You’re in the middle of spring cleaning, and you’ve come to a sudden realization: you have a lot of junk in your house. That old couch that you’ve been meaning to get rid of? Those boxes that have been in your garage for so long that you’ve actually forgotten what’s inside? You might have some items that can be salvaged and recycled by being donated to a local charity, and others that just need to be thrown away. If you’re in a situation like this and concerned about how to declutter, there’s no need to worry. Read on to learn which organizations in the GTA offer furniture and junk removal.
Furniture removal in the GTA
Habitat for Humanity locations across the GTA offer a free furniture pickup service, so you can donate gently used saleable items with ease. Simply take a few photos of the items that you’d like to donate and schedule your free furniture pickup from your garage, driveway, moving room or inside your house.
Our pickup team will come to take your donated items and bring them to a Habitat ReStore, where they will be priced and resold. Proceeds from the sales of your donated furniture will help support Habitat’s housing program. You’ll get a charitable tax receipt for the value of your donation via email. To schedule your free home pickup, use the form on our website, email pickup@habitathm.ca or call (905) 828-0987 ext. 427.
In addition to accepting donations of furniture, Habitat ReStores also accept appliances, flooring, windows, clothing, home decor items, video games and more. A full list of accepted items is available on our website.
Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin represents Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills, Georgetown and Dufferin County. Habitat for Humanity GTA serves Brampton, Caledon, Toronto, Scarborough, Ajax Oshawa and Uxbridgeand the region of York. Habitat Hamilton serves the region of Hamilton. To find your closest Habitat ReStore, check out Habitat for Humanity Canada’s ReStore locator.
Furniture Bank also accepts a variety of items, and they will pick up donations for a fee within Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington and Milton. Furniture Bank Mississauga is currently looking for dining table and chair sets. They also accept donations of gently used sofas, couches, chairs, ottomans, shelving and storage units, dressers, desks, mattresses, bed frames and headboards.
Furniture donated to Furniture Bank is given to clients referred by social service agencies, including people such as women and children fleeing an abusive relationship, senior citizens and disaster victims. You can book your furniture pickup online through Furniture Bank’s website.
You can also remove old furniture from your home by selling it online. There are several websites such as Kijiji and eBay where you can list your furniture items and sell them to someone else in your community.
Your local region may also offer furniture removal services. The City of Toronto asks residents to leave oversized items — defined as items which would not fit in a garbage bin, even when the bin is empty — at the curb for collection every two weeks. There is a fee of $8.00 per residential home.
The Region of Halton considers household items over 50 pounds to be bulk waste, and has a three-item limit for each bulk collection day. They ask that residents reuse any items in good working condition by donating them to a local charity, such as the ones listed above. Peel Region asks residents to bring items such as sofas, tables and chairs to a Peel Community Recycling Centre so that they can be reused.
Junk removal in the GTA
What about items that are not furniture — items that are “just junk”?
As their name suggests, 1-800-GOT JUNK will pick up and dispose of your junk including used appliances, furniture, mattresses, televisions, refrigerators, carpeting, hot tubs, electronics and bicycles. They will donate items in good condition to local charities and recycle the rest. Got Junk offers a home pickup program, which you can schedule through their website.
1-800-RID-OF-IT Junk Removal Toronto also offers residential junk removal in Toronto and the GTA, including appliance removal, garbage disposal and junk removal. According to their website, they recycle over 60 percent of the items that they pick up and charge their fee based on the volume per truckload of junk which is removed. You can find a full list of junk that they’ll pick up, and schedule your pickup, through 1-800-RID OF IT’s website.
Junk It! is another organization which offers junk removal services for effective waste disposal. They will donate or recycle furniture, appliances, junk, garbage, renovation and demolition debris, yard waste, scrap metal, tires and more. They say that they recycle up to 60 percent of waste, and partner with local charities to donate items which remain in good condition. You can book your pickup online through Junk It!’s website.
We-haul offers removal of junk, furniture, waste and construction debris for homes and businesses in Toronto and the GTA. Examples of accepted pickup items include household garbage, office furniture, electronic waste, patio furniture and broken or old furniture. Garbage is sorted, and acceptable items are recycled to ensure efficient waste management. You can book online and arrange a free on-site estimate through We-haul’s website.
Get rid of used furniture and junk today
As you can see, there are a plethora of charities, for-profit organizations and municipal government solutions for donating or removing furniture and junk. When you’re looking to declutter, make sure you consider which items are in good condition and can be reused.
Charities which accept furniture donations use those items to do important work in your local communities, instead of just sending items to landfills. If possible, organize a pickup with a charity for your gently used furniture, and then organize a separate pickup with a junk removal company for items that can’t be donated. Who knew spring cleaning was this easy? Your community — and environment — will thank you.