How To Properly Remove Used Office Furniture with a Focus on Sustainability and ESG Metrics

Ever wondered what to do with your existing office or school furniture when you are updating your facility, or what to do about those old stacks of office furniture still sitting in your storage room?

Sometimes it can be quite daunting to figure out how to properly dispose of your used or soon to be replaced furniture and where to send it next without feeling guilty.

Rather than dumping your unwanted furniture at the nearest landfill, try looking into some more environmentally friendly options such as donating, reselling, and recycling.

Before your used furniture becomes more of a burden, here are 4 of the best office furniture liquidation and reuse steps to consider for properly managing this process:

Create An Inventory Of All Your Furniture and Equipment

One best practice to utilize before disposing of old furniture is to create a complete detailed inventory of the furniture you have and the furniture you no longer need. This includes desks, chairs, tables, cubicles, cabinets, and more.

A one-point person should be in charge of collecting the information for the inventory and another person should be responsible for putting the comprehensive list together in a spreadsheet or database to avoid mistakes and confusion.

It is also advantageous to include a photo of each item in your spreadsheet or database report. The inventory list will also help you understand which items are actually broken.

Resell Used Furniture To Your Employees

When it comes to liquidating or repurposing old office furniture, one of the first things to consider is selling the old furniture to your employees at an affordable price. This win-win situation will not only create an immediate income stream, but it will also assist in getting rid of unwanted furniture and clearing up space.

Another option to consider when liquidating furniture is to reach out to used office furniture dealers to sell the rest of the furniture.  Managed Facility Solutions (MFS) has coordinated this type of process hundreds of times and can easily assist your team with navigating through the furniture liquidation process.

Donate Your Furniture for Reuse

If you are interested in helping others and making a positive impact on your community and the environment, consider donating the used furniture (in good condition) to a charitable or non-profit organization.

When you donate to a charity, you may potentially end up being eligible for a tax deduction and will need to consult with your accountant ahead of time to confirm. Sometimes, charities may even be willing to pick up the furniture and equipment for you.

Here at Managed Facility Solutions, we partner with IRN – The Reuse Network on furniture reuse where the office or school furniture is delivered around the world to non-profit organizations in other countries in need.

IRN matches your used furniture with charities and non-profits in the U.S. and worldwide for disaster relief and economic development. IRN has been managing furniture for reuse since 2002, and in tandem with MFS, has the joint focus of ensuring used office and school furniture finds a new home to be reused by those in need and entirely avoids landfills.

Recycle Your Furniture and Avoid The Landfill

Whatever you do, try to avoid dumping your old furniture into a landfill. Dumping old furniture only allows it to sit in landfills for decades, releasing greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals into the air and decaying slowly. Instead, liquidate or recycle the unwanted furniture so that the old furniture can be broken down and reused for other purposes.

If you are updating your current office or school furniture, or have piles of old office furniture and are looking for an environmentally sound office furniture removal solution, consider contacting Managed Facility Solutions (MFS) to safely remove your unwanted furniture for you.

MFS is highly experienced in office and school furniture moving, packing, removal, and repurposing for liquidation, donation, or reuse. No matter the size or style of furniture, you can trust our team of professionals to reuse, recycle, resell, and repurpose your items. Give our team a call or email them today!