The hardest part of decluttering is getting stuff OUT of the house

[GingerWineIsGood]

Seems a waste not to try to sell some things. Want to avoid landfill. Charity shops near me aren’t taking at the moment (after Christmas and New year].

Somethings need washing first (clothes from the back of the cupboard) before sending to the clothing bank.

Electrical things need to be taken to a recycling point.

I use a company called Anglo Collections and they collect from your doorstep and they sell items abroad and donate profits to charity. I need to book in another one soon.

I don’t know if they cover the whole country though. Some charity shops will collect from your door as well.

I got rid of 15 bags of clothes and books in 2 collections in the past 3 months.

I sell a few bits onVinted and give some bits away on a “free” page for our area that I started on Facebook

https://www.bhf.org.uk/shop/donating-goods/book-furniture-collection-near-me

If you are doing a massive -change my life- declutter, then I think a skip - as expensive as it is - is the only way to get as much of the crap out of the house as you can before you lose momentum and the house caves in on you again.

If this is just the low level, maintaining an uncluttered house, then a tip run once a season usually lets you get everything to the right recycling place in one shot and without fuss.

Unless you are very disciplined or skint, then relying on selling things to keep a house uncluttered is usually a fast track to it'll never happen procrastination.

I've booked a date for Anglo collections later this month. I've got so many books, DVDs & toys that need to go, I just need to bag them up & they will collect the lot.

Would women & children's and homeless people's refuges welcome books, clothes, household things?

Nursing homes might like books, dvds.

Animal shelters can always use towels and sheets for bedding.

Sell or give away big bulky space takers on Facebook marketplace (I sold a big old fashioned food mixer to a young couple who'd started a cake making business and loved the chunky reliability of the old type!). But bitty little things are probably not worth the hassle.

Investigate your local amenity tip. Ours has a charity shop attached, and bays for electrical, garden, chemical waste - all kinds of stuff as a one-stop. If you don't have a car, could you and some friends get all your stuff together and the one with the car drive you all there in return for lunch?

Oh I also bought some stacking crates at Argos to contain the "to sell" or "to donate" stuff. Better thsb lots of bags sat around.

Currys take lots of old electrical items -and any with value /working I have traded in at cex.

Have you got a Dunelm near you? Most have a clothes donation bin. Some take used home ware too. Their website will let you know what they take.

I take all electrical to Currys. Places like B & Q take light bulbs.

For books, look at ziffit or music magpie. I think music magpie take things like Lego, CDs and dvds too. You won't make a lot of money but it's out of the house. I have a collection waiting to go. Getting it picked up. So I don't even have to leave the house.

Everything you get rid of has already cost you money. You'll save money by not bringing stuff back in! Be ruthless on what you spend your money on.

I’m towards the end of decluttering my house. I really see that the end is in sight.

Every single room (not the teens'…) is feeling clearer and I can see that most things have a place - just trying to make sure everything has.

This means that all the things I’m cleaning now are the last of me decluttering- so those in the best condition or the more loved (but not enough to keep - children’s books when I have teens etc).

Weirdly, as I've got nearer the end, some areas feel more cluttered than they did when I was climbing over things to get to them. Probably because it’s easier to see the mess now… I’m having another big decluttering push for the new year.

I think is less about money and more about sentimentality. These are the items that I have kept to the end. Not saying I don’t want to make some money! Just that I can’t bear just to send them places where they don’t matter.

There are loads of community bookcases now - Tesco has one and there are at least two at work one in the office and one in the canteen.
Also one near my daughter's school.

I also recommend Anglo doorstep collections, they took 4 big bags of books for me before Christmas. I was so impressed, they let me know to the minute when they were coming. I usually take stuff to charity shops and always have a bag on the go to fill up and take but it can be an arse when bags are heavy/parking or they're not taking donations that day /don't want certain items that day etc

I use several methods.

