Need help to declutter/stop hoarding

[NotTonightDeidre]

Posting here for traffic & because I can't think what other category it goes in.

This is really stupid, but someone please tell me it's OK to chuck away "useful" items.
I have baby sized hangers - some wooden/some plastic. There are no babies in my house.
But this is something I really struggle with - binning things that have a (perceived) use. It's OK just to bin things isn't it?
(I have listed on freecycle previously).

It sounds so ridiculous but it's like I almost need permission to throw them in the bin.

Have you a Facebook freebie group for your area? I’ve given away lots of things like that. Also a charity shop may like them for their children’s clothes.
I am not a fan of chucking things and filling the landfill sites.

I have tried previously (on more than one occasion) to give them away. They aren't wanted by others.

Charity shop? Scrap this, I see you’ve tried it already.

If not, the plastic will probably go in general recycling if not labelled recyclable, and the wood in the wood section at the tip.

If you broke them that’s where they would end up anyway.

And, interestingly, it’s easier for me to tell you this than it is to apply this to my own life.

I really enjoy decluttering and letting go of old ideas and old energy of things that already no longer useful to me. Think of decluttering as a gift to yourself to simplify and lighten your life!

It's fine to bin things OP.

I struggle with this too.

You did what you could to pass them on, but you need to balance that effort with whatever the reasons are that you need to declutter.

Put them in recycling if plastic. Let go.

I could have written your post. Drowning in clutter and feel guilty about throwing potentially useful items.

there is an app called Olio where you can list free items.

or label a cardboard box with free items and put on the pavement

Absolutely fine to bin things, a perceived use =/= an actual use. You’ve tried to rehome unsuccessfully, now is time to how them away. A recycling centre is a good idea as then they can be remade into something actually useful, just think if you cleared everything out that you don’t actually need it could be turned into so many other useful things for other people.

Recycling bin
Charity shop
Local tip that has a 'salvage' shed

Don't put in box on pavement. It's as bad as fly tipping (and I think in certain council areas you can be prosecuted for such). You've tried to freecycle etc and I agree it's such a waste to fill up landfill, but you have tried to reuse and recycle. As previous posters have said, it's much easier to advise you to throw out than to actually do it yourself! My big failing us take away containers and butter pots.....I'm sure it will come in useful!

I have changed my view on binning things . Since having to clear my mums house who was a hoarder , I can say , if things aren’t binned they often end up broken anyway .

I’m the same way OP. But I’ve come to the conclusion that if you’ve listed it on the local pay it forward pages and if the local charity shops don’t want it, then it is perhaps not as useful as originally thought, so you should feel free to bin it (or recycle if appropriate).

@Theoldwrinkley oh blimey, it’s common practice where I live.

I tell myself that it’s not my job to save the world single-handed, I recycle as much as I can and try to live lightly but keeping stuff you can’t use is holding you back.
If nobody wants these things, there’s a reason; they are not useful or practical anymore. Let them go, and once they’re gone, you’ll stop stressing about it.

There are plenty of people who give no thought at all to recycling (I am horrified every time I visit my local tip, to see what people throw away) so you are doing more than most. Free yourself to spend time on more important things.

it's not really as bad as fly tipping.
round here people leave stuff on the pavement for a day or so and then bin anything not taken.
It's actually a really efficient, local way of recycling/ gifting

Pop over to Housekeeping, there are some long running threads on decluttering and hoarding where you'll find support:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping

In an answer to your question, yes it's OK to throw things away. Ideally try to rehome them first, but if you've tried that then it's time to bin or tip. (Today I've been to the tip - batteries, light bulbs, scrap metal, clothes not suitable for selling, plus actual rubbish.)

Trash nothing is the place to try before you give up!
https://trashnothing.com/

Then the tip!

I have started decluttering since February. I've needed to do it for at least 5 years.

I have gained momentum as I am enjoying the feeling of more space.

Once things are out of the house, out of sight / out of mind, and you have a lovely clear space, it is just such a good feeling. I'm getting a bit addicted.

Maybe start with either one corner, or 1 room, or 1 genre of items (ie, clothes, or books, or ornaments)

Be ruthless!

Binnnnnn! And read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo is so good on the guilt element of discarding

I really enjoy selling on eBay and Vinted.
Appreciate it can be a pain but for me it’s like playing shop.

£1300 since January 25.

I should clarify it’s a good barometer if it’s not good enough for sale then bin!

I get where you’re coming from. I find it impossible to get rid of things. Don’t know why.
my family are all hoarders too- wonder if it’s in the genes?
no advice- sorry!!

I used to think this way especially with clothes (you never know when you might need a florescent pink fur coat, right?) but now you can pretty much get anything delivered to your door in 24 hours. And I’d rather have the space and potentially need to buy something again, than hang on to everything.

Baby coat hangers you can get for a pound in B&M, no one will want them. Just chuck them.

I think sometimes you just have to hit the reset button and have a cull of non useful items. If you have so much stuff that you're aware you have too much stuff, chances are you're holding onto stuff because it may be useful to someone one day, rather than someone who is buying lots of shit of a whim without caring about the environmental impact. Get rid, have a clean slate and enjoy feeling free of the mental burden, then you can regain control of your environment and live more sustainably.

If nobody else wants your stuff then it’s ok to
bin it. Your house is not a temporary holding location for landfill. Get rid now.

Thank you for all the replies. I definitely have an issue with hoarding type behaviour (although nowhere near these people you see on the TV).

I really need to create some space though so we can enjoy our home & not just exist within it. I've just sat & cried this evening as I find it so overwhelming.

The hangers have gone along with a bin liner of rubbish (beyond regular household waste) & 3 items listed on Vinted.

It's a start.