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 got in touch with a school and sent a load of kids books there. I only gave the ones in tip-top condition, and I binned anything with a completed puzzle, but I still sent in several big bags of books. I took them in last thing on a Friday and they could leave them to quarantine over the weekend. The school were very happy with this.

If somewhere like an old people's home has somewhere to quarantine stuff, like the school, they may be glad of books as well.

Haven't read the whole thread but clothing and shoes can be bagged up and put in one of those metal charity bank things that you see in carparks. The bags shouldn't be too big though as you need to get them in the slot. A tied carrier bag is OK.

Also, regarding being wasteful, if you do a massive one off skip purge and "be wasteful" you will then be in a good position to actually live with a sustainable amount of stuff. That way, when you need to charity shop something, it'll only be a small amount of stuff and you won't need to be wasteful again.

People who leave their crap on the streets outside chazza shops boil my piss. Especially the people who did it when they were all closed for lock down.

Don't fly tip OP.

I want to have a major sort out this month.

My plan is to go room by room. One room a week or fortnight so you have time to discard the stuff bit by bit.

Clothes/shoe/fabric can go in bins. Most supermarkets have them. Our village school has one.
Put stuff in your refuse bin bit by bit. Week by week
Put stuff on free sites. Facebook has a few freecycle groups
Charity shop but only decent stuff
Car boot sale?

Just do it in stages.

Put the really old tatty clothes in a bag with rags label, some charity shops take them, Give good stuff to charity too. Books to speciality charity shop. Brick a brac any will take. Furniture leave on drive with note or fraid take good stuff. Get a skip put crap in, leave good stuff by side with note. After a few days if it's still there dump.
My sister had a table and chairs to get rid of. She put it on drive with note, it was gone in ten minutes

Our local air ambulance will send a van and collect if you have a large amount of stuff. We and extended family get together and clear out all at the same time,ring them and they come out free of charge and take everything.

@Anordinarymum
You really need to think about this.
Most charity shops leave pleading notes on their door/window asking you to not just dump stuff.

They have to move a giant pile to enter the door.

Often the stuff is souled/ruined overnight ( my daughter volunteered at a charity shop a few years ago... what she told me was beyond grim.)

Stuff that gets dumped , overnight, is usually only fit for a skip, which charity shops usually have large versions of.

Please don't dump and run.

Sort it into "fit for charity shop" and "not". Wash/clean first group and take to shop

Then sort the recyclables out of the "not fit for charity shop"
(fabrics, paper, metals, plastics), and recycle.

Take what's left to the dump.

Most skip hire companies/Hippo Bag/Ava bag hires recycle everything.

Don't be out off hiring them.

Please read Marie Kondo life changing magic of tidying up. I am exactly the same as you and this book helped. Really helped.

Those items already exist. A charity shop is not benefit if you never get items to them. I would honestly get a skip. Or keep filling you boot and taking items to the tip until you are down. Give yourself permission.

Once your life is more manageable to stop being wasteful by buying less. If you can't get your house sorted you will never be in a place to do this.

Are you on a busy road, if so, have a garage sale, put a notice outside the week before saying date and time. Just accept any offers people make.

Get organised - use ikea big blue bags, have a daily sort out of one place, put the stuff into bags for charity shops, recycling, bin, cleaning rags, bonfire even - - - - - - just start one day at a time, take the bags to the relevant place once a week and just keep going

For those struggling to get rid of their dc school books, I now photograph the especially cute stories and photos and it's automatically saved to the cloud. Better than keeping millions of books.

I am exactly the same and have started the new year with a total spring clean as it is making me feel really anxious and frustrated.
I took 8 sacks of clothes and shoes to the recycling bin and got rid of them and then wished I had done it ages ago!
Lots more to do, I am trying to do it little and often, one corner or shelf at a time.

We’ve been inspired by the show ‘Sort your life out’ which we loved. I’ve been taking a cupboard at a time to keep it manageable:

Bulky useful or expensive items get sold on FB
Useful cheap items are offered for free
Baby stuff goes to friends with new babies
Clothes to charity shops
Tat and broken stuff to the recycling centre / tip

Now my OH has got the bug and we’ve done a few rooms and are loving our ‘new’ tidy home. It’s so much easier to keep clean and nice with less stuff.

I found ‘sort your life out’ so inspirational, in a really warm and non judgemental way!

If you don’t have enough for a skip, try a hippo bag or similar!

I do what some already said make a day where I can drive around a few charity shops where I pop me head in and ask first if they want anything - RSPCA always very fussy! Not today or no books! So off I go always get a huge welcome at any Age Concern shop they love anything especially toys and Knick knacks! My latest wonderful place to get rid of books, records yes records and kids books is Tesco superstores because they have a place at the end of the tills where people can take whatever they like for a small charity donation! Get rid of loads there! Trouble is is now after Christmas many places are fit to bust with donations so I can end up with a boot load still as now! ‘Trashnothing’ is a site you can sign upto and list stuff quick for free pick up - get rid of so much there and I get stuff sometimes that I need. You can put out on doorstep when they arrive real easy and usually a few in queue so stuff does go quick if someone lets you down but never had a bad pick up!

It's all second-hand stuff in the end so unless it's an antique or work of art, of very little monetary value. A lot probably worn, broken or out of fashion. And if no-one actually wants it, it's worse than worthless as it's costing you to store it. (In this part of London, by no means posh, property costs £7500 per sq metre: more than anything you might place on that bit of floorspace).
Trips to the tip will be endless and you won't get round to it.
A skip it must be. As it's time-limited and rented it imposes a discipline in itself. Just make sure you fill it before your neighbours do. Otherwise put choice items out on dry days if it's suitable where you live.
You'll feel so much better. Can't think of a better NY resolution.

Well done for today OP.

Your thread has inspired me to get going on what I need to do.

I only have one large room to do but having ADHD, it's difficult.
Somehow by the end of the month, I have to have reduced all to 3 cases for a move overseas.

Don't know if others have mentioned it already but some of the toys may be collectable.

Or end up having a rare painting and not know it.

This is us too ! It’s hard when a lot of it could be sold but needs decoration to photograph amd sort

I used to have loads of stuff due to a shopping but not a matching decluttering habit. Started filling a big bag a week for the charity shop. Did this religiously every week and finally thought this weekend that it all feels a lot better. Has taken about 3 years..!

As soon as I fill a bag it goes out in the car and there's no way back.

As pp said, the key is not to let more stuff in and I really think you'll have to be firm with your parents. They aren't being kind in offloading stuff on you. Mil does it to us - gives us a sack of cheap wrapped rubbish each for Christmas. I think she enjoys acquiring it all. I'd far rather a single bar of quality chocolate than all the bargain sets of soap and hand cream she's managed to trawl for during the year.

To be fair find selling hard lately. But we sort through stuff for charity shops and take a bag or 2 at a time so they can see it’s not just rubbish they’ll have to dump and cost them more money. I can’t abide the people dumping stuff outside the shops after hours/weekends and you can see a lot of it is rubbish.

But if you want rid sell locally for a small amount so it’s not free and should cut out some of the time wasters, but it will go quick.

Read de cluttering book Spark Joy by Marie Kondo a professional de hoarder. It was trending a couple of years ago and it makes anyone really positive about sorting their stuff out! She has great tips about how to choose what to keep and how to lay things out practically in your house. Keep really sentimental things though. Only give to charity things you would consider buying new yourself. Deal with it in stages over the course of a few weeks and enjoy pondering carefully over what to keep and how to make your house look good rather than try to do it too quickly