Free Firewood - Seven Ways to Get It

I have lots of experience getting free firewood. The results of my efforts find me with about 10 years worth of firewood around my homestead. Without a doubt, it has been well worth my time and effort. Let me share my experiences and suggestions with you so you'll be better able to go about getting free firewood yourself.

Here are seven solid ideas for obtaining fire wood at no cost to you, except perhaps a little time, effort and fuel. As you'll see, most of these ideas are about building relationships with people - something that's easy to do. In no particular order, the ideas are:

Get the word out - there are friends and neighbors in your area that probably have scrap wood and old firewood that they don't have an interest in anymore. It's there for the asking if you simply get the word out that you're looking for wood to heat your home. Look in the local trading paper - many folks will place an ad in the local trading paper when they have something that they just want to get rid of. They might have an old pile of wood that they once thought about burning in the Fireplace, and they now find it's too much trouble. Usually free firewood like that is available on a first come, first served basis. Hardware and home improveMent stores - these are places where pallets of materials are constantly being brought in. Some of these businesses need to take time to load up scrap pallets and dispose of them, either at the dump or at a recycling facility. Ask if you can take them away, and they'll probably agree if you promise to keep the place neat and clean while you do it. Loading docks - here is another location where piles of pallets might be available for the taking. I ran into a bonanza of pallets at a state run warehouse for liquor. The man in charge told me that I could take any of the broken pallets that were piled up on the west side of the loading dock. For quite a while, that was an excellent Supply of free firewood for me. Fencing companies - here is another way to make use of a relationship. When a new fence goes up, and old fence comes down. Can you be there to "harvest" the old fencing material with your trailer? Can you coordinate scrap fencing material pickup at the Job site with a local contractor? I think it's very possible, but you'll have to be a reliable partner in order for this source of wood to be yours exclusively. Tree services - similar to relationships built with fencing companies. If you can be reliable and coordinate your service with their schedule for doing tree work, you might be able to set up a continuous Supply of free firewood for your home. Place your own ad in the paper - this is perhaps the best idea to help flush out free firewood in your area. If you offer a free wood pickup service, people will find a way to make good use of your offer. Homeowners that are piled high with scrap wood, businesses that don't want to bother with discarding pallets and other scrap wood, and even vacant lot owners will call for your assistance. All you add is labor and fuel to haul it, and you'll find unwanted firewood all over your area.

If you don't mind odd sizes and shapes in firewood, you can obtain just about all the free firewood that you can handle, simply by impleMenting a few of the ideas above. In one summer, I collected so much firewood at no cost that I stopped collecting it. In my own words, I had "stupid amounts" of firewood around my place - about 10 years worth. If I ever decide that I need more, I always know how to get plenty of it.