10 Ways to Get Rid of Your Old Junk

Got old junk piling up quicker than you realized? If the old TV is now simply just wall art or the broken mini fridge is now your foot rest, it might be time to declutter your space. So, in the end, the old burning question remains, “How do I get rid of junk?”

So what do you do with a bunch of old junk that’s piling up? Read on for 10 tips and tricks from industry experts to help you painlessly get rid of junk and other old stuff.

Getting Rid of Your Old Junk

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get rid of your old junk without tossing it out with the garbage where it will eventually end up in a landfill and wreak havoc on the environment.

You don’t want to just dump your junk in alley, there are much easier and eco-friendlier ways to approach junk removal.

So, take a deep breath and look at the options below to find the best way to get rid of your old junk. Ready? Let’s do this.

People usually think of Craigslist first when thinking of best ways to sell junk items online. While Craigslist is definitely one good option, there are plenty of other websites and apps that you can use to sell your unwanted junk.

ThredUp and Poshmark are great for selling (and buying) those old, name brand clothes, shoes, and accessories that may no longer fit you or your style anymore.

You can try selling your unwanted electronics on Gazelle, and online marketplaces such as OfferUp and Letgo are great for selling just about anything you don’t need anymore.

If you take some high-quality photos of the items you’d like to sell and write up a detailed description, you’re likely to have some luck making some extra cash from that old desk or filing cabinet on Facebook Marketplace.

You can also try selling your unwanted stuff on social media where you’re more likely to actually know the person you’re selling your old dining set or unused elliptical to instead of just inviting a stranger to your home.

You know those bags of shoes, clothes, and toys you’ve had in your trunk for three months that you keep meaning to take to those donation drop boxes you see everywhere? There are more ways to donate your gently used junk, and even more of your junk items you can donate.

National charities like Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army will gladly take your old furniture, appliances, electronics, and even exercise equipment off your hands.

Note: Donating clothes to charities that provide specific items will more effectively help the needy.

For large items that won’t fit in a drop box, you’ll need to take them to the charity’s local donation drop-off center. You can find out where to go by giving them a call or taking a look at the charity’s website.

When you donate your used sleeper sofa, washer and dryer, or lawn mower, you can feel good knowing that you are helping people in your community and keeping junk out of landfills.

Spending a whole weekend on your lawn trying to hock your stuff to a bunch of thrifty strangers is probably not your idea of fun. Forget the yard sale and offer your stuff to your friends or family.

People who know you well and trust you are more likely to take your used stuff off your hands. Send out an email or text to your friends and family with a list of the things up for grabs.

If none of them are in the market for a headboard and bed frame, they probably know someone who does need one.

The best part? You can use this as an opportunity to visit and catch up with loved ones you haven’t seen in a while.

College students are always in need of something and don’t care what it looks like as long as it’s free and it works. Post flyers or a few “free” signs around college campuses to advertise.

Even if some of the students who see your flyers don’t need of any of the items, they probably know someone who could use something until they get established and can afford a brand new fridge or dining table of their very own.

If trying to sell your junk didn’t go so well, try giving items away by posting those photos you took on any online message boards you’re a member of.

You can also try doing this by using apps like Freecycle and Nextdoor, which are meant for giving things away to people in your own neighborhood.

You can turn your old junk into treasure by getting crafty and using it for other things. While that old, worn out sofa or ancient laptop computer may have seen better days, a lot of that stuff can still be salvaged.

Even if some of the items may not be in good enough shape to be used as what you bought them for, they can still serve a useful purpose somewhere in your home.

If you feel like you don’t have a creative bone in your body, don’t worry. There are great repurposed junk ideas online, especially with places like Pinterest.

You can cover a lumpy sofa cushion with an old t-shirt to turn it into a pet bed, or transform that rusty tire rim into a fire pit with some garden stones and fire glass.

Once you start to use your imagination, you’ll find that the possibilities are endless.

Many people don’t know this, but a lot of junk items can be recycled, especially things made primarily of metal, wood, fibers, foam, and glass, such as that old mattress, furniture, appliances, and electronics.

Recycling your junk may require more work than just throwing your broken recliner or outdated PC monitor in the garbage and being done with it, but it’s an essential part of being green and living responsibly.

You can go online and find information from the EPA on how to safely dispose of just about any junk item you can imagine. Online directories like Earth911 can help you easily find recycling facilities near you, as well.

