Grab a corner really tight, and PULL.

There is no science to it. Just rip and roll it up. You might also want to make a long cut through the middle of the room with a utility knife so as to pull the carpet up in manageable pieces.

You will probably have carpet tack strips along the edges. Be careful of those because the tacks stick upwards to hold the carpet in place.

The padding will probably be glued down to the floor under the carpet. Just rip it up. Home Centers carry adhesive remover that will usually take care of the glue used to hold the padding down.

I would also suggest wearing a dust mask during removal. There's nothing like breathing in years of someone else's dust to get your allergies going. One last suggestion is to use a pry-bar to remove the tack strips and not a screw driver. It will be much faster and you'll put less scratches in your hardwood.

I have torn up the carpet in two different very large living rooms. One in an apartment and one in a house built in 1924. In both cases, the carpet came up easily and the padding was stapled into the wood floors. I have been successfull with using a flat head screwdriver and a pair of pliers to pull up the staples. BE VERY CAREFULL! Only get the tip of the screwdriver under the staple so that the staple lifts slightly out of the board, then use the pliers and pull straight up on it.

The tack strips are a royal pain. I didn't want to have to refinish my floors due to scratches around the edges from a pry bar, so my handy dandy flat head screwdriver was used along with a hammer. I would place the screwdriver flat on the floor and hammer it towards the wall. *NOT INTO THE FLOORING* Then I would press DOWN on the handle of the screwdriver to raise the tack strip. I placed a piece of cloth on the floor so the hammer didn't scratch it, hooked the tackboard and gave a big pull.

It is long and tedious work, but you could get the entire room done in one day if you work steady. If you have an extra pair of hands, there is no doubt you will be done in one day.

Most trash services don't take this type of bulky item. Sometimes if you call the company, they can have a special pick-up. Otherwise, take the old carpet to the city dump. Should only cost $5-10.

Good Luck!