to think “decluttering” isn’t actually that simple if you want to dispose responsibly?

[HazelMember]

Everyone says “just have a clear-out” like it’s a quick job. But if you don’t want to chuck everything in landfill, it’s a whole logistical exercise:

Electrical items have to be recycled.
Dead batteries need to be recycled.
Charity shops are harder and harder to park near. My local charity shops are closing down and others will only take certain items.
My local homeless charity that are kitting out temporary homes will not take new bedding. Only cash.
Some places won’t take certain clothes, toys or household items.

So you end up with piles of “good” stuff sitting around while you work out where it can actually go.

I agree it's hard, especially if you don't drive. But like others I recommend Anglo Doorstep Collections, who can take the bulk of things.

It's a pain where we live. The tip has good recycling facilities but is miles away and we don't drive. Charity shops where we live are super picky. I have managed to give some things away, selling takes ages and is a lot of work. What has worked well is that we live near a food bank distribution spot and if it's a nice day I'll pop some giveaways outside with some carrier bags alongside. Whether people take things for themselves or to sell on and make a few quid, I don't care. It's off my hands.

There are lots of people who have posted who are also struggling with the same thing. Are we all making mountains out of molehills?

My local tip will recycle any electrical items, batteries, clothes, books, or used but good items they’ll take for the reuse shop on site. I think maybe it depends on your area? When you get to the tip you have to separate all of the items which can be a bit of a logistical pain, but its much better for the environment.

DC grow out of things as they grow older, change hobbies etc. - is that overconsumption?

You mentioned unused bedding and piles of "good stuff". If you've got piles of things to dispose of that aren't worn out, yes, that's over consumption.

If it's stressful and stopping you from de -cluttering then just bin everything you can't get rid of easily. I recommend you read Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K White. She writes about how this issue can cause your declutter progress to stall.

Our local tip is brilliant and takes pretty much anything. We often have charity bags put through the letterbox that will take clothes, unused toiletries, books, bric a brac. Old books I’ll just put in with the paper recycling. Loads of places will take old batteries, my corner shop does.
I love a good declutter although these days I’m very frugal with what I buy. I don’t buy anything I don’t really need and I mainly buy secondhand.

Out tip is really good too they have clothing donation bins, a container to donate stuff and a shop that sells stuff.

Agree.

I have three children. Most of the things bought for them were by other family members not us and 95% of it was stuff we held onto for the next child to use. Due to ND, there are things they never wore or used. I’m done having children and now we have to get rid of the accumulation of about 11 years of things.

Mind I did try to limit the amount of things the kids get and don’t buy toys and clothes unnecessarily knowing I would be the one having to do all the decluttering because DH would just chuck everything and then go out and buy things he shouldn’t have chucked in the first place.

Pretty sure I’d be torn to shreds on here if I stopped grandma from buying things for our children who she is only able to see once a year and not let her spoil them a bit and told to be grateful that I have such family members in my life.

Our bin men take batteries on the recycling week, put in a separate bag on top of the bin.

I have to remember which charity shops take what. One won't accept duvet covers but another will. Trying to take bags in for rags is difficult as often their storerooms are full and they never know when the van is coming to collect

Going forward we are having to book slots at the tip to be able to get rid of stuff there

Completely agree - I find it easy to decide what to get rid of, but way more effort to actually get it out of the house.

I did manage to get rid of a big sack of stained but otherwise fine children's clothes on Facebook for free which was satisfying!

My Charity shop never seems to take anything.

Unused bedding - is it overconsumption if someone gave you something you do not want and you want to get rid of it?

If you've got piles of things to dispose of that aren't worn out - you do realise that not everything gets to the worn out stage with children? They often go through growth spurts and grow out of things before they get worn out. Is that overconsumption?

People are saying there should be more electrical recycling points, but given that Tesco, Lidl, etc all have to take back electrical items, how many more points could you need? It's making excuses.

Thank you to everyone for the tip about Anglo Doorstep collections - will check them out!

Do you not have a recycling centre in your borough or town? That’s what we use.

sort it and bung it in the car. Or call the council for a bulky waste collection.

It is not making excuses. Tesco etc will only take items back if you are purchasing an item from them. It is on a like for like basis.

https://www.tesco.ie/zones/weee-recycling?srsltid=AfmBOooBMb3qGrQBeVkUdv6pJYLSZvCfzVJCa7enXbBPNxrGDikH8Lgd

Anglo collections is fabulous. Sort into clothes, books then other - they have an extensive list on their website which is really clear about what they do and don't take (eg furniture). I really rate them - We've been booking a collection monthly for the past couple of months as we've worked through the kids clothes and toys they've outgrown (3 children, over the past 10 years - and most given to us or bought second class to start with!) It's so easy to accumulate children bits but found this the most stressless way of dealing with it - our local charity shop won't take books, half the time won't take clothes so much easier to get it collected!

These posts wind me up! I hear what you're saying. But I reckon I buy less than 5% of the stuff that ends up in my house that then has to be decluttered.

I have spent time trying to work out what to do with the pile of birthday badges, the crap that comes in party bags, bloody kinder eggs (never bought one of those in my life and think they should be banned. I would dream of buying those awful magazines with plastic tat for kids, but my MIL does.

And next you'll tell me that I need to tell people to stop buying things for my kids. Tried! Failed. And I'm hardly going to stop them attending birthday parties incase of party bag tat or telling their great granny that they don't want the kinder egg am I?

The efforts I had to go to yesterday just to donate a bagful of food to the food bank was ridiculous!

YANBU OP!

The need for the items to go to certain places or making sure that they go to people or groups rather than just down to the recycling centre is a mental block and another step in maintaining clutter.

If you read the small print batteries are excluded and no purchase is needed.

We use these people too. They’re fabulous

Yep.

Do also recall some of us being told during the Christmas season we were being attention-seeking for not wanting any more stuff and it taking away from people who equate giving stuff to Christmas and taking away the pleasure by telling people what to gift our children who already have plenty of stuff and it’s not the chore we think it is when obvious by this thread it depends on where you are.

Oh definitely op! I don't drive, DH does and he used to go through bags and guilt me over what I'm getting rid of. He is blind to clutter and of the mindset to keep even if I don't like something either as rags or spares... and I think we have enough rags and no time to start new projects.
..
I used to use my black bin to declutter which was like a mini skip, I felt empowered that I could declutter without going through dh but sadly my council then switched to twice monthly collections instead of weekly, and they don't always collect it at all or well, so I can't declutter via general rubbish bin.
Clothes banks are almost always full and charity shops don't want more donations or have awkward or limited parking which is always full of course.
Freecycle is hit and miss on people reliably turning up to collect.