to think “decluttering” isn’t actually that simple if you want to dispose responsibly?

Our local tip is brilliant and takes pretty much anything. We often have charity bags put through the letterbox that will take clothes, unused toiletries, books, bric a brac. Old books I’ll just put in with the paper recycling. Loads of places will take old batteries, my corner shop does.
I love a good declutter although these days I’m very frugal with what I buy. I don’t buy anything I don’t really need and I mainly buy secondhand.

If it's stressful and stopping you from de -cluttering then just bin everything you can't get rid of easily. I recommend you read Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K White. She writes about how this issue can cause your declutter progress to stall.

You mentioned unused bedding and piles of "good stuff". If you've got piles of things to dispose of that aren't worn out, yes, that's over consumption.

My local tip will recycle any electrical items, batteries, clothes, books, or used but good items they’ll take for the reuse shop on site. I think maybe it depends on your area? When you get to the tip you have to separate all of the items which can be a bit of a logistical pain, but its much better for the environment.

It's a pain where we live. The tip has good recycling facilities but is miles away and we don't drive. Charity shops where we live are super picky. I have managed to give some things away, selling takes ages and is a lot of work. What has worked well is that we live near a food bank distribution spot and if it's a nice day I'll pop some giveaways outside with some carrier bags alongside. Whether people take things for themselves or to sell on and make a few quid, I don't care. It's off my hands.

I agree it's hard, especially if you don't drive. But like others I recommend Anglo Doorstep Collections, who can take the bulk of things.

I’ve been slowly decluttering my flat and getting rid of things ethically has been a real problem. You need an appointment to take things to our local tip and the waiting time can be a few weeks. Which is a real pain when you’ve got nowhere to store things in the meantime!

I had a doorstep collection from Anglo and have sold a few bits on Vinted but still have another two boxes of item to list. I’ve also got some nice pieces of furniture I don’t need any more so have advertised them for sale.

It has however made me realise that I need to be far more mindful of what I bring into my home going forward.

To be honest, if you've got to the clutter stage, you've almost certainly done the environmental damage in over consumption. Being all concerned about being environmentally responsible now seems largely like another excuse not to get on with it.

Not really. We've de-cluttered our own home, DH's office (self employed) and also the respective homes of our late mothers' after their deaths. On each occasion, we just made "piles" of stuff segregated into "tip", "charity", "ebay", "keep" and the "tip" broken down into each category of recycling. If you make the decision as to which pile it's going into when you work through rooms/cupboards/wardrobes/drawers, etc., and only "touch it once" it becomes a lot quicker/simpler. Of course, you also have to stick with your original choice so you don't waste time and headspace going through piles a second/third time!

I know what you mean. We only have a small wheelie bin which gets collected fortnightly so putting stuff in the bin is no solution either as it gets full too quickly. We have a recycling centre nearby that takes some stuff but you have to figure out what they will and won’t take… I have a bag of fabric recycling (threadbare sheets etc) that’s been sitting in my bedroom for weeks!

Yes I was thinking about taking it to John Lewis, but I don’t drive, so it would be a bus or train journey with a huge bag of electrical stuff. Also, I shop online and probably only go shopping in the city once or twice a year, so it’s a massive faff. I think there should be more local recycling points for electrical items.

Agree, spent the last week decluttering
and it’s a longer process than anticipated. Checking electric toys work, posting things on olio and messaging people, finding boxes
and bags to pack things in. I did have an Anglo collection this morning, they take many items including small electricals. Absolute godsend and very reliable. Then baby bank tomorrow and rest will be tip unfortunately.

I don't find it simple. I think it's a long process, and it's filled with shame, which is just made harder by people acting like it's easy.

Our bin men take batteries. The recycling centre also has a Reuse shop, where they will look over what you've brought in and dispose of stuff they can't sell.

Yes, but by not doing it you're just saving the problem for another day or for someone to deal with once you're dead. What would your family do with all the stuff once you're gone? Do that, it will happen eventually anyway.

The time to be environmentally concerned was when acquiring all this stuff in the first place. Make sure you don't do it again!

Re the electrical recycling - the tip /recycling centre has easy to use, well signed, allocated recycling for these things and more. They often keep working things to one side for charity / reselling.

Supermarkets have little bins for spent batteries and water filters, so they are easy to drop off when you are next in.

I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill, tbh, unless there is a transport or mobility issue at play.

I agree - it’s difficult.
DH ‘sells’ stuff on eBay - for pennies, often, but reasons that this way the person who gets it does want it. I can’t bear doing that.
Ive used freecycle, freegle and Olio a lot. Sometimes FB marketplace and groups. NextDoor. Preloved. Gumtree.
but it’s tiiiiiiiimeconsuming.

You can take electrical recycling to any shop which sells electrical items, they have to take them even if they didn't sell them. I take mine to John Lewis, where they have an electricals recycling point at the customer collections place.

I used Icollectclothes in the past they took all electronics, clothes and even some sports equipment. I did confirm with them in advance and they were happy with everything on the list.

Our local council tip takes it all in the appropriate place and recycles what they can.

Agree. I always have batteries lying around. Do food shop online so very rarely go to the supermarket (or to any shop in fact). Also have a big bag of electrical stuff in the garage waiting to be recycled. I wish there were more recycling points for stuff like this.

Its such a pain in the arse to recycle (esp if you don’t drive) that lots of people just chuck it in the bin.

I know where you are coming from.

I don't mind the sorting into piles, it's then facing the piles that I can't immediately get rid of that I find harder.

We are lucky as we have 2 charity shops near us that you can park outside. However they vet everything and have limits on stuff that change from week to week, so you can never know if they're going to take what you've packed up. I do understand their need to gatekeep but it doesn't help the getting rid attempt.

We also have local charities that you can book a house collection with. I find this motivating as if they're coming I can ask all the dc to make use of the opportunity.

We have a few places nearby that you can take things too to avoid landfill. They took loads from me when I cleared the garage out in the summer. Our local tips also have shops where they sell and salvage decent stuff.

Social media can be useful if you're getting rid of stuff that would be useful for hobbies etc or craft stuff. People will often come and collect it.

It's all time and space consuming though and it would definitely be easier to bin everything!