To ask if any charities will take second hand household items?

[that1970shouse]

I'm clearing a relative's house and it seems awful to send things like crockery, cutlery, pans etc. to landfill. I've contacted a local group who work with refugees and they only want donations of cash or new items not second hand.

Do you know any organisations who will take them? I mean definitely know, not "why don't you try x" - I've only got this week to clear the place so I don't have time for any wild goose chases.

Furniture is all sorted except beds; how do I dispose of those?

Sorry posted too soon. Also sell household items.

@Mrsjayy I think it's a disgrace, I can't imagine any refugees turning their nose up at good quality second hand items after all they have been through. Sounds like the charity after being a bit money grabbing.

BHF
Emmaus
Olio (app)
Freecycle

@Bbq1 but second hand cast offs are fine for our own homeless ????

It's likely that the refugee charity doesn't have the space or the staff/volunteers for lots of second hand stuff but do want to provide a consistent package for refugees setting up home which is why cash is needed. It's not a case of being ungrateful.

We’ve just been through this, this is what we did and cleared a 3 bed house:
Asked around friends and family - some wanted the office furniture and conservative stuff
Did multiple charity shop runs for ornaments, mirrors, wall pictures, hand bags etc
Contacted a charity relating to food banks and they took all clothes in one go to resell either in their shop or provide clothes, shoes and coats for interviews fir unemployed people.
Local face book ‘gifting’ site, ie giving away for free for books, Cd’s, smaller furniture has been excellent.
Large builders skip or tip for things broken or used beyond redemption.

I recently used a house clearance company, who made no charge, as they get their money from selling what they can. They literally came and cleared the whole house, furniture, kitchen, inc. white goods, books, linens, beds, the lot. The left over things, those things they can't sell, like clothes and crockery, goes to the local hospice for sale in their shops, which the clearance company support. I thought this a fantastic solution.

We have a homeless charity that takes things like this to set up those who will have a home and a new start. Maybe post something on a local FB site asking where’s best?

Posted too soon. I had originally begun to sort out individual charities, like strawb, but it became too much hassle, so doing it all in one hit, was the way to go.

[quote DeletedByAccident]@PinkiOcelot refugees have left their whole life behind. I imagine it would then be pretty soul destroying to go through all that and then be given some privileged persons cast offs tbh so I can understand them only requesting new.[/quote]
Just when I think that I've seen the most inane post possible on MN, I see another post that plumbs the depths.

Yes, how very dare charities give refugees second-hand items. They should go out and buy new items, preferably from solidly middle-class shops so that refugees don't feel disadvantaged in respect to privileged people.

The issue was not just good quality second hand clothes are given & many charity shops are not only given unwearable clothes but also unwashed ones & they have to & do sort these out into rags for recycling & clothes to put on sale. The refugee charity groups may not have the wherewithal/staff to recycle unwearable rubbish - what they need is stuff that can be donated & used straight away because they have urgent need. These refugee charities may not have washing machines to wash clothes
Not against ops desire to recycle as stated elsewhere there are particular charities who will take good clean wearable clothes
One thing charity shops do apparently is to wash a lot of the stuff they get before they put it on sale & sort out the unusable for either dumping (sadly they do get things that are that bad) or recycling elsewhere.
Not every charity wants or uses the same things

I would ask around family and friends and offer them a chance to look around and take any useful items. Does anyone do regular car boot sales - they may take a lot of items? Facebook or Free cycle sites might also help to clear items quickly.
It is a big task - it might be useful to go into your local charity shops and ask them if they would come and have a look and collect items. All clothes can be bagged and recycled and most charity shops have a way of organising these to be collected.

[quote lollipoprainbow]@Bbq1 but second hand cast offs are fine for our own homeless ???? [/quote]
No they aren't, not necessarily.

If you are in Calderdale OP the Overgate Hospice have a few charity shops and may be able to collect larger items. There is also a shop attached to the recycling centre in Brighouse that accepts secondhand items for resale. They take most things but not electrical items, which would have to go into the appropriate skip. Hope you get it all sorted.

