Are you moving house and do not have enough space for some of your old furniture in your new home? You are probably now wondering what to do with these pieces of furniture. How about donating your furniture and thus helping out someone in need?
Reasons for Donating Furniture
Bear in mind that you cannot just leave your furniture in the street as you risk getting fined. Donating your furniture will help you deal with unwanted pieces at no extra cost of transport as furniture donation pickup is organized. What is more, if you keep the receipt, you could claim your furniture donation pick up or drop off on your tax return.
Another great reason is that donating furniture actually benefits the environment. In 2017 9.8 million tons of furniture and furnishings ended up in landfills in the USA. Help decrease this huge amount by keeping your old furniture out of the landfill as donating furniture is, in fact, recycling.
Where to Donate?
Consider donating to one of Habitat ReStores since most of them offer used furniture donation pick up together with other large items such as appliances, building materials, and others. Your donated furniture will be picked up and taken to a Habitat ReStore where it will be sold. In addition, proceeds from your unwanted furniture help Habitat for Humanity create homes for families in need.
What Furniture Does Habitat ReStore Pick Up?
The best thing is for you to get in touch with your local ReStore and check their list, but most ReStores accept the following pieces of furniture:
- Sofas,
- Chairs,
- Dining tables,
- Filing cabinets,
- Dressers,
- Bedframes,
- Coffee tables,
- End tables,
- Entertainment centers,
- Bookshelves
Before Donating
Please ensure that items are in good condition, i.e. all furniture is undamaged, without any tears and stains. In addition, if there are some small parts, make sure that all parts are placed together. The best way to do it is to collect all the required pieces in a bag with a label on it. For larger items, we would appreciate it if you could label their dimensions and weight as our staff find this helpful when sorting and processing your donations.
How to Deduct the Fair Market Value of Your Donated Furniture?
If you intend to do this, you should know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires you to evaluate the price of your furniture when donating it. When pricing your furniture items, you should consider their age and condition. For further help, you could consult the Salvation Army Donation Value Guide and/or the Goodwill Valuation Guide.
How to Schedule a Furniture Pickup?
Some Habitat ReStores offer online donation scheduling service and therefore you can simply book a pickup online. Pickups are scheduled 4−7 days in advance by organizing the routes based on zip code. Thus, please contact a ReStore at least 1−2 weeks before your move date so that they would be able to organize your large furniture donation pick up.
Donate your furniture to Habitat ReStores as you will be able to get rid of unwanted furniture, help save the environment by reducing waste in landfills and thus greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, you will take part in building affordable and comfortable homes for families across the USA as revenues from sales of your donated items at the ReStore are invested in Habitat for Humanity programs.
If you are renovating your home, take a look at nine things to donate when you are renovating. Find out about more ways to help your community.
