Have you had enough of your tired boring mattress? If you read the blog post about my home renovations, you know that we were! So over them. We had 3 that we needed to dispose of, so we hopped on the world wide web and figured out how to ditch the trashy mattresses properly. So when the time came for the mattress swap in the trailer, we were already one step ahead in the process. We knew exactly what to do. And thanks to my deep dive of research, now you will too.
Did you know that the average lifespan of a mattress is 7-8 years? I did not know that! We had lost so many nights of “good sleep” because we had just kept our mattress for far too long. So when you finally take the steps towards better sleep, you’ll need to dispose of your old mattress responsibly.
There are a few ways to dispose properly, but before you move forward, make sure you take these things into consideration…
Does my old mattress have any spills or stains?
Is my old mattress (totally gross, and No! I'm not accusing you of this, Karen) infested with bed bugs?
Is there major damage? A tear or rip anywhere? Just make sure you keep the details of those rips to yourself, OK?!
If any of these apply, don’t worry, I got you! You will still have options.
If your mattress is in decent condition, you have plenty of options.
Donate it. Places like The Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity will accept your old mattress. The Salvation Army caters to families in need, so you can feel good, knowing that your mattress is being used to help a family. They require the mattress to be in good condition, and bonus, it is a tax-deductible donation. You can drop off at your nearest location or schedule a pick-up.
Sell it. You can list your used mattress on sites like Craigslist, Offer-up, Letgo and even community apps like Nextdoor. Just make sure you’re posting accurate photos and descriptions. And sell for a fair price. Just know that you’re not gonna get top dollar for that beat old thing.
If your mattress is just too bad to donate, consider recycling it. I had no clue that 80-90% of mattress parts could be reused for creating new products, did you? There is a company called BYE BYE Mattress that will take used mattresses and collect a small fee to convert your waste to recycling. And a positive to that, the city landfills and incinerators are less crowded, as old mattresses are recycled and turned into new, useful products.
Just make sure that when you are disposing of your junky trailer mattress, you don't follow your inner rebel and burn it in a campfire in the middle of Glamis! I know, how rad would that fire be, but no! Be a good human and keep our deserts clean! Speaking of keeping the deserts clean, have you heard of the Glamis Black Bag Project? If not, go check out their Facebook page and see how you can help. GBBP was created by Dave and Jenn Karbginsky of AXA Offroad. They are dedicated to keeping Glamis clean for all to enjoy by scheduling cleans at least two times a month. Pretty cool!
Whatever you decide to do, do it responsibly. Stay crazy and rad, and then enjoy your restful, renewing sleep in your new mattress. And don’t forget to check out Off-Road Bedding for all of your sleep needs!
