There’s nothing better on cold nights than the crackle and glow of a warm fire.
What’s not great though is stocking up on logs to feed said fire. Purchasing firewood all the time can get pricey, especially in the autumn and winter months when the temperatures drop and our need to warm ourselves next to a cozy fire goes up! During high demand season especially, in some places prices can go as high as $300-$400 per cord!
Thankfully, firewood doesn’t always have to cost you.
In today’s post, I’ll give you my favorite ways to get firewood for free.
Here’s a list of places to get firewood for free.
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1. Craigslist
People give away free stuff on Craigslist all the time.
A really easy way to find free firewood locally is to check Craigslist. I see listings for firewood on my city’s CL quite often.
Here’s how to find free firewood on CL
- Visit your city’s CL page.
- Click on “Free” under the “For Sale” category
- Type “Firewood” into the search bar on the “Free” page.
Then, you’ll get a list of ads where people are giving away firewood. I didn’t even need to search for firewood in my CL free section. It was just on the main page when I looked! So have a browse of your city’s free section on CL and you may be able to get some firewood near you. It’s definitely one of the best places to get wood.
2. Neighbors or friends and family who’ve felled trees
Have a friend, family member, or neighbor who’s recently cut down trees?
Then hit them up for some free firewood.
Sometimes, people have trees on their property that they want to get rid of and they end up with a bunch of wood that they’re just not going to use.
In that case, they’d likely be happy for you to take it off their hands – after all, you’ll save them the trouble of having to get rid of the wood themselves. Call them and offer to take the wood off their hands!
3. Freecycle
Freecycle is an awesome website where people can give stuff away and get things for free in their neighborhood. It’s a great premise that encourages recycling!
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There are listings for all sorts of things on the website. So have a look on there and you may come across someone giving away firewood!
4. Sawmills
Sawmills want to produce usable lumber from logs. However, they often have scraps left over. They generally don’t use 100% of the tree.
Research local sawmills and get their contact details. Get in touch and ask if they have any unused logs that they’d be willing to give to you.
Often, sawmills pay a company to haul away their extras, so they may be happy to reduce their costs a little by giving the firewood to you.
Even if the sawmill doesn’t have any logs right now, you could ask them to call you if they ever have any scraps that they want to get rid of.
To find a sawmill near you, simply search for “sawmills near me” on Google and go through the listings.
5. Facebook Marketplace
Another place where you can get firewood locally is on Facebook Marketplace. While the platform is designed for buying and selling stuff locally, it sometimes has listings available for free stuff.
You may be able to find someone who’s giving away firewood on there.
You can browse the free section of the website. Or you can just visit the main page here and search for the term, “free firewood.”
6. Look around after a storm
Trees often fall during storms or even just as a result of heavy wind. A few times, I’ve seen trees fallen over paths near where I live. This is usually after we’ve had bouts of really strong wind.
While local councils tend to deal with trees that have fallen on public land, the average homeowner usually has to tackle fallen trees by themselves. But, the average homeowner may not have the tools or physical ability to remove larger fallen branches from their yards, fences or rooves.
This makes it the perfect time for you to step in and offer to remove the fallen branches for them. And instead of getting paid, just ask if you can have the firewood for free.
Just make sure that you start looking quickly once the storm has passed. A lot of neighborhoods start their cleanup efforts pretty fast. You don’t want to miss out on your opportunity for free wood!
7. Construction sites
Did you know that a lot of construction sites have wood they need to get rid of?
Well, they do. In order to make room for the structure they’re building, construction companies sometimes have to cut down trees. Then, they’re left with wood that they don’t need.
You can offer to remove this wood for them – or some of it at least!
You likely won’t want to take all of the wood that they have, unless you have the space to store it. But if you get permission to take unwanted wood, then have a browse through and take what you want.
Check to see if there’s any building going on near you at the moment. You never know, you may be able to get your hands on some firewood at no cost.
8. Tree companies or tree surgeons
Some tree companies and tree surgeons may have some firewood available that they aren’t going to use. All you have to do is ask!
You never know; you might be able to pick through a great selection of wood and take it at no cost! Research local tree companies or tree surgeons near you and give them a call.
9. National Forests
It could be worth giving National Forests near you a call to see if they have any wood you could have for free. Since trees sometimes fall or are felled at National Forests, they may have some wood they’d be willing to give you at no cost. Just give them a call to ask.
10. OfferUp
OfferUp is an underrated app for finding free stuff near you.
It’s an app/website where people can buy and sell stuff locally. But people also give stuff away on there. It’s definitely worth having a browse on there to see if you can find anyone giving away free firewood in your area.
Can You Use Wood Pallets for Firewood?
There are tons of ways to get free wood pallets near you. For example, you could ask stores, warehouses, factories, etc for pallets. A lot of people even recycle wood pallets for money!
But is it OK to burn pallet wood?
I would caution against using pallets for firewood because not only do they often have nails and screws in them, but you often don’t know what the pallet has previously stored or has been treated with. You could be burning a pallet that’s chemically treated, which could be toxic to you.
For example, some pallets have MB on them. This indicates that the pallet was treated with methyl bromide, which is highly toxic to humans. Other pallets to avoid are those that say HT, as this means that the pallet was heat-treated.
Overall, I would give pallets a miss and stick with your regular logs or tree branches instead. There are plenty of them available.
That said, if you can find non treated pallets, it’s ok to burn them outside for a bonfire, campfire or in your backyard firepit. But I still wouldn’t use pallets in my fireplace in the house.
Enjoy Your Fire!
With so many options out there, there’s no reason you can’t save money on firewood!
All you have to do is ask!
Just remember that you don’t want to take wood without permission. Always ask before taking.
Most places will be happy for you to take wood off their hands.
If you’ve ever wondered, “where can I get free firewood near me?” give the places on our list a try!
