot of value and is not worth what you paid for it. If you really want to make a sell, set your price at approximately ⅓ of the original price. If it is a timeless piece you might get as much as ½ the original price. Items priced any higher than that, usually don’t sell at all.
• Use Good Images: While your words will determine if your post shows up on a search, your images will determine if someone clicks on your listing. You need good clear photos of your couch. Don’t use blurry pics, if you're having trouble with the blurs then turn your flash on, even if it's daylight. Make sure you have a neutral background, if you post up a picture of your couch surrounded by piles of dirty laundry you're not going to make a good impression. All of the clutter in the image will distract buyers and make them judge you. so find a neutral backdrop. Hang up a white sheet and use it as a backdrop, the only thing for people to see is the couch itself. Finally, take pictures from multiple angles, it lets people get a feel for what it might look like in their own home.

• Describe your item completely and honestly. If there is wear and tear on your things tell the buyers and be specific, but be just as clear about the positive aspects. If it was rarely used, say so, if you have a smoke free, pet free home, say so; this is a huge selling point for many buyers. Your description should include the size and age of the item and as well as a reasonable price.
• Concluding the Sale: After making the sale, you need to make arrangements for the buyer to get the stuff, if it's small enough, you can mail it, but generally a pick up is arranged. Safety must be a priority. Unless it's necessary, don’t arrange pick ups at your home. Instead, use stores like Costco and Sams that are in your neighborhood. Try listing the pickup location in your item description, then your buyers will know exactly what to expect. Never include your address or any personal information in the item description.

Now that you’ve created a stunning professional listing, just sit back and watch buyers come rolling in.

On a similar but less profitable note, if your sofa is really old and dingy, or if your only goal is to just get rid of it, try posting it as free. You might get a dozen responses right away. If not, take down your ad and repost it in a day or two, again, label it as free, you’d be surprised how many old sofas find new homes this way.

SELL USING: Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, LetGo

2. Recycling Your Couch

Another free way to get rid of an old couch is to recycle the whole of it, really recycle it. If it is taken apart over 90% of it can be recycled. Look carefully in your neighborhood and online for a recycling center. These places will dismantle the couch and recycle the individual parts. Once it has been stripped down, the wood can be recycled into landscaping material, the foam can be used as padding or insulation, and the metal frames are sent to scrap yards. Basically, everything but the cover can be recycled.

Recycling is one solution that is a good way to help others benefit while you feel good about passing your couch to a worthy cause. While Phoenix is full of recyclers, it's not hard to see why there are highly recommended city recyclers that you should check with first for the local options to get rid of couch furniture that you can contact right away.

Best City Options

Of all the immediate cities that you should check with for local furniture recyclers, check with the City of Mesa, the City of Phoenix, and the City of Chandler which can assist you with charitable organizations for recycling living room furniture. We can be sure these three cities are the best options to help families and those local to have immediate needs for almost new couches and sofas.

Give Away A Couch For Free

There is a certain feeling that goes with a donation that is hard to describe. It's been described by some experts as a 'load off of your back' or 'unloading a feeling of burden', but whatever they call it for giving away a sofa is knowing that someone will have just as much comfort as you did by giving your old couch to someone who can really use it. If you can bear parting with your couch, it always feels good to give away something of value even if you charge money for it.

RECYCLE USING: City of Mesa, City of Phoenix, City of Chandler

Repurposing Your Couch

Are you good with your hands or have some practical DIY skills under your belt? Well, don't give it a second thought and start thinking of creative ways to repurpose your couch for something even better. It can be put into use for becoming a backyard relaxing zone or something even wilder that you've been thinking about for years. Now is your chance!

What To Make From An Old Couch

What about tearing off all of the cushions and covering a couch down to the bare frame and letting your imagination go wild. You might find that an old couch can be turned into virtually anything under the sun including a very original garden chandelier or perhaps combined with car parts to make a car seat sofa. You can always add a new cover or use decorative blankets to give an old couch an exotic look which doesn't take much hard work at all.

Donating Your Couch

Did you know that donating a sofa is another cool way to get your couch to a whole new audience? Donation centers are also called thrift shops and are a hotspot for hipsters looking for something funky. They are also a major hub for struggling families who are looking for a price break on living room furniture.

If it's in good shape and you think you can make a buck or two off it, then go ahead and price it out, but if you just want it gone, try giving it away.

Another route you can try is donation. There are dozens of places that will accept old sofas and we’re not just talking about Goodwill and the Salvation Army, though both are good options. You can try looking for a homeless shelter or domestic abuse shelter. Both of which help people start a new life and your old sofa can make a huge difference.

Other non-profits collect furniture to help those who have suffered loss through fire or other natural disasters. You might even check with a local theater or high school drama team, they might be willing to pick up the sofa to use as a prop in an upcoming production.

Finally, something really outside the box, animal shelters. Some animal shelters have hang out rooms for their tenants where they can meet potential owners, and they may want your old sofa.

Here are some more suggestions you'll like to know.

