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.)

Ffs I am a charity shop volunteer,I know what I'm talking about!!!

Nobody wants broken toys and half done colouring books, believe me. Who do you suggest spends a day in the phone calling all these rag merchants desperate for broken items? How is volunteer time best spent - processing quality items to sell for decent money or scrabbling around collecting and sorting wee broken bits and pieces to sell for a few pence?

Some people haven't a clue.

So am I, so is my DM. I attended an auction for something that had been brought in but was worth a lot of money for the charity.

The volunteers sort the stuff, the ragged clothes toys etc are put in a bag and he comes round once a week. No phone calls. No hassle.

Not all charity shops can make money from selling rags.

The one my DM used to manage had to pay to have it taken away.

Always worth asking first if they want rags.

Ffs I am a charity shop volunteer,I know what I'm talking about!!!

Ffs, you're not the only charity shop volunteer on here..

I used to be one too, but had the sense to acknowledge that what my charity shop put out Vs what they dumped/sent to rag/scrap was different from what the other charity shop down the road did

And the scrap man takes all sorts of things that you'ld never imagine was any use to anyone. Some charity shops are better at sorting scrap than others. One shop's annoying rubbish is another's worthwhile scrap

I can see people not wanting to bother after reading stuff like this

Obviously feel free to tell us all your wisdom though as we 'haven't got a clue'

Used sanitary towels are always an unexpected bonus.

My charity shop has to pay someone to take the rubbish to the tip btw (and pay the commercial tipping rate which is per van load)

If we put shoes or cds in our wheelie bin it wouldn't get emptied. I thought all areas were really strict on what goes in the bins these days?

All areas have their own laws about rubbish I think. They don't even provide everyone with recycling bins here

Things I want to know whether to donate...

_ odd mugs, mostly 'as new' because given as gifts and not needed.
-- old bedding, towels - is this only any good to a charity shop that takes rags?
_ bits and pieces of kitchenware either not used or little used - baking tins, chocolate-making moulds!

• odd stationery bits like unused (!) pencils and notebooks

And what about Lego sets? We have lots of sets with the models made up and instructions (no boxes) but I couldn't guarantee all the pieces are there. I haven't seen lego models for sale in charity shops. Does it get e-bayed by the charity?

All charities are different - you would be better asking at your preferred one

Ffs I am a charity shop volunteer,I know what I'm talking about!!!

You do realise there are others?

I want to know which charity shop is innundated with huge adult puzzles in 2017.

I'm really surprised there are Rag and Bone men that go round collecting rags and odd bits. Like Steptoe and Son?
Do they do it to make money? I've never encountered anything like that these days .

We haven't got a wheelie bin where I volunteer - we have one of those massive dumpster type commercial bins which we pay to have emptied. Separate commercial dumpster bin for paper/card.

Yes every charity shop is different but the larger chain ones I've worked in just don't have space to keep everything until it's collected once a week. Customers do regularly ask "can you take electricals" or "can you sell old magazines" but the people I'm objecting to are the ones handing the stuff I mentioned in the OP - no "rag man" is going to buy a colouring book with half the pages done or a doll with felt tip all over its face.

I also fail to see how asking people to have a wee bit of common sense would put people off donating - unless of course those are the people with no common sense.

_ odd mugs, mostly 'as new' because given as gifts and not needed.
-- old bedding, towels - is this only any good to a charity shop that takes rags?
_ bits and pieces of kitchenware either not used or little used - baking tins, chocolate-making moulds!

• odd stationery bits like unused (!) pencils and notebooks

Yes to all of those - we don't resell towels but they can go to rags. Bedding as long as it's not stained/too faded. Baking and kitchen ware sells very well, in my experience.

no "rag man" is going to buy a colouring book with half the pages done or a doll with felt tip all over its face.

Thats exactly what the rag man takes

He pays by weight - a certain amount per kilo for each category, e.g. Clothes, bric a brac etc.

I can only speak for my charity as you can only speak for yours.

Please don't hold yourself up as some kind of expert

But that makes no sense. People only buy things that they can sell on. Unless they are paying 20p a tonne for assorted shite in the hope there is one gem among the crap. Storage is also a massive issue for many charities - impossible to keep waste on the off chance it might be worth a few pennies.

I know how it works for our charity. They pay a lot more than 20p a tonne.

Maybe you aren't an authority on all charity shops if you weren't aware of this?

And he takes all of the broken and damaged shjtn

*shit

I can't imagine how the Ragman makes any money.

It must vary greatly depending on the shop and area, Livia
I must admit I'm surprised that you think it's fine for people to donate broken items and unwearable clothes to charity.

Oh FFS - for the hard of understanding, I'm not advocating that people give any old shit. Just that they still get a small amount for it.

And yes it depends on the charity and the area.

I don't know how he makes money as I don't have access to his accounts and his business plan - perhaps I will ask him next time

I would never presume to make out that I'm some sort of expert in all charities though and I certainly wouldn't say 'Ffs I am a charity shop volunteer,I know what I'm talking about!!!'

Chill out Livia, I was genuinely interested.
Glad we're all in agreement that it's best not to give any old shit to charity.

For rags and scruffy clothing, our tip has a bank for cloth, and so do several supermarket car parks round my way, so it's easy to drop a bag of old clothing in when shopping (likewise books, CDs, paper, shoes).

• I use those if I'm in doubt about how saleable things are locally - it either gets recycled, or sent abroad to warzones etc, where people really need anything serviceable.