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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Stuff is too hard to get rid of

738 replies

Clutterbusting · 02/01/2022 23:32

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?

OP posts:
CurryLover55 · 03/01/2022 08:25

BluebellsGreenbells charity shops near me take toys & books

AngelinaFibres · 03/01/2022 08:27

@Anordinarymum

How can a charity shop be picky when you leave the bags of stuff outside?
Or go to one of the bigger ones in a warehouse type building. I live very rurally but we still have them. Nobody will check what you drop off. Take suitable stuff and let go. Is your brain finding reasons why this is impossible so that you don't have to let go of the stuff.
PeonyRose80 · 03/01/2022 08:28

Could you ebay 10 items which you think are worth the most… do that today… then use the proceeds to get a skip for everything else?

ouchmyfeet · 03/01/2022 08:28

onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/donate-clothes

You can post all sorts (not just clothes) to oxfam. BHF will come and collect larger items and in my area they'll also take up to 3 boxes/bags of general charity shop donations like clothes/books/toys

AngelinaFibres · 03/01/2022 08:32

@Dozer

It sounds like the charity shop didn’t actually reject stuff, you just didn’t like the staff member’s manner / looking through the stuff. If so, that’s not a good reason not to donate.
I took a 4x4 full of nice clothes ,kitchen utensils etc to one charity shop in my local town. The woman I met was incredibly rude. I shut the boot and drove to another one. I have never donated or bought from there again.
BigGreen · 03/01/2022 08:33

Put a post on a local Facebook group that you're having a shed clearance day. People will definitely come and take stuff. Snap a few pictures or give people an indication of what's inside.

Please don't dump everything into landfill.

MarshmallowFondant · 03/01/2022 08:34

@Anordinarymum

How can a charity shop be picky when you leave the bags of stuff outside?
Please do not do this. The number of times I've tried to open the back door to our shop while on a volunteering shift and can't get it open because someone's piled a whole lot of black bags against the door which are now all wet and ruined.

Charity shops aren't picky about what they take but what is true is that stuff which we can't sell will have to be binned. Would you pay money for it? Donate it. Otherwise, bin it yourself. Don't pass the job of your clear out onto us.

Kitchenmaid · 03/01/2022 08:35

Our primary school will take toys, books and any craft stuff quite happily.

Sj595 · 03/01/2022 08:35

I use the freecycle app, trash nothing, very easy to use and have got rid of bags of stuff, very few time wasters

Toocooltoboogie · 03/01/2022 08:36

Your local freecycle group. Takes minutes to do the post and anything and everything gets snapped up in no time usually.

notanothertakeaway · 03/01/2022 08:37

@AngelinaFibres She shouldn't have been rude to you, but our local charity shops don't want car loads of stuff being dropped off without prior notice, as they don't have space to sort / store it

godmum56 · 03/01/2022 08:37

@BritWifeInUSA

Do you have Give Back Box in the UK? You fill an Amazon (or similar) box with your donations, print a free shipping label from the website and take it the post office or a UPS drop location. That’s how it works here in the US anyway.
no we don't have this
Nowomenaroundeh · 03/01/2022 08:38

@Anordinarymum

How can a charity shop be picky when you leave the bags of stuff outside?
Don't do this.
godmum56 · 03/01/2022 08:39

@ouchmyfeet

https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/donate-clothes

You can post all sorts (not just clothes) to oxfam. BHF will come and collect larger items and in my area they'll also take up to 3 boxes/bags of general charity shop donations like clothes/books/toys

I had stuff (brand new clothes with labels from a relative) turned down by the BHF scheme. In the end I freecycled it.
CurryLover55 · 03/01/2022 08:42

It definitely doesn’t help that you can buy stuff so cheaply in the first place.

AngelinaFibres · 03/01/2022 08:42

[quote Clutterbusting]@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.[/quote]
If your stuff is decent and not broken then why would they reject it. You are talking yourself out of getting started.
I can't do this because.....
I can't use that because.....
It's too hard I won't bother.....and so the misery continues.

Bag some clothes and take them to the recycling bin in the supermarket . Just start

godmum56 · 03/01/2022 08:43

I use freecycle very successfully and the bonus is that, although I don't pick a recipient, althoughI do choose the first to answer with a polite message, I have met some lovely people who were very grateful for the stuff. I have some lovely stories but they are outing for the folk concerned so won't post them here.

But yes....having a skip if all else fails is the way to go. Take the lesson of how much its costing you to solve the problem and don't hide behind the excuse that its "wasteful"
Could you share skip costs with neighbours?

artquejtion · 03/01/2022 08:44

If you are struggling to pass on locally, can you find some charities who send stuff abroad ?

I usually donate to the local refugee housing and then several times a year there are collections for charities which truck donations to Eastern Europe and others that make annual trips to Africa. They are usually really grateful for toys, clothes, towels and bedding.

DroopyClematis · 03/01/2022 08:45

@Shoobydooer

I was also reluctant to get a skip but (call me stupid) didn't realise the companies recycle everything they can out of them. It's not all dumped in landfill if that's a concern.
This.

Also please don't dump stuff outside a charity shop. Most have signs up asking you not too.

TeloMere · 03/01/2022 08:48

Although it's a hassle getting rid of stuff, I think it should be difficult.
If it was easy we'd just carry on buying things we don't really need, throwaway cheap clothes etc.
We need to think more carefully about what we buy and look after it once we've got it so it lasts, or is in a good condition to give/sell on.

YoBeaches · 03/01/2022 08:48

Clothes - find a 'Ragman' bin / often in supermarket car parks and the likes where clothes are recycled and sent abroad in aid packages. Your council website will tell you where they are located.

For toys - free cycle on gumtree for people to come and collect, search out your local baby bank. Or sell them really cheap so you get ' something' like a pound each.

For the misc stuff same - free cycle it or charity if you haven't got the energy to sell.

Then repeat every 6 months and try to be more conscious with your buying habits.

NancyDrawed · 03/01/2022 08:50

Sorry, I haven't rtft, but what helped me to just throw things away was a change in mindset - I kept hanging onto things because I knew how much they had cost, but someone (on here, I think) pointed out that the money was already spent whether I kept the item or not!

I'm also quite lucky in that our local charity shop will take electricals and rags, so even mishapen / damaged clothes are left there in a separate bag to the sellable ones. If the charity shop is clised I drive to a clothing bin. If the bin is overflowing I leave the bags in the boot of the car so at least they are out of the house!

Stormwhale · 03/01/2022 08:50

I'm currently doing a mega clear out, including our loft which has been a dumping ground for too long. I'm taking as much as possible to the charity shops, selling a few items that I know will go easily and the stuff that isn't good enough for either is being put in a skip/ going out with the recycling. I am trying my best to do this responsibly, but I also need to prioritise my mental health. The clutter and chaos is making it hard for me to cope, so it needs to go.

littleowls83 · 03/01/2022 08:50

Put on Facebook for free. I've cleared loads of stuff that way, everything from furniture to clothes to kid's toys. We don't have any local charity shops and the ones in the nearest town are very expensive, often selling for more than new, so I'd rather give stuff away.

BlibBlabBlob · 03/01/2022 08:50

.