Donation Center Options

There are always going to be a slew of donation centers you can contact. Some are religious and some are helping to benefit military folks. Who you contact is always your best choice if you want to help specific groups in a time of hardship. Always contact local chapters within the Phoenix area and not some donation center or charity that's out-of-state. It's very easy to see if they are local when they list a local donation center address on the contact us page.

Are There Rules For Donating A Couch?

In general, most donation centers will accept sofas, couches, loveseats, Lay-Z-Boys, and recliners of all kinds. If your sofa is a sectional, it has to be light enough to be carried by two people. Sleepers and hide-a-beds are slightly heavier but aren't impossible for two people to carry either. As long as you have a couch that's not looking like it was attached by a cheese grater, even slightly-used-looking couches are perfectly fine for donations.

Tax Breaks?

Believe it or not, AZ has two tax credits for donating a couch or living room furniture. The first is called a QCO (Qualifying Charitable Organization) and a QFCO (Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organization) that will recognize a legal tax credit for these types of donations. You'll need to check the list of qualified charities that allow for providing a tax credit for 2022.

DONATE USING: St. Vincent Depaul, Salvation Army, FreeCycle

Bulk Trash Pick-Up Options

We all know that curbside bulk trash days are always a good way to dispose of trash that is allowed to be picked up for free. This is also a day that you must know what's allowed and what is not. You'll want to check our page on bulk trash for more info.

There is a reason each city in the valley offers free bulk trash pick ups, it's because they don’t want a bunch of old couch rotting on their neighborhood streets. It's better for them to end up in landfills than in the empty lot by your house. It's the lazy route, but it certainly is easy. Just double check that your city will actually pick up furniture, most of them do. If so, then all you have to do is haul the old sofa out to the curb and await pick up day. While bulk trash is an easy route is not the best option. Tons of furniture ends up in the landfill annually and they can take decades to decompose. If it's leather then you can have the joy of knowing your old sofa will still be sitting in the landfill when your grandchildren and great-grandchildren are born.

If your city does not accept furniture as bulk trash, you can play Godzilla and smash the couch into tiny pieces that will fit in your trash bin. It's a good excuse to get out your chainsaw, on second thought chainsaws and nails don't make good friends. But you can at least pull out the reciprocating saw.

A lot of the work can be done with just a hammer and a well-placed kick. If you're feeling stressed about whatever that politician did now, then tearing apart your sofa with your bare hands might be pretty therapeutic for you. Destroying a couch like Cruel the Warrior King is not as difficult or time-consuming as you might think. Plus you have the added benefit of being able to but most of the rubble into your recycle bin.

When Are Bulk Trash Days?

Phoenix is separated by 13 separate zones, and each of these has specific times for bulk trash that's allowed to be picked up. You can check this map for the 2021-2022 Schedule showing when these pick-up dates are allowed. Thankfully, Phoenix has a bulk pickup 4 times a year, so putting out a sofa is certainly an option if it's been trashed beyond repair.

Best Tips For Putting Out Couch

On your property in front of your house, it's best to put your couch in front of your house at the edge of your property. This should be where the city street is located, so when the collection trucks come, they can easily pick up your couch. If you have a building, then all bulk trash and couches need to be placed on the side of your building within the alley. Avoid touching the wall so this couch will be easy to pick up by the pick-up crews.

Are There Special Rules?

There is just one special rule that applies which is very simple to understand. You need to put out your bulk trash the night before the scheduled pickup day. If you try to get rid of couch items on the same morning, you could actually miss the truck that is picking up items in the early morning hours.

Cost of Hauling a Couch to the Dump

Now, as a paid alternative, you can haul the couch to the dump yourself. In Phoenix, the average cost to haul a couch to the dump is $15.00. Now, if you're going to make the trip to the dump, it's best to declutter your house by filling up the truck with stuff you no longer need. The average cost to dump a full truck load at the transfer station in Phoenix is about $60.00.

Tips For Donation Centers

Returning to the topic of donation centers, a lot of people don't always have a preferred charity that they are aware of. This is because many younger people may not have heard of respected and reputable charities that are always excellent choices to contact. These include St. Vincent DePaul and the Salvation Army which have local locations and drop-off centers within Phoenix.

Then again, just looking at Google for furniture banks, religious charity donations, and homeless shelter donations in Phoenix will give you an immediate list of where to go and who to contact.

Why Get Rid Of Your Couch?

There are multiple reasons you can tell when it's time to get rid of an old couch or comfy seating furniture. Most of the time is usually because you want to upgrade your living room to better-looking furniture or there was some terrible accident (like the new dog making some modifications to your sofa). But in truth, there are some standard reasons why it will be needed to dispose of or get rid of a couch.

Benefits of disposing of an old couch

Everyone likes a comfortable couch but one sure-fire benefit is from having extra space to free yourself from an unsightly sofa in your home. If you decide to sell your sofa, it's often worth some extra pocket change if you sell it online likewise. Perhaps it can go to a worthy cause or be repurposed for something you always thought would be a great idea for a sofa.