Also, try freecycle on yahoo, people are giving away their unwanted items for free. I have not used this service but some of my friends have and they love it.
I completely attest to this! I have given away heaps on freecycle and received this over the last few years:

- A double bed and a double mattress
- A queen sized bed and a queen sized mattress
- A complete fish tank
- A spare toddler car seat
- A three seat sofa bed for the playroom
- A two seater couch for DP's business
- A small desk for the granny flat
- A sandpit, Fisher Price doll house, various other toys and little table and chairs set for DD

Some of the stuff we've given away includes fax machine, printers, toys, double ensemble, pram and stroller, and more stuff that I can't even remember! In our area, people are using Freecycle because of the speed and convenience of getting rid of things that are too good to throw out and because they can't be bothered with ebay. We have been so surprised at the quality of stuff we've picked up, in no way is it second-rate.

Look for your local group and hopefully that will help enormously.