Getting Rid of an Old Mattress

I would put it on cragslist.com they have a section for free stuff or maybe you could get $20 for it. Good Luck!

J.

I would suggest joining a freecycle group on Yahoo. Post it on there and it will be gone in no time.

Go to Yahoo Groups and look up Freecycle. You can post it and then pick someone who responds. They'll stop by whenever you arrange it and pick it up. I've gotten rid of tons of stuff that way.

Good luck!

N.,

I actually had a similar situation. We had an almost new mattress that we had to part with. I put it on Craigs List and had three parties interested within a day and it was gone within a week of posting. Give that a try if you can stand to have it around for a few more days. Good luck!

Try posting it on Craigslist.com. It's easy to register & it's free, make sure you click on Illinois. We have had alot of good luck finding things & getting rid of things on that site.
Hope this helps
B. - Skokie, IL.

Join your local Freecycle.com, it's a Free site where you can post things to give away. You post it for free, and someone will come pik up the item, for free.

It is a great way to keep things out of the landfills if they have a little life left in them. If you post today, it should be gone by tonight.

If its in decent condition still you could always post it on craiglist, either for sale or for free.

In the area that I live in (Peoria, IL), both Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity will pick up items if you call and schedule. Or you could call Goodwill or any other thrift shop and see if they would take it (though you might have to haul it to them).

Hi N.- I am part of an internet group called Freecycle. It is community based, though there is a global web site that will direct you how to get involved in a local chapter. It is wonderful. It is for people to give stuff away to other people that they no longer need/want, or just items to recycle that other people can use (for example glass jars, egg cartons, old magazines...) Anyway, you become a member and post your offer. An email is generated to all people in the group. Then people respond and you pick one. The best part is that they come to your house to pick it up. There is no catch to this group, no cost, and no spam. It is wonderful. The only thing is it can fill up your email if you live in an active area like I do. And the other thing is that you arrange for a person to come to your house so you should be careful when chosing and making arrangements. I have never had a bad experience though and have been doing it for over a year. I have gotten rid of a lot of things as well as gained some really great stuff, while keeping it out of landfills!!!!! ~ christa

there is a group called peoria free ____@____.com that will let you list things to give away and someone who needs them will get in touch with you through email and pick up...hope this helps

Do you have any friends in Huntley...their trash pick up will get one bulk item a week. You could ask if you could leave it on their curb for pick up.

What about some friends in Elgin. I think that they will allow one bulk item if you buy a sticker. You can get those at Walgreens and places like that.

Otherwise I think you can find the nearest dump and call to deliver the mattress for disposal yourself.

Now as far as giving it away. Good luck!!! Not many are going to take a used mattress if they don't know you. I know I wouldn't. Does your church have a college that needs mattresses? Do you have a church with a help organization for women or something like that? They may use it.

Have you thought of putting it up on Freecycle? If you go to www dot freecycle dot org you can find your local group. Freecycle is an email group that allows you to post items you have that you're wanting to get rid off - others will reply to you that they can use the item, and will pick up the item. On the other end, if you need something you can post a request and, if any of the members can meet your need, sort through the responses to find the right item for you. We love freecycle and have used it for things as varied as furniture and pets (this is how we found our daughter's hampster!).

Hope that helps!

M.

Join a freecycle board on yahoo groups and someone in need will pick it up. There are different boards for each area/city/county
http://www.freecycle.org/

Hey N.,

Depending on where you live, sometimes like in Chicago, you can put it outside, if not, try the Ark on the North Shore, what about the Salvation Army? Also, Wings (Women in need getting Stronger) in Arlington Heights might pick it up. Good Luck to you

I say, weather permiting, put it outside on garbage day(if possible). Put a sign on it that it is free and it good condition. Maybe put a tarp under it or something so if it does not get taken then it will still be in good shape.
Other than that, sorry I have no clue. That would be what I would do.
Good Luck

some second hand stores will pick up. Not sure what area you are in but there are Salvation Army thrift stores just to name one. We have what's called First Call in our area that matches donors with those in need. Other than that.....there is a Freecycle type site on line in areas that you can advertise and someone will come and get it if they are in need.It's a totally free site. Good luck!!!! J.

