Lose It: How to Reuse, Recycle or Replace Your Sofa

Sell or donate it. If your sofa is clean, stain-free and sturdy, odds are you can sell it or donate it to a charity. In most cases, potential buyers or charity groups will even pick up the sofa from your home.

• Put your sofa on Craigslist, or eBay if it's of high quality. If you don't think it'll go for much, try putting it in the "free" section of Craigslist, or on Freecycle.
• Tell your friends and family. More often than not, someone is looking for a sofa, or knows someone who would be more than willing to take it off your hands. Send out a mass email, and tell everyone to forward it on.
• Advertise near a local college. Students are usually in need of furniture, and don't really have a preference as to what it looks like, as long as it's clean and cheap.
• Charity organizations like Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, and Salvation Army will take upholstered furniture, but usually only if it's in new or almost-new condition. Among other reasons, the primary motivation for this is to avoid any bedbug infestations. Give your local organization a call to confirm before trekking your sofa over.
• Keep your eyes open for a church, community center, or school rummage sale, and donate your sofa to them.
• Some charity organizations are almost always willing to take furniture that's in decent shape. Try looking into Purple Heart Pickup, Furnish a Future or if you're in the UK, Furniture Re-Use Network.

Reuse it. Before you consider getting rid of your sofa, think about reusing it. Is it totally destroyed? Or does it just need a good spruce-up? Try having it professionally cleaned, or rent a steam cleaner to get those stains out. Buy some new throws or pillows for it to freshen it up. Slipcovers are another great option — today slipcovers are available in many great textiles and colors, or can even be custom made. If you don't want your sofa in your living room, maybe it can be used in a guest room, recreation space, basement, or garage. Explore your options before tossing it out.

Recycle it. Sofas contain many of the same parts as mattresses, and can be broken up into pieces and the individual pieces recycled. Try looking onEarth911.com for a location near you that can recycle sofas. However, because it's such a labor intensive process, there are slim pickings. There's always the option of you taking it apart yourself, and recycling the respective parts. The wood, cotton fabric, foam core, and springs can all be dismantled and reused or taken to recycling facilities.

Another possibility is having your sofa reupholstered. Reupholsters are craftsmen, and can completely redo the foam, lining, and fabric at a very high quality. Do your research — a quality upholstery job will probably cost as much as a new couch. The great thing is that you get a custom piece while saving your sofa from the landfill.

For next time:

• Make sure you buy a good, high-quality sofa that will last a long time. Not only will this save you money over the years, but it will also mean that it will last longer and wear better.
• Take good care of your sofa! Wipe up spills, keep pets from scratching them, and repair any damage right away. Maintaining the quality will make it much more easier to sell when you're ready for a new one.

Have you refurbished or recycled a sofa? Tell us about it below!

More:
Lose It: How to Get Rid of a Mattress
Lose It: 4 Ways to Get Rid of Your Old Carpet
Lose It: What to Do With Leftover Building Materials