The cheapest way to get rid of furniture in Pittsburgh

The short answer

If you live inside the City and can get the furniture to the curb yourself, the cheapest route is the City's free bulk pickup: two items per week, out after 6 p.m. the night before trash day. A good piece can also go free to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which offers donation pickup. When you need several pieces gone at once, carried from inside, JunkRabbit's flat prices start at $126 for a sofa or a dresser, with a $100 order minimum.

Free option one: the City curb, spread out

Nothing beats free, and the City of Pittsburgh's bulk program is free. Sofas, recliners, tables, dressers, cabinets and box springs all go out with your regular refuse pick-up. The limit is two items per week, set out no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and no later than 6 a.m. on collection day. If you are not in a hurry, you can clear a surprising amount this way by pacing it: two pieces this week, two the next. A six-piece living and dining room takes three weeks. The cost is time and your own back, because the City collects from the curb and you have to get the furniture there. On a level street with a short front walk, that is manageable. On a hillside lot reached by public steps on the South Side Slopes or in Troy Hill, it can be the hardest part of the whole job. In the suburbs, the free option depends on your own borough's hauler contract.

Free option two: let someone else take it

The second free route is getting another person to collect it. Friends, family, neighbors and online giveaway groups will take decent furniture, especially solid wood, if it is in good shape. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore in the Swissvale Shopping Center accepts furniture and offers free pickup for donations, which saves you the carry if they accept the piece. Two cautions apply. First, free pickups are on someone else's calendar, so they can take days or weeks to arrange and may be declined on the day based on condition. Second, the people collecting still face your stairs. A free couch listed from a third-floor Shadyside walk-up gets a lot of interest and very few people who actually show up with enough help. Set a deadline. If nobody has collected in a week, move to a paid option instead of letting it sit.

The do-it-yourself haul

Hauling it yourself looks cheap until you add it up. You need a truck or van that fits a sofa or a dining table, which usually means a rental or a favor. You need at least one other strong person. You need a destination that accepts residential furniture, at whatever gate rate that facility charges, during hours that work for you. Then there is the drive across the rivers and back, the loading, and the unloading at the other end. The DIY route makes sense when you already own a truck, the furniture is on the ground floor, and you are hauling a big load at once. It makes less sense for one or two pieces, or when the items are upstairs in a narrow 1920s rowhouse. Be honest about your time; a Saturday spent hauling is a real cost even if it never shows on a receipt.

The City's paid collection versus a flat price

When you have more than two items, the City offers a paid bulk collection. It costs $173 for the first hour and $54 for each additional hour, paid by check or money order to the City Treasurer after you call to set it up. For a big curbside pile that is a reasonable deal, and worth calling about. A flat per-item price works differently. You pick the items or upload a photo, see the total before booking, and the price covers carrying everything out from wherever it is, loading and disposal. A sofa and a dresser are $126 + $126 = $252. A dresser and a recliner are $126 + $98 = $224. Which is cheaper depends on the pile, the timing and whether you can get it all to the curb yourself. Compare both before you decide.

Flat prices for the usual suspects

A small apartment living room, meaning a loveseat, coffee table and end table, is $119 + $67 + $52 = $238. A study with a desk and a bookshelf is $83 + $72 = $155. For a full room of mixed furniture, truck-fill pricing may be lower; a quarter truck is $241.

How to keep the paid part small

The cheapest overall plan usually combines routes. Sell or give away the one or two pieces that are genuinely good. Offer the decent rest to the ReStore. Put two pieces a week at the curb if you are inside the City and have time. Then pay to remove only what is left, all in one visit, so the order minimum of $100 is easy to clear. Group items rather than booking twice; a single visit for a sofa, a dresser and a coffee table is $126 + $126 + $67 = $319, with no second trip. There is no stairs fee, no same-day surcharge and no sales tax line, since hauling is not taxable in Pennsylvania. JunkRabbit works 7 days a week from 8am to midnight, with same-day pickup when you book by 4 PM.

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