AIBU to issue a plea on behalf of charity shop volunteers?

[LunaLoveg00d]

We know it's the decluttering season and we know that lots of us are chucking out stuff the kids have grown out of or have got bored of to make way for the new stuff they got over Christmas.

But please, no charity shop wants a jigsaw with bits missing, a colouring book with half the pages scribbled on, a doll which has been given a "haircut" by its previous owner, trainers encrusted in muck, odd socks or cushion covers which someone has spilled red wine over.

Just CHUCK THE BROKEN AND MINGING STUFF IN THE BIN - if it's not good enough to be in your house any more, why would you think it would be good enough for other people's??

(Frazzled after a morning trying to sort out the lovely, quality donations from the post-Christmas crap.)

We always say thank you for donations (and usually wait until they've left before sorting through as usually people stay to browse after donating) except for when its stuff that really belongs in the bin, in which case we decline the donation but we say why but that rarely happens as most donations don't get sorted until after they've left (some get left on the porch overnight which is covered so we don't mind that)

Second-hand clothes which are sold on to traders who sell them in African markets are vital for large numbers of those local populations, as they simply cannot afford to buy new, locally produced textiles.

We have a red wheelie bin from British heart foundation at work. When it is full of donations they collect. If you are struggling to drop off when shop is open due to work hours maybe see if you can get ok for a bin at work.

I see this thread made it to the daily fail... sigh

Bellends. Have they really got so fucking little real news that they have to use threads like this?!

I've always popped into the CS first to ask if they're accepting donations of x, y or z, before struggling in with armfuls of stuff they don't want.
Sometimes they'all offer to help you carry it in once they've finished serving a customer, or ask you to wait a moment while they find a space to put it.
I'm not driving at the moment, so am at the mercy of hoping the rag men don't steal the donations I'll be leaving out for the (legit) charity collection next week, as they'll happily dive in bins on bin days 'looking for scrap metal'

This would actually make an interesting subject for a bit of longform journalism, with proper research, Whisky - it's the fact that the tabloids just literally cut-and-paste the threads. I wouldn't mind if they took the basic idea as a starting point and ran with it...

Luna

And wash clothes FGS

Totally agree with that Katherina, it's all very lazy with no real thought or research added.

Had a look at the Daily Mail article about this thread.

The really frustrating thing is, they could have expanded this into a really useful and informative article by say, talking to some charities about what kind of donations are most appreciated, or by giving some pointers and advice on what how to find out which charities accept things that might be harder for a typical high street charity shop to use, like glasses, bras, fur coats, towels, to give a few examples from this thread.

Instead it's all "look, these mumsnet posters who volunteer in charity shops found dildos and dirty nappies and get wound up about jigsaws with missing pieces!"

Lazy journalism for sure. Agree that they could have done some PROPER WRITING and spoken to the head office staff at several charities of differing sizes etc etc. But that takes effort.

All ow me to point you in the direction of the Show Flannel thread.

If we all pretend to have Tourette's, the DM might leave us alone?

Or allow me? I preview these fucking posts and all.......

gingernaut I am - arseweasel - helpless at my desk, giggling. Thank you. Fuckbucket.

The OP was obviously too fucking polite. In the future I will drop in a few fucking swearwords to annoy the bastarding staff at the Daily Mail who have nothing better to do that sit on Mumsnet.

I thought "daily mail" ARE a swear words on MN??

(Stray 'a' there)

My friend works in a charity shop and once got "donated" a whole box of sex toys including butt plugs. grim

Oh once a little porcelain figurine of a man with a massive cock

I am very fond of my new swear word coined for the Show Flannel thread: "fuckmaily".

Also thanks to people who pointed out that charity shops actually like 70s crockery as people actually buy it - dailyarsemailweasels. I shall stop kindly keeping the eyesores inherited from ILs, having been under the impression no-one would ever want it!

I volunteer in a charity shop I've come across some disgusting donations a handbag with vomit in was the worst

Putting in swear words won't deter the Daily Mail - they will just edit them out.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

Nah, those fuckwits just copy and paste. It would make the shitty screen shots of the posts rather interesting though...

Although, there's a name on the article this time! Usually it's 'Daily Mail Journalist', but this time the writer was proud enough to include their name!

@Boiled Sprouts, I think women's refuges are good places to donate tried and not liked toiletries and make-up. Obviously not roll on deodorants with curly armpit hair.

I know somebody who works in a charity shop abroad, and people actually haggle over the prices. She just nods, smiles, gets bored and walks away...