to feel the rage with FIL?!

[springbabydays]

He would rather throw out perfectly good stuff than take it to a charity shop. Even furniture. It's such a hideous waste!

They'll put bags of clothes out for collectors, but if they're not collected they'll go in the bin instead.

I keep thinking of the good that could be doing in bringing much needed funds to a charity, and the amount of stuff going needlessly into landfill. It's not that he won't make the trip, it's that he'd rather go to the tip than go in a charity shop.

Makes me so angry. He's lovely in many other ways, but this is really giving me the rage!

Yes I could offer to take it for them, but I already have too much on my plate with a young family. And anyway, why should I have to? He has no good reason to be like this, apart from I assume some kind of allergy to charity shops

Have you told him how you feel? I would feel the same way as you, I hate waste.

Either act or find somewhere else to channel your surplus energy. His stuff isn't it?

Yanbu but it is what it is.

I hate charity shops.

The ones around here overcharge MASSIVELY. £4 for a paperback with a £5.99 price on the back or £5 for a top from Tesco which would've cost around £6.

They've lost their way.

I'm curious, why is it any of your business how another person disposes of things. There are several charity shops I feel unable to support, locally we can sell waste clothes so I prefer to do that and give the money to a charity of my choice. I also get very annoyed when I see some charity shops charging so much for donated items, I won't buy anything from them.

I think it's a bit odd to get that angry over someone else's stuff. I get the waste issue, but your FIL is allowed to do what he wants with his own belongings, he doesn't have to provide a reason that you find acceptable.

Yes I know it's his stuff so up to him etc. Yes I've told him how I feel.

I work in the charity sector so maybe I'm feeling more sensitive about it than I would be otherwise.

But then, the effect of waste on the planet should be all of our business really, shouldn't it?

I think given how rageful this makes you then maybe you should take some time out of your busy schedule and take his stuff for him (or get hubby to do it)

How would he feel about putting it on Freecycle and people just turning up and taking it away?

Oh butt out.

You could say that about anything though. Are we all entitled to get angry with each other because of the amount of car journeys they do, or the number of children they have, or the temperature they have their heating at. It all has an effect on the environment.

If you can't be bothered to take it to a charity shop you can hardly object that he also cannot be bothered!

I wish I had so little to worry about that I could afford the luxury of thinking and raging on how my FiL disposed of his own belongings.

OP, if I tell you that I don't use my green bin except for gardening waste because I refuse to have my kitchen littered with yet another waste bin will you get the rage with me? Or that I recently threw out half a dozen usable plates and dishes, a colander and god knows how much other junk which could have gone to a charity shop had I wished to store it for weeks until it was collected?

I'm interested to see how angry you can get about the lifestyle choices of other people.

I have suggested the larger shops which will pick up furniture but this falls on deaf ears unfortunately. Sometimes he puts things out the front to give away but these have a strict time limit.

I honestly am too busy to take it for them, but I understand those who are suggesting it because that's probably what I'd say to someone with this problem. I wish I could squeeze it in between work/bringing up baby/renovating a house/trying to have a mini social life. These people are retired, it would be so easy for them!!

Anyway yes it gives me rage but I have alleviated that somewhat by venting here. Thanks for listening MN.

I don't take much to the charity shop either. I have a very busy life and a house full of "stuff" so I periodically hire a skip and dump it all in there.

Yanbu. I agree with pp that how we treat our planet is everyone's business. I think behaving in this way is morally wrong. It's hard to know whether trying to talk to him about it is advisable without knowing what your relationship with him is like.

I'm really surprised that people here are complaining that charity shops charge too much. They are trying to make money for charity! Also buying second hand is a good use of the planet's resources.

Chill out George, I don't know you! Your situation is probably very different from theirs.

In all fairness I would rather give stuff away to any one and send it to them in a cab i paid for nowadays than donate it to the vast majority of charity shops.

Actually if I couldn't find someone to give it to I would rather set it on fire

Seriously fairyfuckwings? I have never ever thrown anything away that can be reused. I either take it to the charity shop or put it on freecycle. I collect things to take to the charity shop until it's worth trip or take things to a charity shop near work. I just couldn't bear the thought of putting things into landfill unnecessarily. It would really weigh on my mind.

I've stopped taking stuff to charity shops as it's now too awkward and I have to pay to park so I put all clothing in the clothing recycling bins.

The thing is with that impotent rage is that there's nowhere for it to go so it's pointless to feel it. If anyone was any sort of environmentalist we should all be feeling that impotent rage over flying and towards people who fly every week.

I think we're in the minority here Anti. This has actually really depressed me.