How to dispose of a china cabinet?

November 9, 2022 10:26 AM

How do you dispose of a china cabinet? Nobody wants them anymore.

We tried Goodwill but they said nobody wants china cabinets anymore.

It's a nice cabinet, in good condition, about thirty(?) years old. How do we get rid of it?

posted by La Gata to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

facebook marketplace or buy nothing group for $20 or free.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 10:27 AM on November 9, 2022 [10 favorites]

I would agree with Facebook marketplace. "Nobody" wanting them is a bit of an exaggeration per a quick search - one example.
posted by Seeking Direction at 10:36 AM on November 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

As a last resort, there’s always Freecycle.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:44 AM on November 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

ReStore will take it.
posted by Enid Lareg at 10:56 AM on November 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

That just means Goodwill can't sell it - and it takes up a lot of space for them. If you post it as free on Freecycle or NextDoor, someone will take it.
posted by FencingGal at 10:56 AM on November 9, 2022 [8 favorites]

I put mine (which I loved, but I was moving and I had no spot for it anymore) on my local Buy Nothing group and a lovely young person came and rehomed it for me.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:57 AM on November 9, 2022 [2 favorites]

Maybe nobody wants china cabinets, but if it's solid wood, someone will be interested in it. If you post it on FB Marketplace or Craigslist, talk as much as you can about the materials. When I used to refinish furniture, I'd just search for "solid wood" or "solid maple" or whatever, because I was more interested in the wood I'd be working with than the actual product.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:58 AM on November 9, 2022 [5 favorites]

Craigslist free section. Put the dimensions in, make it clear where you’re roughly located, explain if you can help load it, and let people know if it’s in a basement or up stairs. The free section gets a TON of traffic. It’ll go.
posted by Slinga at 11:16 AM on November 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

Don't overlook the opportunity to reuse your cabinet in a way that suits you.

Move it to the basement, your laundry detergent and dryer sheets have never known such luxury.

Move it to the garage, store smaller tools and sporting equipment somewhere with a door that closes to keep the crust off.

Move it to a kids playroom, put special toys on display.

Etc. Just because it's a china cabinet doesn't mean you can't use it for something unglamorous.



And if you really just have to have it out of your house, list it for $5 on marketplace/craigslist. Free = there's something wrong with it and also attracts the worst choosy moocher class (e.g. can you deliver??). $5 = oh shit that's a great deal on a cabinet!!
posted by phunniemee at 12:11 PM on November 9, 2022 [14 favorites]

People who have collections can use them. I use a huge one to house my collection of rocks.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:31 PM on November 9, 2022 [5 favorites]

I was completely unable to find anyone to take 4 (!) glass-fronted china cabinets when I had to clear out a house after a relative died. I tried everything I could think of, though I don't live in the community and wasn't on the local free web sites. Finally I had to put them out on trash day. I think neighbors may have rescued one or two of them, but really, people generally do not live the way boomers and older generations did. I also had to trash 2 upholstered sofas, a dining table (with 3 extra leaves) and a sideboard. My aunt would have been floored to hear this, but nobody wanted her furniture from 1970. Nobody wanted her 12 place setting silver-rimmed china or stemware, either, but I pawned them off on other relatives because I couldn't bear to take them to Goodwill. My boomer relatives already have all the furniture they will ever need and are nearly all downsizing, and their kids either have furnished their houses or are just out of college with no room for huge dining sets.
posted by citygirl at 1:00 PM on November 9, 2022

Back when we entertained, we wanted a bar. We looked high and low at things sold as bars and liked none of them. Then a friend, an interior designer, took us to an antique/used furniture store and we bought a pretty funky china cabinet. The previous owner had converted it into a gun rack. We had a carpenter convert it into a drinks cabinet. I still love it. It's like no other furniture I own and that's what's special about it, to me.
posted by tmdonahue at 5:29 AM on November 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

There is a re-use of china cabinets for plants/greenhouses -- which can be done even if wooden. Nthing posting for free locally.

When I post something for free I also suggest possible uses to kick start some creative thinking/inspiration for others as they browse. "Free China Cabinet - Upgrade your bar cart, store your collection, class up your library, or repurpose into an indoor green space."
posted by countrymod at 6:05 AM on November 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

Seconding kevinbelt. If it’s solid wood, a woodworker will take it apart and find a use. I turned solid oak doors from a desk-topper my sweetie got from her dad into a storage box and still have a bunch of parts left over.

If it’s veneered particle-board, it’s much less useful. We scrapped two of those when we moved from MN to NM. But a curb-alert on Craigslist may well find someone interested.
posted by DaveP at 6:14 PM on November 10, 2022 [1 favorite]