Thanksgiving may be behind us but for many, the season of giving is here to stay. Whether we own or rent, are upgrading or downsizing, we’ve all discarded items in the past that others would find value in. One of the best ways to express gratitude for what we have is by sharing it with others. Donating furniture not only costs nothing but allows us to give to someone in need and help the environment at the same time; a true ‘win, win’ if ever there was one. It may take a little more effort than placing an item on the street for garbage collection, but then most things worth doing generally do. To help make giving a little easier, we’ve comprised a list of our favourite places to donate furniture in the city of Toronto.
Furniture Bank
Try imagining your home without a table to dine at or a comfy place to rest your feet. Pretty hard to do, isn’t it? Yet for many, it’s a reality.
“Furniture Bank supports marginalized and displaced families and individuals experiencing furniture poverty and their clients include women and children leaving shelters, people transitioning from homelessness, and newcomers and refugees to Canada.”
They’re located at 25 Connell Ct #1 in Etobicoke (Evans and Kipling), and accept drop-offs Monday- Friday between 9 am and noon. You can also arrange a pick up for a small fee. This is our go-to spot in the city for donating larger items and the list of what they accept is extensive. Visit their website for more information.
The Habitat Re-Store
If you’ve been to one of the twelve Re-Stores in the city of Toronto you know what this place is about. They have a huge selection of furniture as well as lighting, bathroom, and kitchen fixtures to choose from. Most of us don’t think about donating cupboards or countertops during a renovation but it just makes sense if what you’re replacing is still perfectly good material. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that has a long history of providing affordable homes to families in need and the Re-Store operates to provide funding to their initiatives. Furniture pick up is free but you can also drop off at any location. For more information and to find the nearest location visit their website.
The Salvation Army
With many locations across the city, The Salvation Army is another non-profit that accepts large furniture items to sell with the proceeds going to help several charitable initiatives. You can donate directly to most stores at their donation centres and free pick-ups are available for donations of three or more pieces of furniture. They are the only faith-based organization on the list and have come under fire in the past for their politics. Beliefs aside, they help the less fortunate and take larger pieces of furniture most other thrift stores don’t. If you’re ever unsure if your local store will take what you’d like to donate contact them before you make the trip.
Honourable mentions go to the Diabetes Society of Canada and Society of St. Vincent de Paul. They both accept small furniture pieces and offer to pick up services with the items going directly to benefit people in need. Value Village also accepts smaller furniture items with locations around the city but are run for-profit, so while they offer discount offerings to people who can afford them, they’re less charitable than the others we’ve mentioned.
In Conclusion
I’ve yet to stage a property where the homeowner hasn’t had anything they’d like to get rid of and staging will often require you get rid of furniture pieces for the duration of the sale. If you have furniture that won’t be going to your new home getting rid of it before staging makes sense. The Brel team staging company, UpStaging, can facilitate the donations of your unwanted items and often take them away on staging day if they haven’t already been dropped off or picked up. Help make someone else’s house a home by giving what you no longer need on your own. At UPstaging, we’re here to help you make it easy.
Written by: Kiel Storms. To read more about him, click here.