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What do you do with an old table?


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The table and chairs are a set, in mostly in good condition. The sole exception is one chair that the dog used as a chew toy. The damage is not noticeable and I have to examine each chair to figure out which one it was. The set was on loan but the people who loaned it to me no longer want it back. It does not fit in my kitchen and due to it's round shape I cannot use it anywhere else in my house. It is driving me nuts, it is too large, cannot be completely used and is rather ugly.

 

I have a replacement picked out but no clue what do with the current set. The current set needs to be gone before I can bring in the new set. I considered craigslist but we are rural and in my experience no one wants to come out here, not even to pick up free stuff. To be completely honest I have offered free stuff on local facebook groups and people who claim to really need it get irate when I refuse to pack it up and deliver it to them because I am viewed as too far away. I could give away cash and people would complain that it was too far to go and that I should mail it to them at my own expense.

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Don't know if it would work for you, but my parents replaced the legs on their table with shorter ones and now use it as a coffee table. It works great. You could also add cushions to the chairs and set them around the house for extra seating.

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Could you use it outdoors as a tinkering table? Maybe cut it down a bit (or a lot).

(I'm just brainstorming here--)

 

Could you cut it in half and attach to a wall to make a desk or a craft table or a laundry table or a potting table (outside)?

 

Make it a temporary art project, painting all over with dots/swirls/lines/words/something fun like that, then set it on fire? lol

 

firewood for outside?

 

Axe practice?

 

Turn it on its side (legs off) and lean against a tree and use for bb gun practice?

 

stretching here...

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Here is what I did with an old table:

I printed out a ton of favorite baby pictures of my dd, all in b&w on printer paper. We then used spray adhesive and glued all the pics on to the table surface. We then bought an inexpensive shellac kit from a DiY store and poured it over the surface. It looks great! It is such a talking piece and so much fun to see the pics daily:)

We used it as a table for awhile, but then took the legs off and hung the whole table top up as wall art.

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From your description, I'd say it was good enough to go to Goodwill. I understand you don't want to drive it only to be turned away, but I'd say it was worth the try since you want it gone. I'd also try selling it for a low price. Maybe someone will feel like they are getting a bargain and would be willing to drive for it, especially since it's such a big item. It's not like you can ship it. I wouldn't offer it for free right off the bat. I find that people who want free things want everything to be easy for them. They'd rather you bring it to them. I had some crazy people contacting me when I gave stuff away on Freecycle.

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True. I will post it for sale and see if I get any bites. I dealt with the crazy on freecycle. I gave away a crib, the people forgot a piece and were made it me for not having everything tied up so they wouldn't miss it. Umm it was right there with the crib, not like I left it around the corner hidden in trash.

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We have several non-profit organizations that will come out and pick up unwanted stuff.  One is an inter-city mission about 35 miles away...they use these items in many ways:  teach how to refinish and then sell; give to a needy person/family; use in a fund-raising sale.  Many of the women's shelters around here do the same.  We even have a wildlife rescue organization that takes donations.  Pull out the phone book and see what's nearby.  If you have a homeschool organization with a forum, advertising there may be beneficial.  I have given many items away to other homeschoolers through our organization(s).

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Upscale it with fresh paint and sell it on craigslist or via a local resale shop. That's what I'd do.

 

If you don't need any cash value out of it and just want it to be gone, there are often organizations that will come pick it up (I think there's a veterans-services one that frequently sends mailers here).

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Paint it with outdoor paint (the kind of paint that is used on houses) and put it outside.  Eventually, and probably sooner rather than later, it will disintegrate out there, but in the meantime your kids can use it for a 'messy projects' table.  I did this with an old coffee table that I got at a garage sale.  We used it as a stand for our solar oven, as a sensory table (I got one of those cheap black concrete mixing shallow plastic vats at the hardware store and filled it with sand), and as a water play table (dumped the sand into the sandbox and filled the vat with water.  It was big enough to sail little toy boats in.  I think that walnut shell boats may have also been involved.) 

 

It didn't last more than a few years, but those were good times, and by the time it fell apart the kids had outgrown the applications.  In pieces it was easy to dispose of, a few at a time in the garbage.

 

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Do you have The Arc in your area?  They will come pick up furniture where I live.  

 

You may also take picture and send them to the consignment store asking if they would take it.

 

Here, Goodwill or Salvation Army will take anything  you have that is furniture based, dog chewed or not. 

 

 

 

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