How brutal are you with chucking things out?

[Frostythesnowman1]

I feel like my head is going to explode

I have 6 year old twins. The amount of stuff we have is just ridiculous. I want to have a massive sort out or clothes & toys, I’ve got toys they no longer play with piled up in the garage and bags and bags of clothes that no longer fit. I keep it because I think I’ll sell it at the next NCT sale or put it on Facebook/vinted but honestly I just do not have the time.

I’m borrowing a small van from work next week and I’ll be loading up all of the toys and visiting various nurseries/playgroups to drop off the toys (I have contacted them all previously)

I’m then going to drop off all the bags of clothes at the charity/clothes banks

i find the idea of this kind of liberating but I’m also terrified that I “should” try and sell it.

does anyone else sell stuff and if so how do you find the time? I work 3 days a week and we have full on weekends with the kids activities. On the days I don’t work it’s filled with housework and taking my elderly dad to hospital appointments.

I suppose my AIBU to ask permission from mumsnet to just get rid of it all and give zero fucks 😂😂

ps the money would be lovely if I did sell stuff but my experience with Facebook/vinted just sucks all joy out of me

I charity a lot of studd because i dont have time or inclination to sell and deal with people and in my situation, they need the money more than I do.

I charity shop stuff. I don't have to sell it. My decision benefits the charity (I have gift aid).

Selling it was so much hassle for so little reward. I've made my peace with not profiting financially and see the headspace created by getting rid of it the pay off. Not many charity shops near me take kids' stuff. But another mum recommended iCollect website who come to your door to take it for charity. Absolute game changer. It's so easy, I'm so much more on top of it and feel so much better.

Very. The less stuff we have the easier it is to keep a nice house. The more toys=the more overwhelmed kids get.

Just get rid, you’ll feel better.

Honestly ? I have a three year old, and the stuff that I set aside to sell basically stays set aside.
whereas the stuff I donate, goes out of my house !

so, you are not alone.
the effort taken to sell things on Facebook or what have you is very high for the reward.

If you are not in difficult financial circumstances, I hereby give you permission to give it all away, guilt free!!

I will also try to take my own advice more

Selling is a pita … just be ruthless with what you pop in the (recycling) bin and donate whatever you can!

If I were in your shoes I would just get rid of the lot and start afresh. Donate it to the charity shop. Going forward keep aside decent, good quality things to sell. I sell on Vinted but I only bother to do it with nicer stuff. I would never put anything on for less than £3, it’s just not worth it. I also donate Primark or supermarket clothes to the charity shop, they’re just not worth the faff of selling. But if things are in still on good condition and say Next or M&S and upwards I’d put it aside to sell. If it doesn’t sell after a couple of months I donate it. You need to keep on top of it though. I loathe having bags of clothes hanging around.

I sell stuff as am on maternity leave and have time ! But I have a system I literally photo and upload on Vinted as soon as I pick up the items and then they go in the “waiting”
box and if they not gone in a month they move to charity bag

stuff that’s too we’ll worn goes in clothes recycling

usually dropping a bag off once a week and a recycling bag once a week

i have a baby and nearly 4 year old

the toys are a problem I need to start tackling soon it’s getting out of control 🤣

Putting stuff aside to sell just doesn’t work for me at all - it’s just another thing to do that eats away at me.

Better to just donate and get rid , before we last moved I was brutal and yes there’s a couple of things I now kinda regret but the positives outweigh that

I was in the same boat, nearly in tears on several occasions with the ‘stuff’. Just give it away - on local FB sites , charities etc, and mark it in your head as a charity donation of £x. No guilt about money ‘lost’. Job done!

Unless you have anything that’s worth selling it’s much easier to just charity shop it. I’ve only sold big stuff like prams, cot, Jumperoo etc. the rest I just donate. You could ask your kids school if they want some of it? My kids school take the books they’ve outgrown, old warm coats, uniform and shoes if they’re in good condition plus some toys to use in their breakfast club or the nursery.

