What methods do you use to get rid of "stuff" when you need to?

Old items a tenant leaves, appliances that either don't work or have partial damage, scrap metal, old clothing, furniture that's being replaced, etc?

I know it depends on many factors, but here's a few we've used and I'm looking for more ideas. Most of this is rental related but a few items such as the tires is more of a personal question.

1) Used tires - Our city won't take them unless you "quarter" them...too much work. Tried advertising (they have 25% tread left) but no takers yet. Tried a tire store but they will only take them if you buy new tires from them and they still charge $5/tire.

2) Appliances - We sell if they work, even if something is broken. I've used one fridge to make a personal kegerator. If badly damaged sometimes any copper can be removed and sold for scrap metal.

3) Misc. - We sometimes leave things on the sidewalk with a big "FREE" sign and people will just take them as they drive by. Works with things like gas grills (even if they don't work) and old furniture with a broken table leg etc.

4) Misc. - Sell in local classifieds. Our newspaper has an "online" classified section where you can advertise one item/week free...so we have gotten rid of old golf clubs, a rolltop desk, furniture, mattresses, and other things this way and got a small amount of money for them.

5) Clothes - Donate to Goodwill or other charity.

6) City dump - Our city dump has a rule against landlords/businesses using it for a dumpsite, although admittedly there have been 2 times when I replaced things in both rentals and personal home at the same time and mixed items together (such as flooring or drywall during remodeling work).

A couple things we've learned.

1) Be careful of people texting wanting to buy. Scams exist. They say "we will take it, we'll send our person to pick it up and give us your bank account number and we'll deposit the funds". No thanks! We've told these people we must have a phone call with them but suddenly they stop responding or don't answer phone.

2) Be thoughtful about who you let come to your house to buy or pick up things. If you have a very nice house and you "invite" some people to pick up an item or view it, this may create a situation where they know where you live and what you have and may have a criminal intent in the future. As much as we can, instead of having them come to our house we will meet them in a Wal-Mart parking lot to let them view the item and conduct the sale.

My Rentals are in one county, my personal residence in another. The different counties have different ways of getting rid of things. Because of my rentals, I get a free permit to go to that city’s drop off site, and they take everything . I pay $20 a load for any construction. My county charges fees, is more restrictive.

So , I suggest look into what other counties offer, and see who you know who lives there. Or, but a property in that area.

The dump. Charge dump fees to the tenant's deposit.

I did once buy a house that was full of garbage and I put up an ad "free moving sale, everything is free". You wouldn't believe what sort of junk that got hauled away: broken stuff, filthy stuff, moldy stuff....

You can check the FB for your local zip code and a word “free”. Post there.

I've tried every method under the sun. I have to fight to give stuff away. One of my tenants who passed away used to restore furniture. He had half a garage full of finished goods. So I loaded up the stuff and took it to goodwill. The local goodwill center was under remodeling and they couldn't take anything in. So they directed me to another location nearby. I drove there and the manager refused to take the stuff, he called it junk. He didn't even look inside my trailer/truck. Then around 20 people in the parking lot said, "Can I buy the stuff from your"? I told them it was for free. Like bees swarming everyone was grabbing stuff. The manager returned and said, "You people can't have that stuff, we are accepting it and you can buy it from us"?

The same thing happened at the "Out of the Closet" store in West Hollywood. A tenant in my apartment complex that works at the store told me not to throw away some stuff another tenant left, they could use it at his store. Once at the store, they turned their noses up and me and told me they no longer accept junk. I unloaded my 16 foot truck filled with treasures and they called the sheriff on me. I called my tenant the manager who was off that day and he told them to accept the stuff.

Donations take work. Getting someone to haul the stuff away ins't easy, they never show up on time. Taking the stuff to a landfill or transfer station takes effort.

For old furniture and things that work but aren't worth much, we advertise in the Craigslist free section. I post "come pick it up at [location]. The last time I did this, I posted the items without any way to contact us because I didn't want to have to respond to phone calls or texts. It took longer that way, but the things got taken.

Garbage versus Actual garbage.

Thanks everyone, good info.

Trash service is privatized in my city. A couple of the companies in this business have transfer stations that anyone can dump at. They charge by the ton, but have a min charge. This is where the majority of my stuff goes. ($67/ton, $35 min). Appliances, tires, haz mat and mattresses/box springs all have extra charges

Paint/chemicals go to the county haz mat drop off site (free)

Tires go to a local mechanic that charges me his cost for recycling ($3/tire)

Appliances/metal goes to scrap yard. They don't pay much, but it's cheaper than taking it to the dump.

Wood (safe to burn type) goes to my buddy in the country that has a burn pile. (steak dinner and beers a few times a year fee Haha)

I'm fortunate that the county I live in has a bulky waste and a recycling program. I can take 4 tires a month and up to 5 gallons of chemicals or oil based paints per month. I use the tire drop-off frequently. I can also take any large bulky junk furniture items. If someone leaves furniture, clothing, or other items that are in good condition I will donate those to one of many local thrift shops that support charities that I also support. Some of these will come and pick stuff up.

Hoosier,

IF YOU...have stuff poin your home that was left by a renter...you might be a landlord!

First step is to get the all clear to dispose. We send a text “Are you done moving out? Can we throw away any remaining items?” Hoping we get a reply for our records.

If not we post my ABANDONED PROPERTY notice on the door.

I used to try to eek out a buck for left over stuff but realized it was slowing me down. I walk thru looking for good or diamonds(ha!) then tell my maint guy to get rid of it. He might make a buck. His wife runs a perpetual yard sale so she swoops in for the knicknacks and cement gnomes.

He calls the local thrift shop and they pick up any decent furniture. Pots and pans, etc are dropped off to them - I get a receipt for the donation.

So many furnishings are cheap particle board they are worthless.

Again, not bogging down in the junk. Gotta keep my mind on the big DREAM.

Tires go to a local shop $3 each.

Car batteries get put in the return cart at Rural King.

Every LL needs a metal scrapper to call.

I keep a roll off dumpster at a house so we don’t have to drive to the dump.

BRAD