What to Do With Old Musical Instruments

Need to declutter your old, unwanted musical instruments? Here’s how.

Many of us used to play a musical instrument but haven’t picked it up in forever. Personally, I have a guitar sitting in the corner of my living room that I only pick up on occasion and don’t really remember how to play. There’s also the old, tarnished flute I have in a box somewhere from when I thought I wanted to be in Band in middle school.

Or maybe you have a couple of instruments that you bought for your children but which they gave up on once they realized they had to practice on a regular basis.

No matter the reason, the fact is that you’ve got some musical instruments lying around that are only taking up space.

Making Decisions About Musical Instrument Disposal

You know you want to get them out of your house, but you’re really not quite sure what the best way is to do that. There’s still some sentiment and use left in that old piano or Fender guitar, so you would feel horrible just tossing them out like trash.

Don’t worry, because I’m about to share some great ideas for what to do with those old musical instruments to help you get them out of your home in a guilt-free way.

First, you’ll need to decide whether to donate, recycle, or sell the instrument. If the instrument is in good condition and valuable enough, it may be worth your time and energy to try and sell it. However, it’s very likely that trying to sell your old violin or your child’s unused recorder just isn’t worth the effort. But it’s up to you to make that call.

To Sell or Not to Sell That Old Musical Instrument

Any stringed instruments or woodwinds that were purchased secondhand to begin with or were used as band instruments may not be very valuable, but you might be able to get a little something out of them by trying to sell them on sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.

If you have any woodwind or brass instruments lying around that aren’t in good enough condition to sell, you can always take them to a scrap metal dealer or a junkyard to try and sell them for scrap.

Find out how much your musical instruments are worth

It’s always a good idea to figure out what you have and do some research to find out how much your old instruments could be worth first, though. You may not realize that you have something highly valuable.

Obviously, antique instruments in great condition and professional instruments will be more likely to bring in a pretty penny, so it’s a good idea to have these instruments appraised by a professional before putting them on the resale market.

You can also try to sell your old cello or banjo at your local music shop. Most times, music stores buy and sell used instruments, and they’ll have a much better idea of what your unwanted instruments are really worth.

Donate Your Musical Instruments to a Church or School

If it sounds like selling your old musical instruments is just way too much trouble, you may be better off just donating them. Especially if you believe they have more sentimental value than monetary value.

Some great places to donate an old piano, organ, or just about any other instrument would be organizations such as churches, school music departments, and community music programs.

Though we usually tend to think of charities like Goodwill and Salvation Army when talking about donating goods, these organizations are much more likely to have a need for your unwanted instruments.

Musical instrument donations should be in good condition

Some organizations will accept donations of damaged musical instruments in need of small repairs, but it’s important to make sure any instruments you do donate are at least in good, working condition.

You certainly don’t want to waste a charity’s time by donating an instrument that is more trouble to repair than it’s worth.

Also make sure that if any instruments you want to donate are damaged, even slightly, that you tell that to whatever group you are trying to donate them to.

Musical instrument donation with a pickup

Though it’s easy enough to take your used viola or trombone to the nonprofit of your choice, if you are donating a large, heavy musical instrument such as a piano, an old organ, or an unwanted harp, be prepared to have to haul and drop off your donation yourself. You might get lucky and find a place that offers pickup service for such donations, but these are few and far between.

I don’t think I have to tell you that loading and transporting such musical instruments is no easy feat. Even thinking about hauling large, bulky instruments can induce a panic attack just because of the logistics involved in doing it.

How to make hauling a piano or organ easy

You’ll more than likely have to rent the proper equipment and a hefty truck to be able to load the thing up in the first place. Then there’s the cost for gas and supplies, along with the nightmare of trying to find the time as well as at least a couple of other people to help you out.

If this is the case, it would likely be a better idea to hire a professional junk removal service that specializes in hauling items of this size and that will also donate it to a charity or organization for you.

Though this service does cost money, it will very likely come out less expensive than handling musical instrument disposal yourself. Not to mention all the time and stress that you’ll be saving yourself.

In a perfect world, someone would buy it from you and then come and pick it up. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and sometimes, getting rid of things we don’t need anymore costs a little money.

How to Recycle Your Old Musical Instruments

Finally, if your old musical instruments are too damaged to be of any use to anyone, you may just need to have them recycled.

Most instruments can be taken to your local recycling facility, especially those made primarily of wood or metal. Even metal instrument strings such as the ones from a guitar or piano can be scrapped.

Alternatively, you can use parts of the musical instruments to create some interesting folk art or home decor pieces. Maybe you have a relative who’s an audiophile; something like this would make a great gift for just about any occasion.

There are tons of ideas for these sorts of upcycled art pieces and furniture using an old or unwanted guitar or trumpet or whatever other instruments you have laying around.

Decluttering Old Musical Instruments Made Easy

I strongly recommend having professionals handle the hauling of large instruments such as an old piano or organ, no matter what you decide to do with them.

Otherwise, there’s a good possibility you’ll damage the instrument and make it worthless in the process of trying to get it out of your house. On top of that, you could also seriously injure yourself in the process.

When you call LoadUp and book a pickup appointment, you get a team of thoroughly background-checked, fully insured junk hauling professionals to come and remove anything you want to get rid of from your home. Then, they haul it all away to be donated or recycled instead of dumping in the landfill.

You also have the option of home-to-truck removal at no extra charge so you don’t have to lift a finger, or if you aren’t able to be around to let the Loaders in, you can just leave the items outside for curbside pickup at a discounted rate.

Get rid of those bulky, old musical instruments today

LoadUp does all of the hard work at a price that’s typically 20-30% less than what most other licensed junk removal companies charge. Plus, they give you a fair and honest all-inclusive price up front, before you even book, and without the need for a “free onsite estimate” that would be a waste of your time.

With online booking, a dedicated customer support team, on-demand service, and GPS enabled tracking of your Loader crew, getting rid of that old or unwanted piano, organ, harp, electronic keyboard, or any other musical instrument couldn’t be any simpler.

Consider LoadUp as your go-to method for getting all your old junk and clutter out of your home. Call us at 844-239-7711 or book your junk removal pickup online today!