I can’t be arsed with selling or free cycle. They are great if you have spare time but I don’t. I take what I can to charity shops but the bottom line is sometimes you need to chuck it.

I feel your pain though: the amount of shit that kids accrue at that age is overwhelming. Go easy on yourself and allow yourself to chuck stuff if you need to. You will drown otherwise. I speak as a natural hoarder who struggles to throw stuff away. Sometimes it’s got to be done.

I’m brutal , if it’s good enough for charity shops it gets taken and if it isn’t it gets tipped . I really cannot be doing with selling stuff myself .

Im brutal end of if i dont want it or need it it gets binned.
I have no attachment to things items or clutter.
I dont box things up to make it look tidy because it will still be there in a box.
I dont sell things takes to long maybe a charity shop but i mostly bin things.
Im a minimalist.

Wait until the weather gets better and do a boot sale. We did this when my youngest was about 3. We sold lots of baby stuff and clothes. We made over £300 in one weekend and cleared out tons of stuff. No selling stuff online and the ache of that. Just chuck it in the car, sit in the sun while people get rid of your stuff for you, and make some money back!
The good thing about boot sales too is people expect to rummage. Just put it in boxes with ages labelled for clothes to make it easier and let them go to town. Easy peasy!

I have thoughts of selling stuff and making a bit of the money back, but in reality I just don't have the time, so EVERYTHING goes to charity/clothes banks/nurseries.

The money is spent and gone so you're not missing it. Give yourself a break and just give it away!

I’m pretty ruthless about this. Depending on where you live I’d put a load of stuff at the end of your drive with a sign saying ‘free to a good home’ or whatever you want. All our stuff goes within the hour but anything left would have been donated/recycled/taken to work to see if anyone wanted it.
I hate throwing things in the actual bin but if I was overwhelmed I’d do it simply to get in a better headspace within the house.

https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/sustainability-at-hm/our-work/close-the-loop.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqw2Xr0BTq4L3_IFvQ0Zf8Qb__dj8lWYPC2moj_PbHvo0aK6gHn

H&M have this recycling service, which is great if you like their clothes.
In the past when I have used it I have got £5 voucher ( they do expire but have quite a long date on them ) .
I find the biggest advantage is you can send branded uniform , sheets , towels, curtains as well as ordinary clothing .
I recommend you check your local h&m as I believe some of the smaller ones don't operate the scheme.

I give loads away on freebie sites and people come and collect. I always feel like I should be selling but at the same time I just want it gone

Just get rid! I am a chronic ADHD procrastinator. Lots of intentions but no follow-through ability. Trust me, you'll feel so much better and zero guilt when you are free of all the clutter. I'm quite brutal now with clearing out because if I don't this house would become a hoarder's hovel. (But I still have suitcases full of DVDs and Playstation games in the loft that I intended to sell on eBay 15 years ago. And other things. Best to not go up there.)

I give stuff to charity or free to collect if it's big items recently just before Christmas donated all my sons Disney cars race tracks to a toy charity that gifts them out to less fortunate families, I felt that was much better than trying to sell it to someone else that and I just don't have the time or patience to deal with selling it posting it and dealing with multiple questions or someone wanting it for next to nothing.

I got rid of a play shed free to collect and someone collected it next day saved me taking it apart and it ending up on rubbish tip.

I have donated some of the larger younger toys that my two had when little to play cafes or schools again it saved them going to rubbish dump and they got to be used so better for environment.

Clothes I always donate to clothes bank one it's easier and again it goes to someone who needs it.

You could also try contacting the local Sure Start and Baby Bank as this might help someone else more.

I’m about to get rid of tons of clothes, some of it quite decent brand names, and I’ve been putting it off because I keep on trying to convince myself I’ll actually get round to doing Vinted. I never will and once the bags have gone I will forget about everything that was in them. Having that space and being rid of stuff will be so liberating. Keep that feeling in mind.

I wish there was a charity that handed stuff out as opposed to selling it in charity shops. I think nowadays charity shops are so in fashion that people who don’t ‘need’ the clothes get them before people in need