Upgrading a Property in 2023? 5 Destinations For Second-hand Furniture

You’re about to upgrade a property. The last thing you need is a house full of furniture to navigate your way around. And besides, how would that even work? Destinations ready to accept or even purchase second-hand furniture aren’t great in number, but there are a few available to you which could prove useful.

Now of course, some of these avenues you will already be familiar with, some you may not. The point is - once you’ve gone through this list - you should be clearer on what you can do with any second-hand furniture that may be clogging your living and workspaces. Check out this list of 5 destinations for second-hand furniture that you can explore today.

1). Storage

De-burden yourself of second-hand furniture by putting them away in storage. Now we say de-burden, but the truth is, the burden doesn’t actually leave - it just changes form and finds another way to burden you. In this case - inside the four walls of a cold, dark storage facility. Yes, it will be gone from your sight, but so will a recurring sum from your bank account each month. Self storage companies have multiplied the number of their sites in recent years - and why not - they were right to expect all your lovely second-hand furniture.

Our advice here - don’t pay out in storage fees a sum greater than the total value of the furniture you’re storing.

2). The local disposal site

The idea of doing this might sound crazy to some - but take it from us - desperate times call for desperate measures, and seemingly irrational decisions often replace rational ones.

Now don’t get us wrong - taking your second-hand furniture to a tip might be a great idea - especially if you find time of short supply & the value of the refurb exceeds that of the disposal. But it might not be such a great idea to ‘friends of the earth’ groups who would frown upon such acts of waste.

Now we mentioned cost, because in most cases there is a cost, unless your best friend owns a disposal site of course. These sites charge by the ton and, as you might be aware, furniture weighs more than brown & green bin waste. This exercise can turn into a costly one - especially if you have a generously sized property to empty. You should also be happy to pay separately for the time & labour of the clearance company who remove all the second-hand furniture from the property, load them into the truck & transport them to the dump site. 

Some more advice for you.. albeit obvious in nature - if the projected budget for your refurb is equal to, or less than the cost of a supposed disposal - don’t throw your furniture away. Let’s read on.

3). Charity

Are you the giving type - charity probably has your number already. The sale of your furniture could not only benefit the less privileged, but could prove useful to second-hand furniture buyers looking for a nice bargain or indeed just a unique piece. Be mindful before contacting charities, there are usually regulations regarding the acceptance of second-hand furniture. For example, fire labels must be visible on each piece, without them your furniture is likely to be rejected. 

4). Friends & Family

In most cases you can bank on this group. And you’re probably likely to go to this group first if you find yourself in a situation. Your family members might not be too thrilled about having to arrange a large van to pick up your second-hand furniture. Oh and they’d need to be comfortable driving the van back to theirs. They can also hire someone to do all of this for them although after hearing all that’s involved in getting free furniture they may no longer be so keen. If all that fails, hold tight for number 5 coming right up..

5). Second-hand furniture buyer

We like to call this one an ideal solution in a not-so-ideal situation. 

In an ideal solution, you’d find one single company offering a free valuation for the entire contents of your property. They would attend your property on a day that suits you to collect your furniture for the agreed sum. This is ideal because not only is your second-hand furniture collected from your location, you get paid for the privilege. This might be the one for you and it’s a lot cheaper than number 2 on our list.