How To Get Free Garden Furniture
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As spring approaches, you may be thinking about sprucing up your garden ready for the warmer weather. However, this past year has been tough on a lot of people finances so I am going to take a look at a few ways you may be able to find free garden furniture.
Many of us spent way more time in our gardens last year due to lockdown and the pandemic so it may be time to think about any improvements you want to make before the summer. Garden furniture and equipment such as kids toys can be expensive so you might be wondering if it’s possible to get certain items for free.
While I’ve used the word furniture in the title here as it sounded better than ‘stuff’ I have covered things like fencing and toy slides too.
Benefits of Finding Free Garden Furniture
Of course, when you get something for free there is the obvious reward of not having spent any money, meaning that money can be spent elsewhere or enabling you to have something you may not have otherwise been able to afford.
Getting free garden furniture is also great for the environment. We throw away far too much already, and often things still have plenty of life in them, either because we no longer find them useful or desirable or because we believe they are beyond repair.
If you’re ever thinking of taking something to the tip, especially furniture, there are often people who will gladly take it off your hands for free. We were given a free slide for our garden last year and we were so pleased to give it a new home where it will get plenty of use!
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook tends to be the best place to find larger items, such as free garden furniture, in your local area. You can start by having a scroll through the marketplace and seeing if there is anything suitable for your needs.
There are a few things you’ll need to weigh up here including how far you’re happy/able to travel to pick things up and whether you’d b happy to pay for delivery (either from the person giving it away or someone else) which may be worth it if you’re getting something for free in the first place.
I did a quick search on my own Facebook simply searching the word ‘Free’ and found the items listed below. While I know they don’t all count as ‘furniture’ I still think there are plenty of usable items here.
- 3 Childrens Scooters and 2 Children’s Bikes
- A Climbing Frame
- Children’s garden chairs
- A box full of Rugby Balls
- Pallets
- Toddler trampoline and Big Trampoline
- Rubble and stones for making a rockery
- Sun Umbrella
- White Plastic Chairs
If you don’t find anything suitable, there a few things you can try.
First up, you could try putting out a shout out to your own friends and family to see if they have anything they are getting rid of. We happily give stuff we no longer need to our friends and family and I’lloften send my friends pictures of clothes I’m about to sell on vinted in case they want them instead.
However, I can see why some people might not feel comfortable doing this. You could instead put a shout out on marketplace itself and when you do this you can actually block friends from seeing it if that’s what you want.
I find people are often happy to get rid of stuff they no longer need without the hassle of going to the tip or trying to sell. From a seller point of view, I also find people are far more likely to turn up if they are getting something for free.
I do think it pays to be honest about why you’re looking for free garden furniture – whether it’s because you’re on a tight budget, for environmental reasons or because you enjoy the challenge of upcycling. Just don’t make something up to try and get free stuff!
Related Post: Simple Ideas For Home Improvements
Look on Gumtree For Free Garden Furniture
Another great place to find free garden furniture is Gumtree. Gumtree is a free classified listings website and while it can be useful, generally speaking, I tend to avoid it due to the colossal amount of ads making for a poor user experience.
However, it is a good place to search for free garden furniture and I find that Gumtree tends to be people selling things locally, rather than offering postage and is often people who don’t want to use Facebook for whatever reason
While a quick search didn’t throw up nearly as many things as Facebook, on Gumtree within 20 miles of my home, for free, I did find the following.
- 6×6 Fence Panels
- A Dovecot
- Stones and Gravel
- Hardcore
- A Green House
Freecycle
I remember first using freecycle many years ago and I think it’s popularity had since waned due to the growth of places like Facebook and Gumtree. That said, I do think it’s worth a mention as unlike the other places, it’s the focus is on things being completely free.
The website is very basic and not easy to navigate but definitely worth a look, especially if you live in a well-populated area.
Go Skip Diving
Ah, now, I know that skip diving can be seen as a little bit controversial BUT, and this is a big BUT I think if you handle it politely, and tactfully then it can be a great way to get free stuff, free garden furniture included.
Personally, before taking something from a skip I would always ask, either by knocking on the door of the property or chatting to any workmen that are around.
Generally speaking, they’ll be happy for you to take stuff as it frees up space before they’ll need to hire another skip or get it emptied, but it’s always best to check.
You also may need to come back later with your car or van or another person and if you’re kind and polite they may help you or put things aside for you so they don’t get damaged.
While skips that are on public roads are *technically* free game skips on private land are not, so don’t go diving without permission or you could end up in trouble for trespassing!
While out and about
One trend I’ve noticed quite a bit during the pandemic is people leaving things outside of their homes with signs saying ‘Free To Collector’ or ‘Please Take Me’.
I think this is because people have been having massive sort outs due to lockdown but don’t have places to take things they no longer want. Charity shops are closed and many tips and recycling enters are running on reduced hours with a bigger demand than ever, again due to everyone having mass clear outs.
Definitely worth keeping your eyes peeled while out and about on your daily exercise!
Upcycling Your Own Garden Furniture
While you may have fallen out of love with the furniture you already own, you may want to look at upcycling it before deciding you need something new. Pinterest is amazing for inspiration for painting, reupholstering and completely making over various garden furniture.
And don’t forget, even if you do manage to snag some free garden furniture, it may need some TLC before it’s usable. For example, you may need to clean up white plastic chairs or sand a garden table. We have some chairs last year that weren’t looking their best but we used some cillit bang to get them cleaned up and looking good as new.
Win it!
Are you feel lucky? One way to go about getting free garden furniture is to enter lots of competitions to try and win some. Comping is one of my hobbies and in the past, I’ve won clothes, free meals out, books, beauty products and more.
While there is no guarantee of winning, the more competitions you enter the more likely you are to win.
Final Tips For Finding Free Garden Furniture
Here are some final tips for finding free garden furniture.
- As I’m writing this while the U.K is still on lockdown, please stick to local travel restrictions and use social distancing and facemasks when collecting orders.
- Be polite – there’s nothing worse than giving something away for free and the person collecting is rude and ungrateful.
- Turn up when you say you will to collect any free garden furniture you’ve asked for.
- Some people may ask that you dismantle larger items like shed and children’s play equipment.
- Pay it forward – if you receive lots of items for free, it’s nice to do the same in the future when you’re able too!
