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?

Just seen this. I started a de-clutter project 31st and I've done 90 minutes a day.

What had made me put it off for so long was the notion that you're supposed to sort it in to donate, sell, skip.

In the end, the only thing that works for me is skip the lot. If I had to slow myself down deciding which bits were acceptable to a charity shop and then somehow get it there (no car) I'd never get going.

Free cycle. People collect things you don't want so it's easy.

Otherwise just take it to the skip and get the job done.

She said everything is landfill eventually as soon as it's made. The trick is to buy less.
@IncessantNameChanger I think that's a great way to look at it.

@Clutterbusting you are going to be ruthless about this.
Get a skip it might be £200 but it's a price worth paying for good mental health

I volunteer in a charity shop and we do ask what you are donating as there are certain items we cannot take eg electrical (we can’t test items), really large items (shop is too small), but we do suggest where these items can be donated.

We put some old toys in a skip we had and some people went through our skip at night and took them!

@Frazzled50yrold

A few times a year I'll do the challenge where you dispose of one item on day one, two on day two, working up to 30 items on day 30. It does make an impact for me and I find it really useful, apparently it equates to 500 items.

How do you find so many items?!

I understand that you don’t want to be wasteful but if your house Is full of stuff that you don’t use isn’t it being wasted? Clothes can be recycled. So can many toys if you take them apart and remove the batteries.

Toys to local play schemes, preschools etc.

Offer free on Facebook marketplace

Clothes to charity or to the recycle part of the household waste site

Household waste also has sections for stuff too good for the tip and electrical items etc, they do recycle and reuse as much as possible, ours has 75% recycled

@GinIronic

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

How disgusting! What is the thinking behind that decision?

Freecycle.
Gumtree
Put 6 good quality items in a bag/box take to charity shop. Repeat. Repeat. I’ve never had anything turned away.
Any worn out clothes can go into recycling.
Start in one place and do one section a day, don’t look at it all.

@Anordinarymum

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

If you leave bags of your unwanted stuff outside a charity shop you are fly tipping. Charity shops absolutely hate people that do that as they then have to dispose of the crap you've just fly tipped and that costs them money!

I don't know why but nothing I try to sell is ever bought so I know that that just slows me down. I once put up a new pair of uggs for sale, they had been for my daughter and were a UK 4, my daughter needed a size 5. I put them up, brand new, half price, in the box, never worn, proof they were genuine. Then I had people questioning that they were genuine, basically strangers abusing me on line doubting the boots were genuine. I'd already said I had proof they were real. It was awful. Then I tried to give them away, I said to my daughter who was about 12 to ask if any of her friends younger sisters might like them, or any friend with size 4 feet. No takers. In the end, I put them in a skip and felt relieved.

You are prioritising the stuff over your own health. I know it feels wasteful but you will feel so much better once it's done. I know it is overwhelming.

I moved from a three bed house to a small apartment and I went through everything and got rid of things like this.

Big household items were advertised as free on facebook and so many people were delighted with the stuff.

Clothes, games etc were bagged up and taken to a charity bin.

Gardening pots were left at the top of the drive and people took them.

I hired three skips and lots of people took stuff out of the skip. The company I hired recycles as much as possible.

Any crafting stuff and tubs I gave to a local crafting group.

The bit that was binned would have gone to the tip and it is burned to contribute to the grid.

I've helped friends and they've helped me. Doing it alone is hard work.

After all that I've limited what I buy and I continue to go through stuff.

You will eventually save money by letting go off your storage unit.

@SequinnedShawl
Items can be wet, covered in urine, dirty...
What do you expect a charity shop to do with them?
Many charity shops are open 7 days per week. Is is really so difficult to donate items during trading hours?

Not all charity shops are that picky. I took some clothes to an Oxfam shop years ago and they inspected them in full view of everyone. Obviously, you don't take crap and my offerings did, indeed, pass muster but I have never donated anything to an Oxfam shop since. Our local Salvation Army depot has large bins to put stuff in.

Also I am not advising procrastinating as the OP has got to the stage of really needing to do something, but.... everyone has a January or post-Christmas clear out. Charity shops are absolutely deluged at this time of the year and as others have said we sometimes have to refuse donations because we are so full of stuff we can't move in the back shop.

So rather than having a mega-clear out, arriving at the shop with 20 massive bags or boxes then getting upset when we refuse to take it all, little and often is the way to go. A smaller carrier bag a day, to different shops.

@Nefelibata86 there is an organisation professional declutterer are registered and trained with. I forget the name but easy to Google

Bonfire ……. Job done 👍

Also on towels/bedding - we donated a whole pile of old towels to the local vet hospital, they use them for bedding and really don't care if they're a bit threadbare. They will sometimes take sheets and duvet covers too - but ask first.

OP, do you have a local bartering site on Facebook?

On our local one, people often get rid of e.g. "1 ikea bag of children's toys aged 2-5" or similar. No money changes hands, people either give things away or swap. I usually ask for consumables, so e.g. I swapped some old garden furniture for cat litter.

These communities are often friendly and the person making the offer can ask for collection only, so you just have to bag stuff up and wait for the taker to arrive. I've had less no shows with this than the regular Facebook marketplace

It’s really not difficult. Just get a skip. Sort into piles of skip, clothing and shoe bins. Any toys that are in excellent condition can go to your local womens refuge. If charity shops are picky, don’t bother with them, just skip stuff.

You just need to be brutal with yourself. It’s refreshing and freeing. There’s only your own mindset stopping you from doing this.

I don’t understand how people can live in a tip and hoard stuff.

We have some animal shelters locally that are grateful for towels, bedding etc.

Sort one group of items (or by room) at a time. E.g. children's clothes, books. Three piles - bin, recycle (e.g. old clothes for fabric recycling, small broken electrical items), re-home (either for free or to sell).

If you have good quality items you want to sell try local fb sites rather than eBay. Give yourself a week max to sell. I'll now only sell something on if I think it will earn more than £25. Anything less isn't worth the hassle.

Take decent stuff to the charity shop - it doesn't matter that they have a rummage through to check items. Don't be offended about anything they don't take - it's not a reflection on you, they just know what their market is and don't have a lot of storage so need to streamline what they take.

And/or put items outside your house, take pictures of it and post on local fb sites. One person's junk is another's treasure. We've got rid of lots of stuff that way including old box files, children's crafts, dvd's, books etc.

What recycling options are available locally? We have clothing banks at the local supermarkets, small electrical items can go out with the recycling or to the tip etc.

There’s a lady online who sends 2nd hand bras abroad ( Africa I think). I have loads that no longer fit me.

I think guilt at being wasteful is a big part of why some people accumulate overwhelming amounts of stuff. My MIL is in this position.

Personally I would book a skip and while you wait for it, use a day to identify things you truly couldn't justify binning - either too precious, or could be sold / given away relatively easily. Be ruthless. After that, into the skip. It's no more wasteful than if you'd got rid on a more regular basis.