Because most regular recycling collection services don’t provide pickup of bulky junk like appliances and mattresses, you’ll have to haul those things to the recycling center yourself.

This can take up a lot of your time and have considerable costs involved, especially if you’re going to have to rent a truck and hauling equipment to get your junk there.

Whether you use a private waste company or your regular garbage collection service is government-sponsored, you’ll need to contact them and request a special collection for them to provide bulk junk removal.

You can expect to pay additional fees for this service, and there are usually restrictions on the size and types of junk you can have picked up. In addition, it can take days to weeks before your junk is able to be removed.

If you want to throw away your bulky junk stuff right away, you’ll probably need to load it into a truck yourself and haul it to a landfill or transfer station to drop it off.

If you do decide to throw away your old mattress or recliner at the dump, you should be prepared to show proof of residence to be able to drop off your junk there.

You can also expect to pay fees for disposal. You will likely end up paying around $500 to drop off a truckload of junk, which is pretty easy to do with bulky junk items like furniture and appliances. Or you could pay less than that to have a professional junk removal company like LoadUp haul it away for you, instead.

Junk removal companies aren’t the folks who come in the big dump truck to pick up your junk every week. Junk haulers are the people to call when you have big, bulky junk items or several boxes and bags of small junk you need to get rid of.

When you book a pickup with a junk removal company, these men and women come into your home or office and carry your junk from wherever it is out to their truck and haul it away to dispose of it responsibly.

Whether you’re decluttering, relocating, redecorating, or renovating, if you’re dealing with heavy, bulky items that are hard to move, you’ll benefit from using a junk removal company.

While some junk haulers just take your junk straight to the dump, there are many eco-friendly junk removal companies out there that will take your junk to a recycling center or donate it to charity in order to keep it out of the landfill.

Junk removal companies do charge a fee for their services, but when you consider how much time, energy, stress, and money you could save with their service instead of having to worry with everything yourself, it’s a small price to pay.

9. Keep Your Junk

If all of these options for getting rid of junk in house just don’t sound feasible or you’re just especially emotionally attached to that pool table or mini fridge in the basement, you can always just continue to hold on to your junk forever and ever. Problem solved.

Okay, so obviously this one is a joke. Just kidding!

But… if you’re trying to help a hoarder clean out but are curious what a hoarder clean out cost looks like, LoadUp can help with that, too!

Now that you’ve cleared out all the clutter, the only thing you need to worry about is how to keep everything from piling back up again.

You’ll want to make sure you stay organized from here on out. When you can access everything easily and know where it is, you’re less likely to go out and buy more.

Speaking of shopping, make a list of the items you really need before you go to the store. If it’s not on the list, don’t buy it. Whenever you do buy any non-consumables, make a point of it to get rid of an item that was in your home before you brought the new thing in.

You’ll find that doing these things will help you save a lot of money, space, and time.

Out of all the solutions for getting old junk out of your house and out of your life, the one that is likely the best option for you is using a junk removal company.

It might sound weird to hire a professional to get rid of your junk for you, but it’s seriously the smartest option there is for figuring how to get rid of junk from your house.

Because bulky junk tends to be so heavy, you could seriously injure yourself trying to dispose of it on your own. Plus, junk removal requires much less time, money, and energy on your part.

When deciding which junk removal company to use, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one you would be more satisfied with than LoadUp.

LoadUp is a nationwide, professional junk removal company offering fast, easy, and affordable junk removal at a price that’s usually 20-30% lower than what most other junk removal companies charge.

LoadUp provides customers with honest, upfront pricing before you book, green disposal methods such as donation and recycling, and fast pickup as soon as next-day.

All of the independently contracted Loaders carry a $1M insurance policy and are vetted with multiple background checks before they’re allowed to complete pickups on the LoadUp platform, so you know you’re safe having them in your home or office.

At LoadUp, we’re excited to be on the forefront of the junk removal and disposal industry with our custom technology platform, allowing us to provide our customers with great features, including real-time notifications and live GPS tracking.

If you’d like to learn more about LoadUp and why we’re the best junk removal company in America, or how to book a pickup with us, give us a call or message us online today!

Related Articles from the Trash Talk blog:

• How to Properly Dispose of Large Household Items
• Best Ways to Organize Your Living Room
• 41 Ways to Reduce Waste at Home
• How to Break Up With Your Junk