14 Ways To Get Free Firewood

Firewood, just like many things in life, costs money. It would be great if you could score some, or even cords of firewood for free, but is it possible?

The answer is yes, and down below are 14 ways to get free firewood.

Sawmill left overs

Sawmill’s don’t use every single bit of trees when they process them into lumber, so it makes sense that some “waste” will be left.

Contact your local sawmill owner, and ask if you could take the tree left overs.

Woodworking shops

Woodworkers use wood in their work, so it’s obvious that they leave some waste behind.

Check if there are any woodworking shops in your area, and you might find a constant source of scrap wood that is good for firewood, or just simply used for kindling.

Pruning

If you know how to prune trees, you can offer the service to your neighbors, and ask if you could take the left off wood to use for firewood.

Online ads

One of the best ways to get free firewood is using the online classified advertisement websites, such as Craigslist (or any other, depending where you live).

All you have to do is simply search for “free firewood”, by inputting the query into the search box; keep in mind that your’e probably won’t be the only person in the area who is searching for free firewood, so be sure to constantly seek out these types of ads.

You can also try to post an ad by yourself that your’e searching for free firewood.

Construction spots

Any trees that are unneeded in the construction site are removed; try asking the company owners if you could take care of the removed trees by yourself, as most of the time they would need to pay someone to dispose them.

Wooden pallets

A lot of companies utilize wooden pallets in their work, and after a while, they have to dispose them.

Most of the time you can use wooden pallets for firewood, so why not try to get some, especially for free.

You really can get pallets almost anywhere: go around your local businesses you think might use pallets in their work, and ask if you could get some wooden pallets for free.

You might even stumble into a constant source of free wooden pallets, reducing the money you spend every year on actual firewood.

There are a lot of things you have to know before even trying to burn pallet wood, so before you go out and hunt for free pallets, i would highly suggest reading the article i wrote on using pallets for firewood correctly.

Tree Removal Companies

Companies which do tree removal services will often times be asked to not only fell the needed trees, but remove them from the property completely.

Try contacting various tree removal companies and ask if you could take the felled trees with you for free.

Landfill salvage

Some landfill’s allow the wood to be taken for free, and some of it is more than good to use for firewood.

Just be sure to ask for permission before doing any of that.

Dead or Dying Trees

Ask your neighbors if they have any dead or dying trees on their property they want to have removed, and for the payment ask them if you could take the trees with you.

Offline advertising

Old fashioned, but still works like a charm.

Walk around your town, city, or even neighborhood and check if there are any ads for free firewood. Once again, try to hang some ads by yourself that your’e in need of free firewood.

Check the local newspaper, and even try to post some ads on it as well.

Local clean ups

Trees are often cut down by your own local government because they might be rotten, dead, or be an obstacle when building, renovating roads, etc.

Now you might think that these types of felled trees are free for the taking, but they’re not. You must ask your local government first if you can take some, or if any trees that are cut down.

Building projects

Construction sites use a lot of wood in their work for many reasons, and also leave quite a bit of scrap wood behind which they have to dispose.

Ask the company owners if you could take the scrap wood with you, and they should be more than willing to let that happen, especially for free.

Make sure that the wood your’e taking is not treated, has spills on, or is painted in any way, as it’s not suitable for use as firewood.

Storm trees

Storms cause very powerful winds, which often times blow off even the oldest, strongest trees from the ground. Even if the trees don’t totally rip out, branches will commonly tear out off them.

If a natural disaster of such type happens in your area, you can try asking your neighbors if you could help removing the felled trees/branches by taking them to yourself.

Asking

One the most basic, but also effective ways of getting free firewood, or really anything.

Go around your area and ask if the locals have any form of firewood to be given away for free.

Ask them if they know anybody who can provide some wood for free.

Let them know that your’e constantly looking for some free firewood.

In Conclusion

It is possible to heat your place without paying a cent, but obviously that won’t come without some upfront work; the wood won’t just magically appear in the woodshed by itself, even when it’s free.

If your’e going to be persistent and keen on finding some free firewood, you will get it, and as i said before, you might even cut the cost on the actual firewood to zero.