Furniture Disposal + A Culture Of Waste
If I’m being honest, it’s likely not often you hear an interior designer or any of the talking heads within the home industry speak up about furniture disposal. That’s because, well, even if the problems around furniture waste matter to them, when you buy furniture — they profit.
But Elegant Simplicity is different. We’re different for a lot of reasons which I’d be glad to tell you all about on a FREE Clarity Call but more specifically as it relates to furniture, we don’t charge markup.
So to us — we design your home looking at everything you need + nothing more. And you’re never left wondering if our advice is because we really believe what we’re telling you or because we are profiting from your furniture purchases.
In fact, I bet you’re a lot like me in that you enjoy reimagining everything about your home.
The layout + what you could do if that wall wasn’t there...
The color scheme, the furniture, the fixtures and finishes. I mean it’s all such an insanely fun + amazing journey to embark on… hence why I’m an interior designer *wink!*
Unfortunately though, when interior design or furniture is made wrong — it fuels a culture of waste.
And look, we’re not a preachy bunch over here at Elegant Simplicity. We’re optimists trying to do better, be better + live better. For ourselves, for our environment + for others.
So get ready to dive in + not only discover the real issue of disposable design — but what we can actually do about it?
Let’s do this, boo!
Fast Furniture
From cheaply made products to focusing our attention on the latest trends, most of the design industry is inspiring hollow changes to our homes that are hollow, meaningless + as a result it fuels a negative culture of waste.
Or as they would say –– out with the “old.” In with the “new.”
You see friend, the design culture encourages us to think about, hyperfocus + even obsess over updating our homes all the time.
They inundate us with design trends that are constantly in flux from season-to-season. And let me go on a candid side rant here, because really, what makes 2021’s gray that much different than 2018’s? And why was it “in” vogue during the 2010’s to have wide-plank floor but suddenly in the 2020’s it’s out of fashion?
The answer is… nothing!
The industry of home is designed to whet our appetite + tempt us to follow their lead — that’s why boo, they fill our mailboxes with catalogues promoting products (for you to buy so they can profit.)
It’s why product roundups are so popular for these gigantic home publications + it’s why affiliate disclaimers are at the top (or bottom) of nearly every article they tout as the next best “outdoor seat.”
And to be brutally candid again –– at Elegant Simplicity it really pisses us off!
Because home should be designed around how you live + what you love, not around chasing trends or replacing what you have with a newer, but likely, poorly made piece of furniture.
The Disposable Design Culture
Yet I wonder if we think about this statement I made above.
“...from cheaply made products to focusing our attention on the latest trends, most of the design industry is inspiring hollow changes to our homes that are meaningless to us and as a result fueling a culture of waste. Out with the old. In with the new.”
But this time boo, let's come at it from a slightly different perspective. And I wonder does it help to highlight my point a little bit more?
Certainly, part of the problem is cheaply made furniture (i.e. furniture that’s made with poor quality + won't withstand a lot of wear and tear.)
But the crux is that it’s also cheap (a.k.a. really affordable) which makes us approach the decision to buy it with our guard down.
If it breaks or doesn’t work long-term, we’ll just get rid of it. In other words, we’ll dispose of it.
And, after over a decade as a professional interior designer, I know this to be true but let’s put a little context to this argument.
In the United States annually, just over 12 million tons of furniture goes to the landfill with an additional 3 million tons of carpets and rugs. That’s over 15 million tons of waste every 12-months –– like clockwork!
Insane, right?
If each piece of those 15 million tons going to the landfill had been made to last, but inevitably broke, we’d be recycling the material + using it to make something new.
Or better yet, if each piece was purchased with the intention of keeping it — how much less furniture would be going to the landfill?
The answer is hard to calculate but a fairly obvious, educated guess is: probably a lot less.
What We Can Do To Change From A Culture Of Waste
Remember, I’m an optimist. So speaking bluntly about what is wrong with the home industry as a whole is difficult because it’s the industry John + I have dedicated a strong portion of our lives to.
So our effort around creating a home is all about making everything into home –– intentional.
In fact, in the next section there’s a helpful step-by-step guide that’s all about furniture disposal.
However, creating a home is about ensuring that the furniture we buy for our homes is chosen conscientiously. That the decisions we are making, whether it’s to furnish + style a new home or an existing space, are coming from a place of purpose, not impulse.
You see, designing your home to feel like the place you never want to leave isn’t about buying furniture because “it’s what you could get at the moment” or because “it fills the space + looks ok for now” or even because “it’s cute and was on sale.”
It’s about really being mindful of the choices we make for our homes + conscientiously choosing to buy furniture that reflects our values.
Conscientiously choosing to buy furniture that is functional.
And conscientiously choosing to buy things that are made to serve not just a place but the people in our home.
We stop fueling a culture of waste by changing our mindset about home.
Moving away from trends + disposable design + moving more towards asking ourselves questions like, how do we truly want to live in this space?
What do we want present in order to make home a place with everything we need + nothing more?
Furniture Disposal Resources
Furniture disposal is tricky because often fast furniture or cheaply made furniture isn’t made of a single material but rather toxic glues + synthetic materials (like particle board + resin.) All of which makes the process of furniture disposal difficult –– but before heading off to the dump, boo, try this route.
1. Check with your local recycling company
Each recycler can handle different materials. It’s always best to call and find out if what you have can be recycled.
2. Check with the manufacturer for a buyback option
This is becoming increasingly popular and even large companies like IKEA have started buying back old furniture to recycle it themselves or sell it second hand. Across the home industry, it’s still early in the inception of this idea, but hopefully it’s a furniture disposal option that will gain traction.
3. Donate It
From men's + women's shelters to some small nonprofits or even large charities — if the furniture you’re disposing, is still in good condition, donating it is an excellent way to keep it from ending up in landfills.
READ: Where to donate clothes responsibly
4. Sell / Give It Away
There are multiple different ways for you to sell the furniture, or give it away, to someone else. From things like Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace to FreeCycle there are suddenly a lot of ways to find a home for your furniture - before taking it to the landfill.
Hopefully, we’ve got you thinking a bit differently about furniture disposal. From the home industry as a whole to how you can approach creating a home with everything you need + nothing more.
And if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.
P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.