There's very little I haven't managed to get rid of on Facebook. If you group similar things "box of kitchen ware" " big box of garden tools" they are more attractive, especially anything vintage.
I volunteer with a clothing charity. We are inundated with donations, at least half of which are only fit for rags i e. torn/stained, dirty or damp smelling, or very obviously worn out, bobbly, shrunk. They do get a small income from the rag bags though. The good condition pre worn items get sorted for passing on. It's difficult because many clothes now are such poor quality they aren't much use to anyone second hand.

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions. Family and friends (including a niece going to uni) have already had their pick. Valuables have gone to auction. Facebook and Freecycle etc. are not feasible because I only have a week to get everything cleared. I live some distance away and I have other commitments too.

I've made contact with a different refugee organisation today, through a church, and they will take second hand items so I'm happy about that. Then I think I will have to pay a house clearance company to do the rest.

This place is like a parallel universe. I’ve seen plenty of posts on here suggesting to peoples that they look on Freecycle or trawl the charity shops to furnish their homes, but to some suggesting that refugees can take second hand stuff is like saying they should be hung drawn and quartered.

Not all second hand stuff is junk. And, I would have thought that to the refugees who had probably left with very few belongings and the clothes on their backs, would appreciate it. I would have thought being able to live in peace without the threats on them would have been enough.

Some people on here are just ridiculous.

Not all second hand stuff is junk
I agree. I would rather have second hand for example Le Creuset than new cheaply made stuff.
We’ve got plenty of excellent quality second hand kitchen utensils from charity shops.

I would take a few photos of the piles of stuff and post them on Facebook (market place and local area groups. Type in your postcode to the search bar to find a group near you), shpock, vinted, olio, karrot and others. I know its a bit of a job making new accounts but when I moved out I spent ages without basic things because I couldn't afford new and charity shops were picking than I was. I hadn't even heard of online buying except bidding on ebay which I couldn't afford because of shipping or posting costs. Now I buy everything I can secondhand from places like this. You would be surprised what people buy. Especially as people are becoming more environmentally aware.
You may make some money but list things cheap. People will come for a bargain.
Also if you drive, offer delivery for a couple of quid extra when you list things. Its very easy to get rid of things these days.

Our local refugee hub is taking second hand clothing and shoes, excluding underwear and socks which is totally understandable, I don’t think everywhere requires brand new everything, but used goods have to be clean and in vgc.

The local Lions Club have a Community Store for homeless people moving into accommodation so take nearly anything household, including towels and bed linen. It might be worth asking if you have anything similar local to you OP. People are referred to ours so the Citizens Advice Bureau might know.

@AlfonsoTheMango considering they have fled from an horrendous situation I can't imagine many refugees holding their hands up in horror at being offered a second hand frying pan tbh!

@Andante57

Not all second hand stuff is junk I agree. I would rather have second hand for example Le Creuset than new cheaply made stuff. We’ve got plenty of excellent quality second hand kitchen utensils from charity shops.

Exactly - pretty much all our living room, dining room and bedroom furniture is second hand apart from 2 double beds (one we brought with us and one we bought as needed to furnish 2 double bedrooms). Even the twins bedroom furniture was mostly secondhand - all of it excellent condition and saved us an awful lot of expense on top of relocating to a different part of the country. Plus the money spent has gone to charities such as local hospice and British Heart Foundation

Emmaus? emmaus.org.uk/

Our recycling centres have a separate shed on site for items (inc. furniture) that have life left.

They sell it on but also people like care leavers & refuges get given vouchers to and purchase items when they're setting up home with nothing. They also run groups for people with social care needs to learn how to restore furniture, do upholstery or repair bikes etc. Do find out if your council does anything similar.

Might be worth trying Freegle/Freecycle, lots of requests for any household items on them in my locality for people setting up first homes or students going to Uni.
If you are going to be in the house, you won't need to hang around for people to collect.