How do you throw away a bed?

If your bed is still in good condition, you can call up a charity like Lifeline, St Vincent or whoever is closest to you and tell them that you would like to donate a bed. They will come and pick it up. You might have to ring around a bit as some of them don't have room for furniture in their shops. So they will probably connect you directly with their storage warehouse. Alternatively, again depending on the state of your bed, you could put an advertisement in the paper and stipulate that you have a cheap or free bed for anyone who is willing to come and pick it up. You would be amazed what some people consider as "good condition". Good luck.

 

You can place an add on craigslist in the For Sale: Free section and say in the add they must pick it up and move it themselves. If you recently bought a new mattress, the furniture store will take it away for you for free. Also, you can call Good Will or in some areas ARC and you can donate it to them.

 

Several of the goodwill type stores in my area no longer take large furniture and beds. The law says a mattress must be sanitized before it can be sold. In our area we can call the county to pick up large things like a mattress, it will be taken to the dump.

 

You could take out a Craigslist Free ad and give it away to the first person who picks it up, there's also Freecycle. I once put a mattress out in the alley behind my apartment building and within a couple of hours, scrap metal scavengers had removed all the springs from the inside, leaving just the foam, which I tossed in the dumpster. There are people in my area that rip the scrap metal out of anything.

 

Definitely try to give it away first, but if that doesn't work, there is a proper way to dispose of a bed. You may be able to find out online, but if not a phone call may be necessary. Every city is different in the way they collect garbage that is furniture. Some even charge a fee if you just put it out on the curb because there are laws against it. For example, my town has specific days in the month that trucks go around and pick up mattresses and couches. Another town I lived in required you to call and make an appointment to have the item picked up. In my area, most donation stores don't take beds because of bedbug concerns. Unfortunately, you see many beds discarded on the side of the road, or illegally dumped in containers meant for businesses. Good luck, and try to give it away first, if you can, it is better for the environment.

 

If you don't manage to give it away and still don't have the manpower needed to handle the bed you could try to disassemble the thing. Usually there are just a few screws involved or nails and maybe some glue. This way when you're finished you can get the bed out of your house all by yourself. Sure, there's some work involved but at least your space will finally be free.

 

If you have any room in your yard, why not make a Flower-Bed. Set it up over soil, plant Wildflower seeds and watch it grow! My neighbor did this with a twin size bed and it is beautiful!

 

We had a real problem with scrap metal vandals after hurricane Katrina! Would you believe a group of them broke into an artist studio and not only removed all the copper plumbing, but destroyed several priceless sculptures just to take the metal? Also, I went over to a friend's to feed her cats and the water had been shut off - so I thought. In the time between her leaving that morning and me arriving that evening, thieves stole the copper pipes from under the house!

 

The best way to get rid of something like this that is not biodegradable is to give it away to someone else. Many charities will come and pick things up - do you have any other items you can get rid of? If you can drag it to the curb you can list on Craig's list for free pick up. Lots of people do this to get rid of things they no longer need. The way I understand it with Freecycle, you have to be part of a users group.

 

I hadn't seen this option mentioned yet, but many local radio stations have programs where you can call in, email, or text what you are selling or giving away, and they'll announce it on the radio for free and people will come get it or buy it from you. It's a good way to find stuff and get rid of stuff you're not sure what to do with.

 

Well I live in a council flat and when we have something big to throw out we contact the council and then put it in the front garden and they will turn up and take it away for free as long as there are not too many items at one time. I know not everyone has this luxury, my girlfriend lives in a council house and her local council charge her for every item. If you don't have this option then you might have to hire a van and drive it to the local dump.

 

I would go the Craiglist/Freecycle route, especially with a bed. They're doing you a favor by taking it off of your hands, I wouldn't bother expecting to make any money off it. Plus I think with your local trash, you may have to pay them to come out and make a special trip to your place. When I worked at a frame shop, and our dumpster would get too full, we would have to call them to come out and make a special trip to empty off schedule. I'm not sure what it cost to do that though, but my boss wasn't happy when it happened.

You could also maybe put it beside a dumpster outside of an apartment complex. You might get in trouble for doing that though, so be careful. But the people living in the apartments do that all the time when they are moving, and others will usually snatch the stuff up quickly. I would maybe do it late at night while everyone is asleep.

 

You can donate it to charity or simply pack it in your storage. You can never know when you will need it next. Sometimes you might get that you need that bed really badly for something and you have already thrown it away. It is up to you to decide what to do with it.

 

Some charity shops will send someone to pick it up for you, if it is in reasonably good condition. Also, some areas have a city clean up event, where you can take large items to the curb once or twice per year (usually in the spring and fall) so always check for things like that. You might also inquire whether or not anyone you know could use an extra bed, because they might just take it off your hands for you.

Can you burn trash in your area? I've seen people burn mattress covers and then break down the rest (I'd probably just cut the cover off myself). Some people even use the springs for rustic art. You might even be able to sell those (or at least give them away to get rid of them).

Otherwise, see if you can get a friend with a truck or van to lend a hand and take it to the dump. I'd call first and see how much it will cost you to dump it.

 

I would definitely try giving it away first. This way, someone else does all the lifting and shifting! Craigslist or Freecycle would be ideal. Otherwise, if there were no county bulky waste collection services in my area, I'd drag it out to the yard and break it down. I'm pretty sure someone will take it soon though, people are crying out for decent furniture these days.

 

I have never personally thrown away a bed. But I have seen one get dismantled. My mother's boyfriend was purchasing a new bed, because his old one had begun to rot. He used a saw to hack it apart, and then he took it to the tip, and dumped it. Of course, if your bed isn't rotting and you aren't throwing it away, I don't see why you can't sell it? Gumtree and Craigslist are great websites to post adverts, in my opinion.

 

You could either post about it online and find someone willing to buy or take it off your hands for free or maybe find a junk shop that offers pickup services. From what I understand there are also some areas that have companies that will pick up your large items and take it to junk shops but I think those are probably a bit more costly.

 

I also have a bed that I need to get rid of pretty soon. I am planning on just taking it to the tip, putting the wood in the recycling containers and the rest in the refuse containers. It is far to damaged to be used as a second hand bed, so there is no point trying to even give it away.