Craigs List, wrap it up and put in alley, 1-800-Got-Junk

You'de be surprised to see how long it takes for someone to pick it up if you put it on the curb with a "free" sign. I don't know where you live but my neighbors put garbage out the afternoon b4 pickup and almost everything is taken. If not, bring it back in and try the next week or have hubby cut it up and garbage man has to take it (or recycle man).

www.freecycle.org
I am not sure if you ahve heard of it, but you can post things you want to get rid of but still have some life left in them. The great thing is that the person who wants what you have to offer comes to get it. I have given many things away through this site, and gotten a few things too.

There is a Salvation Army resale store in Vernon Hills that accepts drop offs....

Hi N.,

I always had luck going out and asking my garbage man to take things that I have that I feel is bulky. Verses contacting the garbage company itself as I never had a good experience with Waste Management I'm glad that we don't have them anymore. I normal slip him a little money and a bottle of water. And That always seem to work. Go out and talk to him when you see him pull up most likely then not he'll say sure.

Good Luck

N....I haven't checked lately...but I think there is a website called FREECYCLE. You might want to check it out. Basically, everything that is posted there is for free. I don't know where the closest site is but I believe Aurora. A mattress might be something that is difficult to get rid of on there but it's worth a try. You might find something you want also. When I am in your situation, needing to get rid of a mattress, I usually let friends know that I have one for the taking, if they know of anyone who needs a mattress. I've gotten rid of 2 this way in the last 6 mo. Good Luck C.

We sold our old mattress on Craig's list...or you can put it up for free if you want. Are you familiar with www.craigslist.com?

I belong to a group called FREECYCLE, which is a local recycling group with a website that you can "offer" your items that you no longer use and "receive" items that other people no longer need. It is an awesome group of people. I have furnished both of my kids' apartments and given away everything from boxes and packing material to laptop computers. I'm sure someone is looking for a mattress. The link is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclespfldil/.

If you want more information, let me know.

try posting it on craigslist.org in the free section

An easy suggestion is join Freecycle.org in your local area. This is a blog that you can post give aways to keep stuff you may not want anymore from going into the garbage dump when it is still usable. I have found this to be a wonderful solution when I am cleaning out closets and stuff..one mans trash is another mans treasure! Good luck and happy sleeping

go to freecycle.com and post it, someone will take it for sure!

What about donating it to The Salvation Army, Good Will, your local Mission or shelter (women's shelter or homeless), or maybe there is a local home for people with mental or physical handicaps that could use it. Sometimes handicap people can live independently and maybe they could use it. Ask someone to borrow their truck if you don't have one and donate it to one of the places mentioned above. Also, another possibilty would be to simply check on line by typing in the search bar "where to donate old mattresses". I had a family that lived in my area and their house burned-they lost everything. I donated a bedroom set to them. Perhaps you could even call a church in your town-most churches have access to information of people in need. Hope this helps.

D.-Pekin, IL

There is a bolingbrook freecycle that a lot of the surrounding communities put stuff on. It's a yahoo group.

Freecycle through yahoo. Someone will pick it up.

What about Craig's List? It is Free to advertise. Maybe someone would take it who needs it. You'll have to specify "pick-up" only. Just make sure you use an e-mail address that guards against spam. I got a lot of bad responses when I had something posted on the site.

Hi there -
did you try the Habitat for Humanity store in Waukegan? We had them pick up some things that no one else would come and get and they sell it in their store to help build more homes. I don't have their number handy but I am pretty sure they are located in Waukegan.

Good luck!

If you go to freecycle.org, you can find your most local group. beds are always in high demand :)

Call either your village or your trash pickup company and ask if there's a fee you can pay for a special pickup. Otherwise, check the yellow pages for hauling companies.

I recommend www.freecycle.org. Just find a group near you and post your offer and someone will come by an pick it up if they want it. It limits junk in the landfills because everybody knows that ones persons junk is another persons treasure...or at least it can fill a need. I use this website a ton.

If you call the Salvation Army, they will come pick it up. However, if it has ANY stains on it, they will just leave it behind. We replaced my son's mattress and wanted to donate his old one (it was actually mine in college) and it had some water (not urine) stains on it from when I would go to bed with wet hair or straight from the shower to the bed in "the heat of the moment," if you will. (TMI) They came out to take it, but rejected it

If you register with freecycle you can give away anything. The intent is to keep things out of landfills. Check it out.

craigslist.com someone who needs it will pick it up.