• Single items, especially largish ones - if they're worth selling, they go on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. If they don't sell and I really want rid, I then offer them for free. If they're not worth much, I offer them for free on our local Facebook group - you'd be surprised what people want. Even if it's partly broken, I advertise it honestly and often find someone with a use for it
• Holey or worn clothes - go in a bag to the charity shop, marked as rags. Most seem to take them (I didn't realise this for years and used to chuck them in the bin).
• Random stuff - as long as I think it's saleable, I put it to one side and when I've got a bag or two I take it to a charity shop. My nearest one gets very full, I think partly because they have their own car park, and perhaps because they take pretty much anything, but I've recently discovered they have a Facebook page where they tell you when they're full up, which saves a trip. There are other charity shops I can use, but they're a drive away.
• Useless stuff - council tip

I'm still pondering though what to do with the slightly-used tin of paint that no one seems to want, and we're no longer allowed to put in landfill or take to the recycling centre without filling it with cat litter etc., which I don't possess...

It's neverending though. DD just cleared out about 4 bags to the charity shop, and filled our recycling bin, and her room looks pretty much the same!

If you have a national trust property near you, then they might be happy to take your books for their second hand book shop. I offloaded a lot of children's books recently by doing that.

I appreciate that's yet another trip to make somewhere, though, so it doesn't really fit the criteria of making it easier to declutter.

Books - Ziffit app or Oxfam bookshop
Clothes - sell on eBay, swap with friends, donate to local refugee support network or bag up and put in rag bin
Electricals - recycle (my council take them if you leave on top of the recycling bin) or give away on Olio
Random items - Olio if significant or I just leave on my front wall and they magically disappear- this is good for small things like plant pots etc
I love decluttering - it's very cathartic.

January isn't the easiest decluttering month. Kids clothes and toys are easy to get rid of before Christmas. I gave so much to two of kids school fairs. I noticed our village metal clothing bank is overflowing too.

Have you got a local book swap phone box? My charity shop wants clothes in season so I try to go through winter things in Sept etc.

If all else fails our tip takes everything and its all reused if it can be. There clothes and book bins and a reuse shop

I put full carrier bags into the boot of the car and when I am going to or passing a charity shop they get donated. They are at least out of the house.

I do also do seasonal donating, so it will be winter/keep fit items this month.

I put clothes in the supermarket clothes recycling bin, I pop a couple of bags in there when I go to the shops, Small reasonable non clothing items go in the bags that come through the letterbox, they often list stuff like bric a brac, unwanted gifts on them. We have taken books to the National Trust.

Another vote for Anglo Collections, I book them most months so I have to declutter and fill a couple of bags or boxes for them. Very reliable, email to say they are almost at your door, I give clothes, toys, books, household items, etc. You can choose which charity to donate to from their list.

I have a specific process with decluttering. First of all it goes in a bag or a box in the hall and lives there for little while. When I get fed up of falling over it, or I'm expecting guests, it is then moved into the car. At that point it lives there for a while until I need extra space in my car for something else or it is going into the garage or something. At that point I take it to the charity shop or tip as appropriate.

As far as charity shop collection is concerned, in my area they are extremely fussy about what furniture or white goods they will take. They have to be pristine and they won't even consider furniture that is a little more shabby but would be good for an upcycler. (As an aside, I found a local person on Facebook who upcycled furniture who was delighted with the charity shop rejects left in my garage.)

However, in our area British Heart Foundation (and only them) will collect if you have a lot of non-furniture to donate, including clothes, bric a brac, books, etc. You organise it by calling one of the shops. It's brilliant if you have a very big clear out.

Re Vinted, shoes and jumpers are the most sought out things currently, I find, never had those up for long. I put an extra long cable knit roll neck up last night, it sold within 2 hours, same for a pair of BDG puddle jeans. Newly uploaded stuff is seen on there first so worth uploading an item or two, plus then you’ll get other stuff seen, I’m sure most people look to create bundles given you only pay one lot of postage if you do that.

Yes, this, in the past we have bought more storage for it, so wasting more money and filling the house even more. We don't do that any more.

I have a lot of those plastic crates taking space in the Summer house, intending them to go to the tip.
I also have loads of shoes and bags to sell but never thought of your idea. So thanks for that.

I offload a lot via Freecycle and Buy Nothing.
People will even take bin bags of clothing.

Veterinarians usually will take old towels, blankets and sheets.

It's £17 for our Council to take a bulky item such as a mattress. Even if you could transport one, the regular tip wouldn't accept it.
This is why they end up in alley ways which costs the council even more to clear up.