Replacing your used furniture with a new set of modern ones is an exciting experience. The experience is awesome, from discussing it with your team to shopping them online and final delivery to your workspace. But the challenge now is “how to get rid of old office furniture.
Whether you are relocating to a new workspace or renovating an existing one, getting rid of your old office furniture is always a daunting task. If you are currently facing this problem, keep reading as this article will provide answers to your question.
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Here are some tips on how to get rid of old office furniture;
#1. Take Inventory of the Old Office Furniture
Before you get rid of your old office furniture, you have to take inventory of them. During the inventory, you will have an idea of what you still need and what you don’t need anymore.
Get a member of your team to note all the items, including those you want to dispose of. This isn’t limited to chairs and desks alone; check everything, including cabinets, cubicles, lamps, etc. If you can come up with an accurate inventory, you will know how to get rid of old office furniture.
Read Also: How to Select the Perfect Office Furniture
#2. Ask If any of Your Employees is Interested in the Office Furniture
Ideally, you should sell your old furniture items to your employees first before you contact a dealer. And if you want to fast track the sales process, try to give them a great discount.
It’s quite funny how business owners don’t think of selling their old office furniture to their employees who could use them to set up a conducive workstation at home.
For instance, most people would gladly buy a neatly used furniture item for $25 instead of buying a new one for $70. It would save them a whole lot.
You may not know this, but every furniture item in your office will be useful to employees if you sell it to them. Trust me, most of them would want to have a conducive home study or workstation. And they can achieve this without breaking the bank if you sell your existing furniture to them.
#3. List The Old Furniture Online
Still wondering how to get rid of old office furniture after selling some off to your employees? List them on online platforms; you will be surprised how people will be interested in buying them, especially if they are still in good shape.
You can either list them directly on platforms like Etsy or sell them directly to a reseller. Whichever method you decide to use, always refer to the items on the updated inventory list.
If any reseller expresses interest in the old furniture, try to negotiate a lump sum for everything. With this, you can easily get rid of them and have enough space to set up a new furniture set.
Check out: 7 Interesting Facts About Office Furniture
#4. Recycle the Old Furniture For Cash
Most office furniture contains materials that are incredibly valuable to recycling centres. Some of these materials are; plastic, metal, wood, and cloth that you can easily recycle for cash. So, if you aren’t comfortable dealing with a reseller, you can recycle either for cash or leed point.
Interestingly, recycling your old office furniture doesn’t only earn you extra cash. You can also earn leed points from it.
But before you recycle these furniture items, take note of the following;
- Try to be strategic when negotiating because most furniture items can be recycled.
- When you are going to the recycling centre, take your office inventory leed along. The recycling centre wants to have accurate information about the old furniture you are selling before giving you an estimated value.
- You have to be smart when negotiating terms with the recycling centre. Otherwise, you may end up getting yourself an unattractive deal.
You see, if you understand how to get rid of old furniture, you can easily make extra cash while disposing of your used furniture.
Do you know you can also earn Leed points for recycling your used office furniture? Yes, you can earn additional leed points by recycling your old office furniture.
Even though recycling isn’t an innovation in design (ID) strategy or fall under the MRc3 (Material reuse), you can still earn MRc2(waste management) points. Of course, you need to document every piece of furniture you are recycling so that they will reflect on your LEED point.
However, your used furniture inventory list is enough proof that you have participated in a waste management-related task.
#5. You can Donate them for Charity and Tax Write-Offs.
If you are more concerned about making a social impact in your community than making a few extra cash, you can donate your old office furniture to a charitable organization.
Outside getting the feeling of fulfilment, you will also be eligible for tax write-off if you donate your used furniture to charity. And tax-write off is a great financial relief to your company.
It’s advisable to donate your used office furniture to charity if they are still in good shape. But if most of them are in bad shape, it’s better you recycle them. There’s no need for donating your office furniture to a charitable organization when you know they can’t use it.
By now, you should know how to get rid of your old office furniture when you are relocating or renovating your office.
Again, always offer to sell your used office furniture to your employees first. They are stakeholders in your business, and little act like this will make them feel like part of the family.
