Sofa Removal: How to Save Money

When it’s time to say goodbye to your old sofa, there are a number of options available to you and each varies in cost and convenience. Clearabee’s sofa removal, collection and recycling service has operated since 2013 and is increasingly popular due to its rapid reaction, flexibility and environmentally-friendly collections. But is it also the most cost-effective?

Throughout this series, we’ll share some tips and tricks around how to make the most of our waste clearances, starting with sofa removal and where you may be able to save yourselves some money, whilst still removing them responsibly.

If you’re ready to have your sofa collected, then book your sofa collection now or give Clearabee a buzz. Otherwise, let’s have a look at how you can save some money on your sofa removal.

Charity shop sofa collections

There are a number of local charities which may accept your sofa before selling it on to those in need, with the proceeds going to benefit their cause. Our nationwide location pages feature some of these local charities that may be able to help you with your furniture collection. Whilst this can usually be done for free (or at least in exchange for a donation) there are a few conditions associated with this option.

Firstly, there is usually a wait involved, which can sometimes be as long as two weeks before your sofa can actually be collected. If you have the space inside your house then this may not be a problem but most people want their furniture gone quickly so it can be replaced. Secondly, some charities require you to remove the sofa from your property yourself so you may need to find some extra help to get it shifted.

Thirdly, charities will also only collect old sofas if they are in a resellable (i.e. very good) condition with the Fire Safety Label still attached and then of course, charities operate based on demand so they may not need your furniture at all.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that government restrictions around COVID-19 sees charity shops currently closed for the foreseeable future so depending on changes on a national level, you may be left with your sofa sitting around for a while waiting for charity shops to reopen.

Council collections

Sofa or bulky item collections are offered by most local authorities but this service differs from place to place. By way of example, a council collection in Birmingham costs £33 but you will also need to be signed up to a BRUM account. There are a limited number of collection slots available so, much like with the charity collections, there can often be a lengthy wait before your sofa can be picked up.

In Manchester, you can take advantage of one free bulky item collection (consisting of three items) per year and these items must be clearly communicated upfront. If you require additional collections, then you can pay £27 for an extra three items and £54 for an extra six.

In both of the examples above, you will need to remove the sofa or bulky items from the house yourself and place them in clear sight and as close to the kerbside as possible (but not on the pavement if possible). Again, this means that you may need to enlist the help of someone else to remove bulky and heavy furniture from your house.

If you’re relying on your local authority, just make sure you check online with your council before you make arrangements to accept your replacement furniture so you’re not left with more sofas than you have space for.

Hire a Van

To take a more hands-on role in your sofa removal, you could consider hiring a van and taking a trip to the tip. A quick online search gives you prices between £60 and £79 to hire a large commercial van for a 24 hour period. With this approach though, take into account that you’ll no doubt also need help from someone else to get your sofa both on and off the van.

Most local Household Waste Recycling Centres will accept your old furniture free of charge before disposing of it in a responsible way but you should be mindful of each centre’s restrictions before hiring a van. Check online before you make arrangements as some centres require proof of ID and some have an online booking system for appointments.

Also consider if your journey is essential as per any current government restrictions and check the centre’s policy on how many visits you are allowed and how often.

Sofa collection costs

Clearabee’s sofa collection services are fixed-price so you know what you’re getting for your money. No matter where you are in the country, our service starts with a £59.99 call-out charge with the remainder depending on what furniture you need collecting. In addition to the call-out charge, a single-seater armchair costs £20, with £30 for a two-seater and £40 for a three-seater or sofa bed. At the price of £50 and the call-out fee, we will remove a four-seater sofa or corner unit.

Although this is costlier than the options previously mentioned, the convenience of this sofa removal, collection and recycling service is what makes it so popular.

Sofa removal with Clearabee

Same-day collection and two person teams are standard as part of our sofa collections. We can usually attend your property and remove your sofa on the very same day as your order and we use directly-employed Clearabee staff who are courteous, conscientious and trained to be contact-free.

Our booking system is hassle-free and available 24/7 and we’ll send you an SMS when we’re on our way to your property. We also supply our customers with a digital Waste Transfer Note once their furniture reaches its audited and approved Waste Transfer Station.

Clearabee are the UK’s largest clearance company, having completed 221,845 jobs in 2020 alone. On Trustpilot, we are the most-reviewed such service, having accumulated over 10,000 reviews and a 5-Star ‘Excellent’ rating.

Sofa removals and collections can be a huge strain on the environment. We are proud to say that our services are completely carbon-neutral thanks to our two UK forests. These are made up of 19,674 trees which are expected to offset 1,886 tonnes of carbon.

We also have 124 locations throughout the nation which makes our journeys under 15 miles on average, all carried out on our ultra-light chassis vehicles. As standard, we divert from landfill over 95% of all the waste that we collect including sofas, which means that with Clearabee, your old sofa always goes to good use.

Order your sofa removal 24/7 days a week using Clearabee’s hassle-free online booking system or by contacting our friendly office team.

For more information on our sofa collection service and your questions answered, check out our sofa removal, collection and recycling page.

Removing rubbish. It’s what we do.

All of the prices featured in this article were accurate at the time of publishing.