We talk a lot on this blog about how to get the best deals on “new” used office furniture. But what about when you want to get rid of the furniture you already have? And what if you’d like to do something good while you clean house, so to speak? Here are three things you can do with your used office furniture that will give back to the community.
1. Give Your Office Furniture to Charity
The simplest and most straight-forward way to use your old office equipment for the good of others is to donate it to charity. You can either pick a single charity to donate your furniture to, or you can emulate English furniture company acs, which recently announced that it will sell or donate 1000 chairs to charities. Working Dalepak and Lockheed Martin, the company will donate many of the chairs outright and sell the others for 5 pounds apiece to worthy organizations like schools and colleges. Charities can make an appointment with Dalepak and select chairs at their leisure. The profits from any sales will be donated to a hospice.
2. Sell the Furniture, and Donate the Money to Charity
Of course, you can also sell the furniture in bulk and then donate the cash — possibly an easier deal to put together if you’re working with large quantities of furniture. Arnolds Office Furniture buys entire office buildings worth of furniture, and will give you a great price for your used furniture. All you have to do is find a charity that wants your money. Easy-peasy.
Just remember: whether you donate furniture outright or donate the money from the sale of your furniture, your donation is likely tax deductible. So hold onto those receipts!
3. Recycle Your Office Furniture
Probably the best thing you can do to help others is to protect the planet we all live on. Recycling your used office furniture prevents it from winding up in a landfill, where in addition to occupying valuable space, it can potentially become a toxic hazard as its materials break down into its component chemicals and leak into the ground water.
You can recycle your office furniture either by reusing and refurbishing it, or by donating it free of charge through Craiglist or Freecycle. There are also a number of companies specializing in recycling office furniture. You can find a company near you by Googling your location and “recycle office furniture.”
