My House is a Pig Sty, Too Much Stuff, Where do I Start??

nightsong

Ebay and carboots are a great idea if you are energetic and organised. However, what I think I'm hearing from you is that you have a great deal to do in quite a short time, and you're feeling overwhelmed. Therefore, I'd say charity shop and bin every time.

We're in a similar situation, with the added complication of loads of 'spares' for various collections, picked up at, you guessed it, charity shops, carboots and ebay over the last five years!!! We've found two charity shops that can really get value for these items - Oxfam for books, and our local hospice shop. We feel wonderful that we are supporting these two excellent causes and our clutter is diminishing with little effort.

I think the Flylady talks about blessing others with our abundance, that's a good way to think about it. And remember,

"Junk is the stuff we throw away, stuff is the junk we keep!"

morganlefay

Ummmm, I'm a bit embarrassed at asking this, but when you take stuff to charity shop how much do you clean it up ? I wash all washable clothes, dust etc stuff that's dusty, but feel I have to draw the line at having dry-cleanable things cleaned. The really awful clothes (my daughters' many holey and nasty old sweaters etc) go into those 'fabric recycling' bins - heaven knows what they do with them, and nothing washable leaves here dirty, but it's certainly not all ironed and neat and on hangers. Please can other people tell me what they do ?:o

culpepper

At the end of the day ,your house will sell more quickly if it isn't cluttered so saving the things will not really save you money.

blessings3

morganlefay wrote:

Ummmm, I'm a bit embarrassed at asking this, but when you take stuff to charity shop how much do you clean it up ? I wash all washable clothes, dust etc stuff that's dusty, but feel I have to draw the line at having dry-cleanable things cleaned. The really awful clothes (my daughters' many holey and nasty old sweaters etc) go into those 'fabric recycling' bins - heaven knows what they do with them, and nothing washable leaves here dirty, but it's certainly not all ironed and neat and on hangers. Please can other people tell me what they do ?:o

Be ruthless for charity shops - They spend alot of time sorting stuff that should just go straight to reclycling and I think Oxfam were saying it costs them almost £1 per item they actally do sell in terms of time and getting rid of the excess stuff.

It doesn't have to be trendy but does have to be clean and fault free - If you wouldnt buy it then recyle it!

Donnt think that recycling is a waste either as this is also sorted and anything ''good'' is reused - Much is sold to eastern europe and Africa :j

alec_eiffel

If you have clothing, shoes or bags that couldn't be sold in the charity shop you can still take them along as they will be sold to a rag recycler. I do always put the rags separate from the good stuff though to save time at the shop.

All the stuff is picked through. clothes are steamed and bric a brac is washed. It doesn't matter about it being ironed and on hangers just as long as it isn't dirty, it is amazing the kind of stuff that gets donated!

bobsa1

Quick update, several things on local freecycle and several more bags sorted. I've been at work mon& Tuesday and I am tomorrow but plan on doing some tonight and thursday.

ironed_out

Well done Bobsa1.

I read your thread yesterday and the advice you were given was enough to give me a kick up the backside...and I ended up with 2 bags full of kids toys and stuff that's gone to the next jumble sale for the local hospice. I always intend to do a boot sale but never seem to get round to it.

Also got a small bag of rags (to make a start on draught excluders)
I feel soooo much better to have made a start.

bobsa1

I took some bags to the cahrity shop today and had to bring some back. They would not accept any baby equipment at all so sadly today I'm off to the tip with a car seat and some baby things, (car seat advertised on freecycle but not taken) oh well at least they are going!

meerkatgirl

i think you should also keep a reward in mind for when it's done - say, with all your new space, have a party or take all the eBay/carboot money and treat yourself. You do need a break from the hard work!

alec_eiffel

bobsa1 wrote:

I took some bags to the cahrity shop today and had to bring some back. They would not accept any baby equipment at all so sadly today I'm off to the tip with a car seat and some baby things, (car seat advertised on freecycle but not taken) oh well at least they are going!

Sadly charity shops can't take anything like car seats, crash helmets or any other safety equipment as they can't be sure that these things haven't been damaged/involved in a crash or whatever. It's the same reason a lot of charities won't accept electrical items, although some do have qualified people to check electricals.