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?

First of all see if you have a local Tots to Teens group or similar, or there’s womens refuges, local nurseries or Pre Schools may take toys, you may even have an refugee scheme in the area

You can literally give this stuff away by posting photos on fb or giving toys to a local nursery as long as it not broken. If your local charity shop is 'fussy' then sort the stuff properly and drive it all in a bigger town and give it away to a few different charity shops!

Do it a drawer or cupboard at a time. Say today I will tidy X. And then do it. If you feel like doing another then do so. But set the tasks as very small ones and that way they don't overwhelm you and you get there in the end. I did (and am still doing) my house this way and some days I get through loads more than the one drawer or cupboard I intend to do.

(However I still do have my spare bedroom which is a proper dumping ground to do if someone can give me a kick up the bum for that!!)

@VaizyCrazyDaizy I've seen these sort of book tables at both Tesco and Morrisons - you make a donation. If you pick a book up at the same time, it's a 50p donation, otherwise £1 and the money goes to a charity.

You are trapped in a sunk costs fallacy. If you've tried all avenues you should now just bin stuff. Also FYI when I volunteered at a charity shop anything left outside the doors got binned immediately. There are usually signs on the doors asking people not to do this.

@Clutterbusting

And I’m done for the day! The awful room is still bloody awful but it’s not quite as awful so that’s something. I am one of those people who wants everything to be done and finished immediately but it’s taken decades to get this way and it will take a long time to get out of it. I will take on the advice given and also doing just one or 2 things a day is better than none so that’s something I’ll also take on board no matter how shitty I feel.

Cant help with the actual doing a clear out, can give you a clue to how long. Family member (who is 80 and that's relevant) has spent 50+ years in the same house. Decided 2020 lockdown was a fabulous time to clear out. She has been quite brutal with it, very thorough. It's still not quite done although a very very large amount of stuff has gone. She did a bit at a time. I wasnt there but she told me literally a bin bag a day, or if a bad day a bin bag the next day. In that time too she has had a stroke and recovered and had heart surgery. She has no car either so it's often been binned, some items ebayed but carefully chosen items. If it wasn't worth much at all then it was binned. It's a shame I know but she wanted the stuff out. Not really relevant but shes not long for this world and doesn't want family to have to do this after shes gone. It would take someone so much time just to find the papers needed and the real possibility they would be thrown by accident.

This is why I love living in London. Leave it on the doorstep with a "free to a good home" sign and it's gone within the hour

I am myself a bit of a hoarder, it's a "some day I might need to use this, so Ill keep it" mentality!
I recently found a cat rescue charity on Facebook in my town who collect any goods to sell for money to help the animals - this is a charity which is close to my heart so I have had a bit of a reason to clear and clean out all of my cupboards and I feel I have been quite ruthless! I think from what I've read about de-cluttering you just need a system of

1. Does it sitting in your house bring you joy?
2. Is it sentimental or irreplaceable?
3. Do you use it regularly and would you miss it?
4. Have you used it in the past year?

Have a look at sorting things in categories - drop clothes off at a cash for clothes place (you might even earn a few £ back!)
Take bric a brac that's in good condition to a charity shop.
Anything else put on a free cycle site as a "boot sale job lot" or bin!

Hope this helps! Xx

Homeless charities
Women's hostels
Olio
Freecycle

@mamabear715

:-( Folk not RTFT Still saying BHF are great. :-(

I've read it. I commented that BHF are great because I've always found them great

Take the toys to playgroups, nurseries and primary schools. As a teacher, I’m always grateful or donated toys.
Clothes to women’s shelters or a charity for the refugees.

Get ALL your clothes and pile on the bed. You need plenty of bags or boxes. Do your hair and makeup, Strip off down to your undies. Try on one by one. Box for keep, box for donate and one for rags. It takes a day but you can do it. Then clean your wardrobe and drawers, put your favourites away. Take the other stuff as soon as possible to charity or you will start rummaging.

Schools will also take craft supplies and story books!

Church playgroups will take toys.

Just an idea x

How can a charity shop be picky when you leave the bags of stuff outside?
In my nearest town,anything that is left outside a charity shop gets binned by the street cleaners. And if you're caught on a security camera,you risk getting done for fly-tipping!

BHF were fine when we used them for furniture before we moved - there was one piece they wouldn't take but they took the rest. We've also used Emmaus for furniture but dropped it off ourselves. Both can take a week or two to collect as they are busy.

Keep decluttering OP, you're doing great!

Police are vigilant in my town, anyone leaving donations on the pavement outside the shop will be done for fly tipping.

I haven’t read through all the comments so I’m not sure if this site has been mentioned already.

www.recyclinglives.com/national-skip-hire

We used something similar when we came back from living in the USA for 12 years and had to get rid of stuff. We were packing and de-cluttering during the start of Covid so nowhere was open for me to take things to and I wanted to recycle as much as possible if I was unable to give it to friends.

They will recycle as much as possible and it saves the hassle out of having to take things to separate places. Not sure if available in your area but a Google search might find something like it near you. Good Luck!

@ParoxetineQueen

Dunelm are recycling clean bedding and home textiles www.dunelm.com/info/about/take-back-scheme I sort out clean but old, unwearable clothing, mark it as rag then put it into the big bins at our local waste site/supermarkets. Try local Facebook pages for offering usable but not necessarily saleable household items

Thank you @ParoxetineQueen that's really handy to know about the textile recycling at Dunelm. I've got some old bedding that I can sort out and take in!

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was a really good way to have a big declutter

Don’t sell it, just list it for free on Facebook marketplace.

Just a thought but as we will soon (hopefully not wishful thinking) experience Spring why not try a garden sale or if you have a garage then try that. You could show the items and have a sign stating that you intend to donate your takings to a charity of your choice. Some of these sales can be very lucrative although you will need to keep your eyes peeled as some stuff may go "missing" unfortunately that is the World we live in.

The key for me is to bag it up and put it in the car straight away - otherwise a 'bag for charity' just sits there in a corner of the bedroom taking up space.

Took stuff to the tip on Sunday and today, plus a bag of good clothes, to a small local charity. They were delighted. They had a fire recently, I don't know whether that was because of bags left outside or what.

H and M take old clothes which are recycled or sent to charity.

Be very careful about leaving stuff outside Charity shops as it is actually Fly Tipping and therefore illegal. I know this because I volunteer for our local hospice visiting people in their own homes. During the training for the role (which was generic) we were told that anyone leaving stuff outside their charity shops was fly tipping.

Sorry I haven’t read all comments but I have this problem also. I find sending it on to somewhere or someone else has really helped. I cannot throw anything away. However Vinted is great for clothes and bags, Ziffit for books and cds and H&M for clothes to be recycled for a voucher back. good luck.