Your relocation is coming up and you’re slowly wrapping things up. However, you still have some unwanted appliances in your home that you’d like to get rid of. Whether they don’t work or you simply don’t need them anymore, there are several ways in which you can dispose of them. Of course, there are also things you shouldn’t do with your old and unwanted white goods.
Sell Your Unwanted Appliances
Before anything else, make a household inventory list and determine which items in your house you don’t want to keep anymore. A great thing to do, not just with the electronics in your home, but with pretty much anything you don’t want or need anymore is to sell it. This way, you will not only get rid of it all, but you’ll also make some extra cash on the side which could be used to cover a part of your long-distance moving costs and storage services. There are several ways in which you could sell your old things. All you have to do is pick the one that works for you.
Selling Things Online
Nowadays, people usually resort to the Internet when trying to sell something. Websites such as eBay or Amazon are perfect for that. All you need to do is take some photos of the items you want to get rid of and provide a detailed and honest description.
Organizing a Garage Sale
If you’d rather do it the old-fashioned way, you can always sell your belongings by organizing a garage sale or a yard sale. Make sure you spread the word about your plans a few days in advance to increase your chances of selling more things, as you’re only selling locally.
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Give them Away for Free
If you don’t have the time or the energy to be bothered with selling your appliance but don’t want to throw it out because it still works or needs some minor repairs, you could always consider giving them away for free.
Give Them to a Friend
Do you personally know anyone who might need your unwanted appliance? Then ask them if they’d like to take it off your hands. Make it clear that you’re not looking for any monetary compensation and that they’d be doing you a favor by picking up the appliance.
Donate to a Charity
Of course, you could always donate your items to a local or national charitable organization. Some organizations that accept such donations include:
- Habitat ReStores. They re-sell lightly used household items and decorations at discounted prices to people who can’t afford new and more expensive things. Most of their stores will also pick up your things so you won’t have to worry about transport. Keep in mind that they will most likely accept larger items such as a dishwasher or a refrigerator. Call your local Habitat store for more information.
- The Salvation Army. While each of their locations has a specific list of items they are looking for, most of them will accept some smaller electronics such as electric coffee makers or microwaves.
- Vietnam Veterans of America. They also accept smaller white goods such as toaster ovens. These items will be picked up and donated to veterans all over the country.
If you have working old appliances you can donate them
Recycling Options for Appliance Removal
Most counties in America offer free or cheap appliance removal for recycling. In other words, if the things you want to get rid of aren’t in working condition and you’d like to recycle them, try giving your local authorities a call and checking whether they can help you out.
Bonus tip: If you’re buying new electronics, you could ask the store to take away your old ones for you. It will come at a fee, but it will be the most time- and energy-efficient option for you.
Find a Junk Disposal Company
If your local authorities do not offer junk disposal services, you can always find a business that does. Removal companies such as Junk King or Got-Junk will pick up and take away any unwanted items from your home for a fee. This doesn’t only include white goods, but pretty much anything you’d like to get rid of, such as carpets and rugs, furniture, construction material, and renovation waste, general household junk, pianos, and so on.
If your appliances are still working, but you don’t really have the time to find someone to give them to, you’ll be happy to hear that some of these removal companies even take the time to donate the things that can still be used.
Recycling is eco-friendly solution you can try
What Not to Do
Now that you know what the best ways are to dispose of your old household belongings, it is time to learn more about what you shouldn’t do with your unwanted appliances.
Don’t Leave Your Appliances by the Dumpster
How many times have you seen someone put their washer and dryer or some other appliance by the dumpster saying that “someone who needs it more will just take it” or that the garbage men will simply take it away?
However, there are several reasons why you shouldn’t do this:
- First of all, electronics can’t exactly survive bad weather such as rain or snow (and in some cases, even heat). So by the time someone who needs your things passes by, odds are they won’t be usable anymore, so you’re not really doing anyone a service.
- Secondly, electronic devices are harmful to the environment. They should go to recycling, not junk.
Lastly, in some states, disposing of electronic devices and appliances in landfills has been made illegal and garbage service companies could be fined for it.
Don't leave your unwanted things by the dumpster or on a illegal dump site
Don’t Remove Any Part of the Appliance
Breaking down the appliance into parts in order to recycle it might seem like a good idea at first glance, but you probably shouldn’t do it. Even if the item is broken, it might still be possible to service and donate it instead of recycling it. In other words, you might end up damaging it beyond repair. Secondly, if you’re not experienced at doing such things, you might accidentally hurt yourself, so do yourself a service and leave it to professionals.
Don’t Leave Broken Things for Someone Else to Haul
Yes, we understand, you’re in the middle of a relocation, busy with packing and figuring out how to ship your car, and the last thing you want to do is deal with a broken clothes dryer. But leaving something that no longer works for the next tenant or homeowner to haul means you’re simply dumping your responsibility on someone else and making their relocation that much more difficult.
Don’t Put Off the Removal Until the Last Minute
Make sure you figure out what to do with your things at least a few weeks before your move-out date. This will make it easier for you to organize the transport for recycling or a garage sale without endangering the flow of your relocation process.
Don't wait up until last minute to get rid of stuff
Long Distance Company Can Help You With Some Relocation Tasks
While you are taking care of extra belongings you have around your home, long-distance movers can offer you relocation assistance. With the right long-distance moving services at your service, you’ll have enough free time to separate all the things you don’t want to keep and those that you want. Furthermore, the more things you leave behind the lower your overall cost of relocation will be.
