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.

Freecycle is great for getting rid of stuff

Little and often is what I find works for me.

Yes, I have a full time and part time job, a child and am a single parent, so I think you do have to be pretty organised. Although it does help not to let things mount up (hoard) or make excuses. Look at what you can do, not what you can’t.

As soon as my son grew out of clothes, I donated to a women’s refuge charity. Grew out of his bike - popped it on FB market place. Don’t ‘store’ stuff in the loft ‘just in case you might use it again’.

My neighbour still has a cot, pram, baby bouncer in her loft, in case she was going to use it again! (her DS is 15).

I am not arguing that people have no agency. I am saying that agency exists within real world constraints and those constraints matter.

Yes, in an ideal scenario, people would have the time, space, energy, transport and emotional capacity to deal with possessions immediately and routinely. But for many households, especially those dealing with illness, disability, caring responsibilities, financial pressure or bereavement, life does not work in tidy systems. Things accumulate not through neglect, but through necessity, uncertainty and limited capacity.

Regular disposal also assumes that disposal options are consistently accessible and appropriate. They are not. Charity shops refuse many items. Recycling points are limited. Some things have no clear ethical destination at all. That makes responsible action harder, not easier. You can see how varied it is with people's posts.

You are also treating predictability as the same thing as control. Yes, families can predict that children will grow and need new things. What they cannot always predict is timing, finances, storage space, health or whether items will be needed again for siblings or changed circumstances. Keeping things is often a practical choice not an environmental failure.

On sustainability, I agree the average British lifestyle is not environmentally sustainable. But environmental responsibility is not an all or nothing position. People can make meaningful efforts within imperfect systems. Reducing waste, reusing items, and avoiding landfill where possible are valid actions, even if they exist within a wider unsustainable structure.

It is also unrealistic to suggest that people must fundamentally redesign their entire way of living before their environmental concern becomes legitimate. Most people are doing the best they can within the limits of modern life.

Responsible behaviour does not only look like perfect systems and minimal possessions. It also looks like trying to make thoughtful choices with what you already have, even when the process is slow, inconvenient and emotionally difficult.

That is not avoidance. It is real life.

https://www.vintagecashcow.co.uk/items-we-buy

I've not used it yet so can't vouch.

Olio is good you can list items to give away for free and I've always found that people come and collect, this includes food too including home made leftovers made that evening, I had somebody collect half of my daughter's uneaten birthday cake once which I made because I couldn't bear to throw it away.
Another example, I gave a lady some open cereal that my daughter didn't like (about two boxes) and she was crying saying. Thanks. I felt so sad for her. I gave her everything else that I had that I didn't need. She said it was for her children and she was hungry. I've also giving away plenty of toys and books
Try free to give away groups on Facebook near you
Some people put stuff on the table outside their home with a sign saying "free to take "

No. Not over consumption
give yourself 2 weeks to "ethically" dispose and then hire a skip. You'll be so pleased when it's gone

Most people are not doing the best they can within the constraints they have. Most people make token efforts except where it suits them for other purposes - like justifying their procrastination.

We've just done a clear out and it's been NBD. A few bags and boxes have gone to the local charity shops, a few things I've put on the school WhatsApp and offloaded to other parents who can make use of them, some things (including old bedding) will go to the nearest rag bank this weekend. Why do you have so many electronics to throw away? The last thing electronic thing we threw away was a broken Echo Dot about 2 years ago, I can't remember what we did with it. We use rechargeable batteries.

Oh god dont get me started on this. I started a thread, which I will update.

The faff of going through the stuff and trying to work out what is necessary and what isnt.

The update for me is that I finally got the boxes delivered in order to box up books to send to World of Books. It took ages and 2 rolls of selotape to make p the boxes.

Next step, taking them one by one to the corner shop, because they're heavy boxes and theres no where to park, into the tiny little shop, knocking over various stands of nuts and haribo and then trying to remember which email has the code for that box (I had 5 boxes)

That alone took 40 mins. Poor bloke behind the till.

Then a final box which did not have an option for drop off, it has to be collected by DPD which means a day waiting round.

