Stuff is too hard to get rid of

[Clutterbusting]

I want to be free of my stuff. I’m drowning in it. My house is a mess and all that happens when I have a sort out is it gets moved about. I spend money on storage solutions when I need to just get rid.
I want to but where to? Charity shops are picky and I have A LOT to shift. Selling takes too long and I can’t be wasteful so a skip is out. What can I do?
AIBU to think this is just too hard?

I’m a hoarder.

There. I’ve said it.

Have you got any charity bins near you where you could sort and take it to.
Is it nik naks more than clothes?
Have you tried to write a list to do it in more sections and settling a half hour timer helps too.

Can you put bits outside on a dry day with a free to take sign and bring them back in if still there at night?

Is most of it good enough for charity shops? If so I'd drop it off at a few different ones. I tend to do it in one go, even if it means driving to more than one shop. But I live in a city with loads of charity shops.

If it's not good enough, divide it into groups as much as you can so a bag of women's clothes, list it on local Facebook. It's too much hassle listing single items for free or v low price.

You can be ‘wasteful.’

You can get a skip.

You should get a skip.

Saying you can’t, is yet another excuse to hang on to all the old crap.

I've never had anything refused ar a charity shop. What kind of thing are they refusing? I give things away on Facebook freebies groups too.

How can a charity shop be picky when you leave the bags of stuff outside?

Put it on a bunch of selling/giving away sites. Put a time limit on eg. "Free collection until Sunday 8pm"
Monday morning fill a skip. You don't want it, you gave it away. Is it your fault nobody wanted it? No.

Local fb pages get rid for free. I swear on ours you could roll a turd in glitter and someone would want it. People take absolutely anything if its free!

Use various charity shops?

This is a problem for lots of people - my county's recycling centre is a 30 mile round trip from my house and has unhelpful, bossy staff and isn't open every day. They also charge to collect from kerbside which is problematic if on a tight budget, Anyone would think the council don't actually want you to use these facilities. The neighbouring county makes its residents book time slots and limits availability!
Skips are expensive and feel wasteful. I guess there's free cycle but you have to store things until collection and it can be time consuming to get rid of lots this way,

OLIo app is amazing, post on there (for free) and people will be glad to collect

Anything left outside a charity shop where I volunteer gets binned.

Free cycle

Collect x address first come first served - I won’t hang on to items

Job done anything left - skip it

It’s clothes, toys (my DC are teens and I still have cupboards of toys) and lots of misc items. Just seems to accumulate and never leaves. I’ve also got a loft and 4 garden sheds full. I need to go on that program with the warehouse!

If you know you don't want something and can't easily get rid of it at a charity shop, why not just throw it in the bin (laws permitting).

I understand your point about not wasting things, but surely for your personal good it would just be better gone by any means?

Toys take to charity shops or play groups or schools

Clothes - fill the clothing banks - they’ll shrewd anything unsalable and reuse the material.

Stop over thinking it and get rid.

My friend also a hoarder is trying to sell baby items when her child is now 20 - these things are now old fashioned and materials show their age - good condition just not trendy for a new mum.

They can give them away - so don’t over think it.

@AntiHop around here they want to look in the boxes like you’re a criminal. I know they get lots of broken crap but I don’t like feeling like they’re inspecting my donations. I only give decent stuff.

@Anordinarymum

How can a charity shop be picky when you leave the bags of stuff outside?

Who does that? I donate regularly and always take the bags inside to drop them off at the encounter and Gift Aid them.

Is there a women’s shelter/church/doctors surgery etc nearby that would take the toys?

I also think you should just bin stuff if you can’t sell or give it away. It’s hard when you don’t want to be wasteful but once you get rid of it you’ll feel so much better. And maybe start a one in one out policy going forward so you don’t accumulate more stuff.

@Clutterbusting, are you looking to throw the stuff away without having to sort through it for things that can be donated/sold?

If so, why not back things up and take them to the recycling unit?

@Anordinarymum You're not supposed to leave stuff outside charity shops.

You are wasting money on storage solutions for stuff you don't want, you might as well throw it away gradually in the bin. Or do a huge clear out and get a skip. It is just stuff you have no further use for, get rid of it.

@GinIronic

Anything left outside a charity shop where I volunteer gets binned.

Even clothing with original tags still on?

Watch 'Sort My Life Out' with Stacey Solomon on BBC iplayer. All that crap you're accumulating was once money/hours you worked. It will affect your mental and emotional well-being if not properly dealt with periodically and if you continue to hoard.

Look at each section of your home. Room by room. Sort stuff into piles - sell, recycle, donate. Ask yourself when handling items, do I need this/why do I have this? Do I use it? Do I love it? Even holding on to furniture which you think is essential should be questioned.

Leave all the stuff outside charity shops or find one that collects.

Only sell items that have a good resell value. You may set a target, of say £200. The rest donate.

Hire a skip.

Clear the cobwebs, paint some walls, rearrange furniture, repurpose rooms and items.

You can do this! Good luck