How brutal are you with chucking things out?

I have bought the book minimalista and I follow Madeline blogs on YouTube and you need to get rid of the guilt (as they say)

just get rid !

There are, they're called food/clothes banks. Nothing in the charity shop mission statement is about providing clothing to those in 'need' . Nothing / zero. They exist solely to raise funds for their particular cause/area of research

I don't sell things, I am conscious about wastefulness though so I give things away on FB, try and pass them on. DD does have some collections of specific toys that I probably will sell on vinted for a low amount when she grows out of them. I would gladly give more stuff to charity shops but they don't seem to want it and the charity bags only ask for clothes. I've got a bag of clothes that aren't fit for reuse that I want to recycle somewhere too. I hate just throwing stuff in the bin

“One in one out” is what we did after clearing the clutter of the early pre school years. It works brilliantly, and we still do it for our own stuff so house is pretty clear of clutter. We still have a loft full of stuff we’ll never use again, but we have a rule that for every item we put up there, we bring down and sell/donatr/throw two items which is working well.

I’ve passed on clothes, toys and equipment as my kids have outgrown them and knew we were not having any more. Anything I haven’t given to friends has been donated to either charity shops or a local low price shop (not directly related to a specific charity).

Once the kids and I did a car boot sale of toys and divvied out the money so they each got an amount and ‘mine’ was used for ice creams, etc. during the summer holidays. It was fun as a one off but not something any of us wanted to repeat.

We are fortunate to not need to sell those things and I do wish (some) people would remember that the wonderful bargains they get are because someone else has paid full price (or sale) at some point and donated it.

If you don’t need the money and/or the toys and clothes aren’t in top condition and branded items, then just take everything safe and sellable to charity shops.

But you can get some good money from selling branded stuff in good condition, ie well known branded toys in complete and boxed condition sell well on eBay as do bundles of clothes from high street brands, ie next or M&S again if good condition. May be worth sorting out the good from the cheap unbranded and put the more worthwhile stuff on eBay.

Any big things may sell on local Facebook groups or eBay local collection, I.e. bikes grown out of, small trampolines and climbing frames, slides,etc.

I am speaking with pretty good authority on this one. 4 kids 6 and under (one delivery pending) the amount of stuff we have managed to amass is frightening.

every 2 months I get a bag and go through the house finding bits of crap, plastic rubbish, broken bits and bin it. “Not high quality” clothes eg primark I donate on local free site as a figure it will do someone as a base wardrobe. “Medium” clothes ie in good condition I donate to charity shops. Anything in really condition (ie labels on) I set aside in a bag under the bed to pop on vinted. Agree with others I’m not piling the kids into the car for £3 so it needs to be worth it.

this last baby is a boy so I have 6 years of girl clothes in my attic. I am going to go through it and get my favourite items of clothing and get it made into a patchwork blanket for her to keep and give everything else away (when we had only one the quality of clothes was much better than it is now!)

I agree with others re the headspace is worth just letting the majority of stuff go. I too had to battle a bit of guilt but realistically the time, effort, car journeys and sheer hassle it takes to sell stuff is an added pressure that I can’t cope with so I view it as doing my family a favour A) by cleaning out and creating a more orderly space for everyone and B) giving others a helping hand.

I really would recommend local free facebooks sites and putting up stuff in bundles also benefit you as people collect

Good luck it’s hard but worth it

Yep depends on the charity and location, customers don't perceive supermarket brands as a bargain/treasure IE got this for £2 but it's only Sainsbury's etc, will probably end up back in charity shop or rag as perceived as low value / disposable. Sad but true

That’s why I was surprised as all our ours nearby are mainly filled with supermarket brands etc! £2-£3 mostly.

Not really, charity shops are under huge pressure to meet targets and supermarket/ Primark is perceived as low value by the customer, the item is taking up a hanger that a higher value/ premium item could be on. It's all about making money. Braced for everyone saying their local charity shop sells Primark for a pound etc but it's the policy of our shop.

Really!? Why not? How odd!

Just donate and be mindful of what comes into the house ongoing/ the money has already been spent, the object has serves it purpose, just let it go.

I know our charity shop can't sell Primark or supermarket clothes, it all goes in the rag anyway

I think at this stage you need to clear the backlog as quickly and efficiently as possible. So that you can then get organized and develop some systems for keeping on top moving forwards.

I agree with others. Unless items are branded clothes don't bring you a lot of money in. Some toys sell some don't. So when am sorting out its always about 3/4 charity and 1/4 put in the to sell drawer.

At the moment i don't sell. There have been times where i did as i was desperate for cash and the desperation meant i made time.
These days i don't list anything worth less then 10quid as its not worth the time. Based on my current situation.

It's so much effort trying to sell on Vinted etc. for relatively little reward and often lots of hassle. You will feel so much better by taking it to the playgroups and charity shops. Just see it as your annual donation to charity and a good way to help and benefit others. The added bonus is you get lots of space back at home and can get everything tidy.

A win win !

Brutal enough that sometimes when I’ve had enough of stuff, I go on a chucking out/tidying spree and then days later end up helping my husband ‘look’ for the items he can’t find anymore.

I’m brutal and we are forever listing stuff on our local “don’t dump it” facebook page.

If we have something genuinely worth selling then we might go to the hassle. But everyday stuff we just want gone and happy to donate, offer to anyone who’ll collect, or dump.

Totally brutal! I used to hang onto things I would sell, but I am honestly SO relieved to see bags of stuff leave the house and loose some clutter I don’t care now and only sell big items! I had a massive declutter before Christmas and it was glorious.

Ask yourself if the clutter is worth the space it's taking up in your mind. I say that as someone that also struggles with decluttering but I always feel so much calmer and able to function when I have a clear space.

I can't be arsed with eBay and Vinted. Such a ball ache and for a pittance too. And all the piles of things and packaging everything and schlepping to the post office constantly. No thanks.

Last year I booked a table at a children's sale at our local high school. I took loads of baby stuff, toys clothes, equipment etc and I think we made nearly £300. Everything that was unsold I took to the charity shop on the way home. I was happy with that. It wasn't all that much effort and £300 is better than a kick in the teeth.

I like to keep the chain of good stuff going at charity going by donating good stuff. I always find something good when I go in.

Also, passing stuff onto friends is great. I’ve bought barely any clothes for DS, then I pass anything good onto the next kid.

If you make £200 a month selling your family's old clothes I can't imagine how much you actually spend buying clothes?

@Icanflyhigh there are companies like Ziffit which will give you a bit of money for DBDs, CDs and books and collect them from your house. I got rid of a dozen boxes of stuff that way before our last move

I'm lucky to have a Yodel drop off/InPost locker 10 mins walk away so I Vinted everything which is still in decent nick. I've made £1000 in the last two years, a lot of which is spent on buying the kids' next size up clothes and shoes via Vinted. We still have way too much stuff. Lots of those little plastic toys which I somehow feel I can't just chuck in the bin. I tried leaving a box of stuff outside the house and some did get taken by other families.