No charity that I know of will accept the donation. I think it's actually illegal. I think best bet is to wait for a dry weather forecast and put it on the curb a day or so before your scheduled pickup. That's what I do with all my "valuable trash." That way at least you can say you tried.

Definitely free-recycle it. We couldn't believe how grateful people were for a lightly used mattress.

New mattresses are expensive. There will surely be someone who can use it. Freecycle.org is great for rehoming things to people in need. I have used Freecycle to send things out to new owners many times over the last ten years.

E

Some people use them for their pets too- a big dog bed on the floor- definitively freecycle.

I told BF I wanted to freecycle it and he said, "Why, it's shot!" What exactly makes a mattress "shot?" It isn't dirty or torn, and there are no springs poking through, but I guess it isn't as cushy as it once was. I am just not that bed sensitive, but I don't know if I am in the minority on that. I definately don't like old, smelly, dirty, damaged, sagging beds, but to me this isn't that.

Lpink, as a banker I've had to foreclosure on my share of properties where the owner(s) left mattresses behind for me to deal with. Some, the guys I hired would only carry out with broom handles stabbed into the sides to hold on to 'cause they wouldn't touch those mattresses no matter how much I was paying. Trust me, some mattresses really need to go to the landfill (better still - the hazardous waste site).

If it's clean then Freecycle is a good idea especially with so many needy people. But, believe me, there are a lot of people that will never believe a used mattress is "clean" no matter what it looks like. I being one of them...just too many visuals still in my head from those banking days.

/tricia

List it on Freecycle and if no one wants it, then you have your answer---to the dump! I don't see this as an either/or question, but rather a first/then proposition.

I confess I have never Freecycled a mattress. I have given away mattresses belonging to my children as new things were purchased. Those mattresses had always been covered with a waterproof cover so they hadn't suffered from spills, etc. The last time I swapped an old mattress for a new one the company that delivered my new bed took the old one away for me.

The whole point of Freecycle.org is to keep things that might be usable to someone else OUT of the landfill. Post it and see if someone wants it. And let us know what happens!

E

I agree, Freecycle it. If someone wants it, they'll come and get it. If not, then you're no further back than you are now, you can get rid of it then.

Many people are much less financially secure than most of us. I know people who would be glad for a mattress on the floor, instead of just the floor. I don't think I'd buy/take a used mattress, but I know many people who would and would be glad to have it.

Definitely try Freecycle.

Annie

I agree, I would never buy/take a used mattress. HOWEVER, we bought a furnished condo and it came with a bed/mattress and I had no problem using it. I also have no problem sleeping on beds/mattresses in hotels and they are "used", and they are actually "used" by numerous strangers. So, I really don't know why it would bother me to buy/take a new looking, slightly used mattress from very nice and clean looking stranger, but it would... just seems different than sleeping behind strangers in a hotel bed.

But, I'm sure there are lots of people that would love to have the used mattress, and if it was between sleeping on the floor and sleeping on a used mattress...I'm sure I'd take the used mattress.

After driving through some of the neighborhoods on the other end in your city last spring, I have a feeling that there might be someone grateful for a clean mattress. Freecycle it and if no one takes, then off to the dump with it.

I have been on a Freecycling binge for 4 years in an effort to move towards being a minimalist (don't laugh, I was at one time).

I usually have 10 to 20 replies and quick pickup to an offer but of late my area Freecycling has dwindled to few "offers" and fewer "wants". It took me 2 weeks to get rid of a steam cleaner and I never got rid of a 7' counter top. Those of you who freecycle, have you seen a slow down? I have been meaning to check with the moderator to see what's up.

We donated (and delivered) our last mattress & springs to a shelter for abused women. They were quite pleased to get it.

If your mattress isn't sagging it's not shot.

You don't get a new mattress each time you sleep in a hotel.

I read sometimes you don't even get new sheets.

dcarch

Did you resolve the quandary of what to do with the mattress?

The last time I bought one, the furniture store said they would either take the old and dispose of it for me as part of their service, or if in good clean condition (it had never been without a mattress pad and had been turned regularly) they would take/donate it to the shelter for battered women where mattress for relocated women and their families were always in need.

Ask when the new is purchased if they/store have a plan or option for using the old if in good clean condition, or even for free disposal...

I have had a bout of sick and busy but am hoping to either donate or freecycle. The thing is, BF just decided one day we needed a new mattress and to me the one we had seemed perfectly fine, so I hate to throw it out.