To just chuck it all in the bin 😖

[Oohooh]

My house is cluttered. Mainly with old clothes that no longer fit the kids/me, baby items (a bouncer, toys that have been outgrown, that kind of thing), and half empty bottles of beauty products (yep I’m a bit of an addict).

Charity shops round here aren’t interested, the local baby bank didn’t want the things I offered as they’re in need of other items. Listing things on Facebook is a total nightmare as you just get inundated with CFs asking you to deliver (no car) or no-shows.

WIBU to just shove it all in a bin bag and take it to the tip? I know it’s a waste but getting rid of it item by item will take FOREVER. Most of the kids stuff was second hand to start with.

Just do it
If noone else wants it then no point in it cluttering up your house

Just do it!!

Where I live, people leave stuff outside their house with a free sign. You could try that?

Why would you take it to the tip? Why not put it in one of the clothing banks at supermarkets? Or do you clean a clothing bin at the tip? I'm confused.

If there's any decent stuff there you could try selling on Vinted. However I understand the want of just getting it out of your house.

I'd try Olio first. I've had great success with reliable collections as you can review the people. Say it must all go together and then people can re- donate what they don't want. Does your tip have a shop for saleable items?

This, I got rid of lots on olio of good but out grown/not needed items, most of it went within 5 days x

Just tip the lot. It’s clearly, understandably, driving you round the bend, so do it. My local tip has a clothes recycling bin, yours might too.

You could arrange for a doorstep charity collection. There are several out there where you box/bag up your stuff and arrange a date for them to collect. Often they then resell the items in other countries and donate less their costs. Less effort than going to the tip, especially since you don't have a car.

If it's really not going to be used by anyone as it's not fit for anything other than throwing out, then throwing it away is what you should do. All you're really doing by hanging on to it at home is turning your house into the tip instead.

YANBU. You'll get endless people wittering on about 'landfill' as if that's even a thing any more - everything here is incinerated in a waste to energy plant, and how you should put it all on Olio so you can deal with all those people who are obviously going to be keen to take things like 50 p worth of shampoo and a rusty baking tray off your hands but I think some times you just have to bite the bullet and get rid in the easiest way possible to avoid it stressing you out any longer.

Then be more mindful about what you bring into the house in the future obviously.

Our tip has recycling bins for clothes/shoes, books and DVDs and a container to put decent charity stuff into. Does yours have that sort of facility? It’s really easy to get rid of tonnes of stuff.

Clothing banks at the tip and supermarkets. I donate to a local charity that gives clothes out for free to those in need.

Have you contacted local churches? Food banks? They are always happy to point you in the right direction.

Please don't just bin stuff.

I'll admit I once chucked a couple of bin bags of clothes away. I know I shouldn't have, but they were second hand when I got them and not in great condition although wearable.

I was super stressed out and didn't know what to do with them so eventually just made an executive decision to get rid.

It was regretful, but it was a massive relief.

Jumble sale organisers are usually grateful for such things - even half used toiletries!

The charity shops don't want ANY of your stuff?

Many people donate stuff to charity shops that really are only fit for the bin. Getting a volunteer to put stuff in landfill isn’t helping anything. Be kind to yourself, stop making things complex.

So, toys and baby bouncers etc, just take a photo, stick on local Facebook saying they are free if someone can collect today /tomorrow, or they are going to the tip (say you won’t deliver), then take to the tip if no one wants them.

clothes, be realistic, could they be sold in a charity shop? If not, does your tip have fabric recycling section? Failing that, bin.

you have tried to find someone else to have them, if you can’t, then your house shouldn’t be the alternative landfill.

Clothes can be bagged up and labelled 'rag' for charities. I do that with things I don't think the shops can resell, and they can still make some money by selling for recycling.

Is there some where near you that buys old clothing , they weigh it and give you some money ?

https://www.recyclenow.com/recycle-an-item/clothing-textiles

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/clothing-bank

I would also recommend Olio. Or Freeccycle

Don't advertise things individually - just advertise as "Big bags of children's stuff - clothes, toys, bouncers etc. All needs to go in one lot. Available to whoever can get here quickest" something like that.

It'll be gone within an hour.

If you take a bag of clothes to H&M you get a £5 voucher. Could be anything - old vests and pants or whatever, doesn’t have to be wearable stuff.

For the people recommending Olio or jumble sales, below is a list of the sorts of things I need to get rid of, that I can't see anyone wanting, let alone be willing to travel to my door to collect:

stained bedding, bobbly towels, raggy jumpers etc - we foster rescue cats and kittens who are responsible for this sort of thing
chipped crockery, old worn kitchen equipment, rusty baking trays, scratched non stick cookware
half used toiletries that don't work for me
cables for fuck knows what
shabby looking small furniture - coffee tables etc

I do not believe a jumble sale or anyone would want half a bottle of hand cream of unknown vintage in a grimy pump bottle etc

In my experience, anything that is to be sold or donated needs to be in significantly better condition than it is when I decide I don't want it.

I wonder where all these people who actually want second hand stuff and show up to collect it are, because they don't exist in my world.

Before Christmas we tried to get rid of a bed frame that we no longer had space for.

The mattress was a lost cause because, despite it having only been slept in occasionally, the aforementioned rescue felines had pissed on it, and it was still stained after multiple attempts at cleaning, so it had to be thrown away.

The frame was fine, but we tried giving it away on FB marketplace and to friends/family and work colleagues with no takers. We also contacted a couple of local charities who also weren't interested. I even tried to give it to Ikea's second hand section - it came from there originally and they do say they buy back used furniture to sell in bargain corner but, despite it being in better condition than half the stuff in there, because it wasn't on their approved list, they wouldn't take it. So DP took it to the wood skip at the council recycling centre.

A lot of charity shops are inundated now. There were frequently signs up in my old area in London saying “we can’t take more donations”. Usually alongside a sign saying “please don’t leave bags outside overnight”.

Facebook marketplace for free is the easiest way. In my experience as long as it's free almost anything will be collected. It's selling that can be more time consuming with questions etc. Everything I've offered free has gone the same day. Plus then it goes directly into the hands of someone that can use it, there is a huge difference between what someone will collect for free and what someone will buy in a charity shops.

I've given away a broken table, broken sunlounger (guy collected on a bike!), a very green mouldy parasol on facebook, all I thought were only really fit for the bin but I was wrong. Everyone was happy and grateful for the stuff. If it's free people will take a chance and be willing to clean or repair stuff.