Wardrobe Sort Out....charity shop or textile bin??!

[Blankspace4]

Right...I need a much needed ‘spring clean’. A couple of years ago I got into the habit of switching my S/S and A/W clothes twice a year (stuff goes in vac pack bags under bed). However, I seem to be very good at accumulating new clothes 😬 and not very good at getting rid of stuff.

Read so many features on Marie Kondo and stuff ‘sparking joy’ (which does make me roll eyes a bit tbh....) but she does have a point - I am most likely a wear 30% of wardrobe 70% of the time person.

What often puts me off is inertia over the clothes I’m ready to get rid of. I struggle to know what is ‘charity shop-able’ and what should just go to the textile bin.

I earn fairly well so got decent upper end high street items ready to go (Reiss, banana republic, jigsaw etc) as well as standard high st (oasis, warehouse etc).

I’m also put off by the fact I went to drop two big bags of stuff off to a charity shop once and they actually turned me away saying they didn’t accept donations on a Sunday (I work long hours during the week).

I don’t want to do the sorting and then just be left with bags / bin bags that never go anywhere (realised I’ve already got two in cupboard under stairs!)

What do you do when sorting out and do you think the being turned away is a one off that shouldn’t put me off?

Large charity shops will always want stuff. The fussy ones are the small ones which don't have much storage space. Usually they will take bags of textiles for rags too, especially if labelled as such. I have gone to my local one with bags of clothes to sell, ones for rags, and a bag of DP's old clothes he thought were saleable but I suspected wouldnt be - assistant said they got a lot of those and let the homeless centre take whatever they wanted as it got unsellable items out of the way faster.

If you want to be sure, phone in advance.

I think you are overthinking this!

Anything that is in decent wearable condition, no matter the brand, goes to the charity shop. If they deem it not worth selling in the shop they will sell it as rags and still get money that way.

Most charity shops will accept donations whenever they are open, but you could just phone ahead and check.
Alternatively do you get the sacks put through your door for collection? Just father your stuff and keep it until you next get one of those sacks and it'll be taken for you within a couple of days (I get the sacks about once a week so this is easy for me, but probably not efficient if you only get them once in a blue moon)

I'd take it all cash for clothes if it's in decent condition. The stuff that they don't want goes in the clothes bin at the local recycling site.

@Icedlatte you’re right - there’s every chance I’m over thinking this - classic procrastination!

Thanks for the advice both.

There are actually several charity shops on my local high st so if I keep it to a couple of bags (got to start somewhere!) there’s a plan b (and c!) if I’m turned away!

Can you drop stuff off on a week day morning before work? You aren't supposed to leave stuff outside but if it's dry and only a few hours before they open...

Charity shop. If you take is directly to the charity they benefit 100%. All these other clothes collection companies only give a small percentage to charities.

Fortunately for me one of the local charities has a warehouse a couple of miles away so I can drop everything off there without any hassle about parking.

Definitely overthinking it, wearable stuff to charity, anything with holes or rips to clothing bank.

Do you get charity bags through the door? No one in my area would ever need to take anything to a shop, we gets bags all the time.

Don't put bags on the doorstep. They are often pinched by less...err...honourable parties and the charity gets zilch. Or maybe I just live in a dodgy area!

Charity shop every time.

Not had any charity bags in ages actually.....

I would rather give directly to the shop rather than receive cash for it or someone else profiteer

Many recycling centres have 'clothes bins' where you can put all clothes in there and they decide what is charity shoppable and what is only fit for recycling, so you don't have to worry about what the cut off is.

As well as at the tip, these bins are also present in other places such as at the supermarket, and in villages/neighbourhoods.

Take it to a womens refuge

If the clothes are in good condition, still wearable and don't require repairs, then it's he charity shop.

If the clothes require minor repairs, charity shop.

If the style is 'wrong', but the clothes are in otherwise good condition, then charity shop - let someone else decide what they like.

If the clothes are beyond repair but clean, then put them in a 'rag bag'.

A lot of charity shops are happy to take rags, as long as they are clean and labelled as 'RAGS'.

Some people like to take scraps for nurseries, schools, patchworking or repairs to their own clothes - good quality fabrics (denim, silk, linen etc) could be labelled as such before giving them to the shop.

Can you drop stuff off on a week day morning before work? You aren't supposed to leave stuff outside but if it's dry and only a few hours before they open...

No. This is really irresponsible. Someone will have broken into the bag before you know it, and even if they don't, many chariry shops have a policy that they have to throw away anything that's dumped outside, even if it doesn't look damaged, and it costs them money to do so. Loads of charity shops have signs in the window saying not to do it, and yet people still do it anyway. Completely irresponsible.

@Blankspace4 I have had this very issue this week. Last time I went to the charity shop with donations they were really quite huffy with me until I said it was mainly children's clothes, then they were a bit more friendly. It has put me off though.

I went again this week but I chose one a bit more off the beaten track and they were really nice. I have used cash 4 clothes as well in the past with stuff that is quite worn l. Lucky if I get a few pounds for it but at least it isn't in my house any more.

I took everything to the tip/recycling centre when I moved house. I'd been putting it off and got bags and bags of stuff that was out of fashion and god knows who would have wanted what.

The tip takes textiles / clothes and paired shoes and sorts them appropriately. It was a relief to get shot of it tbh and not have to think about how I was going to get it from the car to the charity shop and how one shop wouldn't want all of the bags etc etc etc.

I was having a bit of a tough time mentally, and it was a case of doing the easiest and most efficient thing tbh.

Thanks all.

To get started with it all, I filled one large carrier bag (it was pretty packed full tbh - one of those big Next carriers) and took it straight to the High st before I had time to procrastinate. I couldn’t remember off-hand what charity shops there were (aside from there being quite a few!) but the first one I came too was the local hospital charity and they were super friendly. They even had a form for gift aid so presumably they track donations and let me know what’s sold and what they’ve made (which actually excites me a little bit - know that’s probably weird!)

I know I probably have at least another 4 or 5 bags of that size I could fill but it feels good to have made a start!

Got a bin bag going for ‘scrap’ too (thinking cheapy Primark T-shirts which are bobbled after a few washes and probably couldn’t even be sold for a pound). Last time I went to the clothing bank it was full so I need to research a back up before I go, otherwise I end up driving round with the clothes in the boot of my car for weeks 🙈