I havent even finished the books yet, then I have plastic tubs, more clothes and shoes which the charity doesnt want, you can never drop off clothing these days.

The books that werent sellable I couldnt even take to the charity or the book bank because it was full, I had to put it in the paper and card recycling.

What would you do with a plastic washing up basin?
Its in new condition but doesn't fit in my sink so its been in a cupboard but now I just want it gone.

I think its too new for bin.
But would anyone buy it in a charity shop

Someone would take that on Freecycle I’m sure.

I’d probably just put a post on my Facebook telling friends and family I’d bought the wrong size and it was going spare so did anyone want it. If they didn’t I’d stop off at a local school, RSPCA, vet, nursery or farmpark and ask them at random if they wanted it. It’s the kind of thing that anyone dealing with animals, running craft activities etc would easily have a use for.

I go to a lot of conferences and events and always end up with loads of water bottles and thermal cups, the local schools and outdoor pursuits centre love them because they always have kids forgetting to bring their water bottles or who don’t own one so having a few spare is helpful.

The local school took the violin that DC no longer plays. Glad to see that gone!

I'd have thought a violin would be easy to sell.

I have put a lot of things on selling sites which never sell.

Yes, similar here in south Liverpool. I only take what is in very good condition to our large Barnardo’s shop, I.e. unwanted gifts. At the moment they’re not taking toys at all, and are sorting through donations while people wait because they’re being given too much tat which is costing them money to deal with.

Tesco takes books and The Salvation Army collection bin in Tesco gets clothes in very good condition that struggling families will actually wear.

I do sell on eBay, but only when I know I’ll get a decent price for good brands, eg Hobbs.

The rest goes to the tip. I separate batteries from electrical items which they ask people to do, and chuck them in the battery bin which is right next to small electrical items section. Non recyclable stuff eg pillows go in that section. The fabric section takes all worn clothes, tea towels etc.

Any broken kitchen utensils etc go in the hard plastic section, which is where PILs’ old Lego from the 70s went.

Baby basics are desperate for Moses baskets in good condition, without the mattress, if people have got them. I’m told that as people are now using Next to Me cribs there aren’t as many Moses baskets to hand on. If anyone has those in the loft please offer them to Baby basics as the chances are that your relatives don’t want them in the future. Our Baby basics will also take buggies, high chairs, stair gates.

Last year I sold a lot on eBay- I don’t use the other sites. I got £70 for a PS4 with a handset in good condition but no leads. If you’re selling PS4 games, sell them in bundles. You won’t get a lot but I could shift 20 games for £15-20 pounds. I also got money for some of the collectible figures that go with them. Everything needs to be in pretty good condition though. I sold a boxed set of Dr Seuss books still in very condition and got £10. Also £10 for a tin of Roahld Dahl CDs. I set aside one morning, cleared a space on a plain floor and photographed everything carefully. A few minutes and some good pics helps to sell. The description needs to be clear and detailed and you need to keep a stack of Amazon boxes and bubble wrap, but if you’re organised you can often shift a fair bit in one day. I sold the PS4 and a lot of Skylanders figures within about 2 hours of listing them.

I would put it at the bottom of my garden path or driveway for a passer by to take.

I run a library & we have recycling collection points for small electrical items & batteries. A charity collection point for yarn. We also take good condition books to sell & colouring books & puzzles to use.

Our local tip has a container where you can put anything which is in a reasonable condition but doesn't go in any of the other designated bins and they sell it in a council charity shop. It was a blessing when we moved.

Unfortunately nobody passes my house.

Another random bit of clutter i have, a strap for a yoga mat, I didn't really like it so bought a bag instead.
Does nylon actually get recycled or is it landfill fodder?

Could you use it for storage? I have a couple storing cleaning products

Really, there's just too much stuff in the world. Moving it somewhere else doesn't help, as can be seen with the stringent rules around drop offs, they don't want it either. Nobody wants it, or needs it, or can be bothered to take the time to figure out of they maybe might want it, because they're also drowning in things, so you might as well bin it.

Thats the hard bit because as polyester or nylon its a type of plastic so should be recyclable.

It’s late I read that as BBQs and was amazed they had their own recycling solution!