How about joining Freecycle? Go to www.freecycle.org and finding the group nearest you. I'm sure someone would love it!
.

Hi N.,
I have had great luck with giving away items on Craiglist. If you have one in your area, post a "free" listing and you will be amazed who responds. S.

PLEASE! give me a call as soon as you read this. It's a long story but the bottom line is that I know of two teenagers that are sleeping on the floor.

L.

###-###-#### or ###-###-####

List it on Craigslist under "free stuff". If you haven't heard of it, it's like a huge virtual garage sale. I'm sure someone would appreciate it.

I think St. Vincent DePaul will pick them up. They have a location in West Chicago and in the city as well. I have called the West Chicago location for many items over the years and they are really great!

Hi, N.,
I have raised three beautiful daughters, all through with college and wonderful women now. When we had an extra mattress (my girls were 10, 5 and newborn) we put it in the living room.... right in the middle of the floor... and put a nice colorful sheet (one that matched the mauve, teal and gold we had in the 'Victorian' style, antique filled room) and we used it for at least three years! Right there! The kids played on it, jumped on it, napped on it, layed with the dog on it, learned to play the game of "You are safe ON the mattress" where my husband would try to catch a little foot on the side of the mattress or a little teasing finger on the other side touching the floor! There were Barbie houses in each of the corners... there were streets for 'Little People', there were summersaults and rolling games.... It was awesome... I just wanted to tell you that it did not matter to us that we had a mattress in the middle of our floor... the kids loved it and we loved them enjoying it!
Let me know what you do! But my kids and many of their friends still look back on the days when we thought more of thier play time environment than the 'looks' of the living room and they all fondly remember the 'Mattress' in the middle of the living room!

Get on your computer and go to Freecycle.com. It is a Huge group all over the country of people who just swap stuff they don't want or need anymore. Look up your local town or county and just start posting. I got rid of a couple mattresses this way several months ago now and a few other things since then.

Try using craigs list. My neice used craigs list when she was fresh out of college and didn't have a lot of $$. she was able to get a couch and some other needed items for her apartment. All she had to do was go pick it up. It was people like you who purchased new stuff but what they had wasn't in bad shape and they just didn't want to throw it out. Hope that helps.

If there are no stains or rips or anything like that on it, the St. Vincent DePaul Society will come pick it up. I've given them two mattresses in the past. However, they will NOT take them if they look damaged. If they DO take it, it's a tax donation so that helps on your taxes a little next year. :-)

You can call the Dream Center in Peoria- FAITH Warehouse. My sister-in-law handles furniture donations. They send out guys with a truck to pick up furninture at schedule times- the furniture goes to those that really need it.

Christina Koeppel, Personal Assistant to the Social Service Coordinator
Email: ____@____.com
###-###-#### x301

since its in good shape do you have any thrift shops nearby you could donate it to? we have one that runs on donation and the money made goes to local organizations

try listing it on www.craigslist.com
or www.freecycle.org

Someone in need will want in, I'm sure. These are sights where you can post things you want to get rid of and people ask to take it from you. You can require that they arrange to pick it up.

Check it out.
Here's to keeping it out of a landfill!!!!

Try selling it on www.craigslist.com You can sell it or give it away and they'll come to your home to pick up.

Hi N.,

You might check to see if there is a freecycle group in your area. They connect people who have things they no longer want or need with people who want them. If someone was interested they wouuld come and pick it up at your home.

For more info, go to:

http://www.freecycle.org/

Best,

J.

I did not read all 53 responses to your request.

But, you can post on a yahoo group called "freecycle" and you will most likely get a hit for this. You can also list free items on www.craigslist.com and may get someone to get it that way as well.

If you need help getting to "freecycle" contact me at my other email address and we can arrange a time for me to walk you through how to get on line there.

____@____.com

D.

Funny...I just went through the same thing not even a couple of weeks ago : ) We found that in our area (Southeast Wisconsin) there was a Salvation Army ph# 800-808-7730. You could try calling that # or if there is one in your area to see what the procedure is. I also discovered that Goodwill will take beds, but you have to deliver it to them. You could try the Donation Hotline 888-353-6400 to see what they say. Plus if you donate and get a receipt, I heard you could write it off on your taxes :) Also many churches have people that need beds from time to time, you could try calling a local church as well. Hope this helps :)