Where is your stuff going?

[BrutusMcDogface]

Hi all! Happy Boxing Day!

I’m just realising that my efforts to declutter are always stalled by absolute paralysis regarding what to do with the stuff we don’t want.

Selling- so much effort; minimal return and no time to do it.
Donating- nowhere to donate to really, as the local charity shops only take a small carrier bag when they are even accepting anything.

I have a massive bag of toys and books I need to look through to decide which things to take to my classroom but I can’t even do that, as I’m incapable of making decisions 😢

Please help me! Gemma (organised mum method) says, have an exit plan and my lack thereof is really holding me back!

Do you get a lot of foot traffic past your house? Lots here had boxes at the gate with kids toys, books and games in during the first lockdown.

Do any of your local schools do table sales/ jumble sales to raise money?

Can you ring around a few charity shops to find one that would accept a car load?

The out of town charity shops often accept large donations. Also use clothing banks to put clothes and textiles in.

Ooh, thanks. I’m not sure if we have any out of town charity shops but will have a look.

The clothing/textile bank closest to me was removed as people kept setting it alight.

Have a look for a Barnardos donation centre near you, they are larger than the shops and will take a larger donation than the local shop.

You're right about the exit strategy, the important thing is to get it out as fast as possible. Don't get too hung up about where it is going, I've used the bags that come through the door and that get picked up at the gate, they sometimes take more than clothes as well.

Freegle/Freecycle/local FB free pages etc - yes a bit of a PITA but if you put up with clear boundaries (whole box to be collected, will leave in X location, first come first served etc) then it’s pretty efficient.

Stop dithering about ‘looking through’. Your stuff doesn’t need to go to the absolute perfect place, it just needs to go.

Also Olio - you’ll need to download the app to take part though.

Also Gumtree has a Freebies section.

Stop dithering about ‘looking through’. Your stuff doesn’t need to go to the absolute perfect place, it just needs to go.

Thank you- this helps.

I’m looking for Barnardos 👍

Any local organisations that will collect donations from home, Emmaus UK for example?

I just booked a collection with icollectclothes 😊

Well done! I suffer from perfectionism on this score, wanting stuff to go to the best place, so I understand, but I try hard to not overthink too much. Bitter experience shows that the things I think I’ll give to the perfect place/person/new home will linger and the moment is lost.

Thank you NoSquirrels

My lack of ability to actually get rid of things is starting to cause problems with my DP. I need to accept that things just need to get out of the house, and not worry so much about where they’re going.

Can your DP be in charge of the ‘get rid’? (Or would he go landfill, which I agree is grrrr)

Take it all into school and see if any of your colleagues want anything (for their classrooms or for relatives)

But, social media is your friend… Look on FB for local charities or appeals for homeless shelters.

Also look for swap sites when you can trade it all for stuff you need. I’ve got rid of over 100 items this year doing this, and have spent £0 on chocolate, tea, coffee, butter, or laundry liquid.

FB marketplace for higher value items, you can even list for free. Someone will always be tempted by a freebie.

Our local library and playgroup accepted good quality books / toys pre covid. Do you have little library boxes where you live?

It is easy to get rid of stuff if you don’t really want anything for it!! There will also be families who don’t have much and would appreciate things for children.