How to get rid of a couch in Providence

The short answer

If your building has six or fewer units, Providence's free bulky-item pickup through Waste Management will take a couch you set out the night before your trash day, as long as you schedule at least 24 hours ahead. If you cannot get it to the curb, or your building is larger, a flat-price pickup is $126 for a sofa, $119 for a loveseat and $185 for a three-piece sectional, carried out from inside.

Using the city's free bulky pickup

Providence offers free bulky-item pickup for furniture, couches included, through Waste Management. The steps are straightforward:

1. Check that your building has six or fewer units. Larger buildings do not get city trash service.
2. Schedule the pickup online or by phone with Waste Management at least 24 hours before your regular trash day.
3. Put the couch at the curb no earlier than the night before.

That is a good deal if you live on the first floor of a two-family in Elmhurst or a single-family in Mount Pleasant, and you have someone to help lift. There is no fee for furniture.

The program does not come inside. Whatever floor the couch is on, you are the one getting it to the sidewalk. And if it rains overnight, which in a Providence fall is likely, the couch sits out soaking until the truck comes.

The triple-decker problem

Providence is full of triple-deckers, most built between 1870 and 1920, with one apartment per floor and rear stairs that wrap around a back porch. Those stairs were built for people carrying groceries, not for an eighty-inch sofa.

Getting a couch down from a third floor usually means taking the legs off, standing it on end, and pivoting it at every landing. On a rear porch stair, there is often a railing post exactly where the arm of the couch needs to go. Front stairs can be wider but pass a neighbor's door on every floor.

Two people who know what they are doing can do it in fifteen minutes. Two people who have not done it before can spend an hour and leave marks on every wall. If the couch came in before the walls were painted or the railing was replaced, it may not leave the same way without some disassembly.

Bigger buildings and lofts

If you live in a building with seven or more units, the city bulky program is not available. That covers many Downtown apartments, the larger complexes near Johnson & Wales, and some converted mill buildings in Olneyville and the West End. Your options are whatever the building provides, or a private hauler.

Mill lofts have their own quirks. Ceilings are high and units are open, but the route out may run through a long corridor, a freight elevator with booking rules, or a loading area shared with other tenants. Many managed buildings also ask for a certificate of insurance before a crew can work there. JunkRabbit emails a COI to the building within one hour of booking, so that paperwork does not hold up your pickup.

Selling or giving it away

A clean, newer couch can find a new home. Posting it online for free or cheap works best in student-heavy areas like Fox Point and the blocks near Providence College, where someone is always moving in. Price it to move, and be clear about which floor it is on.

Be realistic about what is wanted. Sofas with stains, pet damage, sagging cushions or any smoke smell rarely find a taker. Sleeper sofas are especially heavy and hard to give away. If no one has come after a few days, move to another option before your lease date gets close.

When JunkRabbit picks up a couch, we try to donate usable items when local charities accept them. We recycle whatever we can.

Flat prices for couches and seating

A sofa and loveseat set is $126 + $119 = $245. A sofa plus a recliner is $126 + $98 = $224. Prices include carry-out from any floor, loading and disposal. There is no stairs fee, and the minimum order is $100.

Booking a pickup

Take a photo of the couch, or pick it from the list online, and you see the price before you book. You choose a two-hour arrival window, seven days a week from 8am to midnight. Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM.

The crew carries the couch out from wherever it is: a third-floor front room on Federal Hill, a finished basement in Cranston, or a sunroom in Warwick. If the couch needs to come apart to clear a turn, that is part of the job, and an oversized or cut-apart sofa has its own flat price of $185.

Street parking is tight on College Hill, Federal Hill and Fox Point. It helps to note any loading spot, driveway or alley access when you book. For more on the city program and what it does not cover, see can you leave furniture on the curb in Providence.

Frequently asked questions