When preparing to move your business or planning a new office furniture office reconfiguration, one of the most important questions that you’ll need to answer is: Do we want to take ALL of this office furniture to our new home?
In most cases, the answer is no. That is, while you’ll want to take some or possibly most of your office furniture, there are items that you’ll want to leave behind – maybe they’re broken, worn down, surplus or just don’t mesh with your stylish new décor.
So what do we do with the furniture that we don’t need or want?
Sell It Online
You have a few good options here. One is that you may be able to sell some used office furniture. However, this is only viable if it’s in very good shape, and there’s a demand for it. Otherwise, trying to sell it will be frustrating and futile. There’s plenty of competition online and frankly, when you’re in the middle of an office move, the last thing you want to deal with is Craigslist...
Recycle It
Another option would be to decommission and recycle your used office furniture. Exactly how much can be recycled (and how much it will cost to transport to the recycling facility) depends on the specific office furniture in question.
Donate It to Charity
However, there’s a third option – and in our view, it’s the best one -- which is to donate your used office furniture to a local non-profit organization. But to fulfill this noble objective, you need to answer (yet another!) question: Will charities accept our used office furniture?
This gets a hazy “most likely” answer. Rule of thumb is that, as long as the office furniture is safe and functional, most charities will be grateful for your generous donation.
Deduct From Taxes
Plus, it’s a write-off. Not that you’re motivated by self-interest, but as a nice bonus, you can use the donation as a tax deduction. Just ensure that you report fair market value, which is obviously going to be substantially less than new furniture. Often, the charity that is receiving your donation will be able to provide you with a written declaration of fair market value that you can use for tax purposes.
Arrange a Pick-Up
When it comes to saving you time and headaches, many charities will even pick-up your used office furniture, which also saves you the money required to transport it to their location or warehouse. If the charity you’re donating to offers this helpful service, then be sure to get all the details on where the equipment needs to be (e.g. lobby, loading dock, street curb, etc.), and what time it needs to be there.
If you do need to put the office furniture outside, keep in mind that your property manager and neighbors won’t be thrilled to see what they mistake for “a messy pile of office furniture” so be sure to give everyone a heads-up. And who knows? Maybe your neighbours will be inspired by your generosity and add some used office furniture of their own!
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