Office furniture doesn’t last forever, and maybe that’s a good thing. Can you imagine what offices would look like if no one ever had to redecorate? Sure, we all love the show “Mad Men,” but try to find a place to plug in your laptop on a mid-century desk. It’s not pretty.
Fortunately, we have lots of options for getting rid of old office furniture to make way for the new. Here are a few ideas, and the plusses and minuses of each.
1. Re-Use It
The first thing to determine is whether or not the furniture is still usable. If it’s just a matter of being sick of the sight of the stuff you have now, a little rearranging might just do the trick. Employee lounges all over the country are full of furniture no one wanted to see hanging around the boardroom anymore.
Benefits: It’s free and easy. You don’t need to buy new furniture, or go to the trouble of getting rid of your old stuff.
Drawbacks: It’s not a good solution if the furniture isn’t in good condition. And if you’re really tired of the sight of it, moving it to another room doesn’t totally solve the problem unless you, the manager in charge of redecorating, never need to go in there.
2. Sell It
If you have your heart set on a total redecoration, one of the best options is to sell your old office furniture to a company like Arnolds. We buy whole buildings worth of stuff, and also purchase smaller lots, if you’re just trying to clear out a conference room or two. Contact us now for a quote.
Benefits: You can get rid of your old stuff and make money toward the new equipment, all in one fell swoop. Plus, many companies will come pick up your office furniture at no charge, which means that they’re literally paying you for the privilege of taking your stuff away.
Drawbacks: Not many, actually. If you have time to make a few phone calls to get quotes, you can make a few bucks while you clear out your office.
3. Trash It
The trouble with just trashing your furniture is that you can’t exactly put fifty ergonomic chairs out on the curb for your friendly neighborhood trash man to pick up. Your options, basically, are to hire a junk removal company or advertise on Craigslist.
Benefits: The junk removal option allows you to get rid of your furniture fast; the Craigslist option is totally free. (And might also be fast. As this article points out, “If you want to get rid of anything fast, all you have to do is put up a ‘free’ sign and interested takers will come running!”)
Drawbacks: If you advertise on Craigslist, you’re basically letting a bunch of strangers roam around your office grabbing furniture, hoping that they don’t also help themselves to confidential information or the computers that you’d like to keep. And hiring removers costs money.
4. Donate It
Do you need a tax write-off more than you do a fistful of cash? The donation option might be for you. A lot of organizations will take your used office furniture (and again, many will even pick up the stuff themselves, thus saving you a trip). Try Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or the Muscular Dystrophy Association, or call your favorite charity and ask if they’re accepting donations.
Benefits: The aforementioned tax write-off — plus, the sense that you’re helping others while solving your immediate problem.
Drawbacks: Not every charity will do the pickup themselves, and you might need to wait a bit for a scheduled pickup time.
Images: faungg/Flickr, swanksalot/Flickr, Scott Rocketship/Flickr, schipulites
