Hoarding - Springing Ahead

GreyQueen

jk0 wrote: »

I'm always concerned that charity shops might turn their noses up at my cast offs.

Anyone else similarly concerned, or do they take everything, then chuck it away once you've left the shop?

They don't frisk your bags in front of you and hand back what they don't like, if that's your concern, but some things which end up in the back room with the sorters won't make it onto the shop floor.

I've had several anecdotes from pals and acquaintances who work behind the scenes as sorters in chazzers, and also hear a lot from my Magic Greengrocer, whose premises back onto a service yard shared by several charity shops, and the answers vary.

First off, you need to make some enquiries about what kind of things they accept. Lots of charity shops can't sell electrical items because they would have to be PAT tested and they can't afford to do this. Some charities are set up to sell electricals, so a bit of research can help.

Secondly, some people are under the misapprehension that charity shops launder clothing and other textiles, so that it doesn't matter what state you hand things over in. They don't launder; they will use an industrial steamer if necessary, to de-crease stuff once its on a hanger, but no more.

If your item has stains it'll be ragged. If it requires minor repairs, such as buttons re-sewn or a little bit of a seam sewn up, it'll be ragged. If its a pair of shoes and they'll not virtually unworn, they'll be junked. Books which are too tatty for sale, or are the kind of things which almost no one wants (royal books are a regular offender in this category) will probably be binned. One local charity puts books out at the main (very modest) price, then eventually into the 10p box if unsold, then they go to be pulped if no one will buy them.

Because there is a resale value for rags, if your textiles are really worn out, or have stains which you haven't been able to remove, or have broken zips, or rips, ask if your charity takes stuff for ragging? Most do, but it's enormously helpful and saves the sorters a lot of time if you can separate out the things intended for ragging from the good stuff - I put such things in a separate carrier bag within the main bag, loosely tied, with a big label on it saying RAG ONLY.

As simple good manners, I would ensure that my ragging donations were also clean, even if they were worn and holey. I also remove things like buttons (which I save sewn onto scraps of thin card) and other trim like zips which will be a nuisance in the ragging process.

I heard a very funny story from a pensioner acquaintance who volunteers in one of the national chazzer chains about a very very haughty lady who brought in her donation bags into their branch with the air of a duchess bestowing jewels upon the peasants. They didn't much like her snootiness but at least expected to find some good donations - it was all utter carp, and included her stained, baggy and unwashed old knickers - eww!

If you exercise your commonsense, of which I'm sure you have shedloads, you should be fine. Glassware and crockery which is chipped and cracked is no good, nor would be the non-stick pans with the lining scratched, or things which are badly dented, torn, otherwise damaged, illegal, of dubious morality (stacks of adult magazines spring to mind). Clothes should be free from stains, bleach splashes, have all their buttons present, their zips working, and be laundered.

If something requires a minor repair, which is easy enough to do but detracts from the look of the item, try to fix it yourself, as it may cause the sorters to junk it before it reaches the shop-floor.

Some good causes have specific uses for things like old towels and old bedding, such as animal charities, so think of them first and make an enquiry there.

If you're umming and aahing about whether something is resaleable, imagine it sitting on the shelf or hanging on the rack at the chazzer being viewed by people just as discerning as yourself. Would you buy it? If the answer is no way, jose, you know what to do with it.

Oh, and never forget the wonder which is freegle/ freecycle, to pass on things which may not find a welcome at the charity shop. I'm going to be getting back into freegling a couple of things soon. HTH.

savingqueen

Hi everyone

Afraid I have been MIA for a while - however the good news is that I have definitely been "in action" Several bags of things given away to a friend and school and the rest in the car boot waiting to be taken to the charity shops. Two plastic crates empty, spare hanging space in kids' wardrobe, a clean and slimmed down bathroom cabinet and airing cupboard.
Toys will be the next task. DS7 will be DS8 soon and then there is Xmas so boys will be helping me gather out grown toys to donate to charity shops over the weekend.
School have an upcoming fete so donations for raffle, tombola and lucky dip requested - last year I was able to give them a lot so aiming to do the same this year. I find it so much easier giving stuff away to a good cause and even more so when I can see it actually being given away. I have donated books, jigsaws etc to school nursery where I sometimes volunteer and it so fab to see the littlies enjoying what my children once did. It feels less like purely decluttering but more of a fun challenge to search out things to donate.
I am woefully behind on posts so will need to backread.
happy dehoarding everyone.... every little helps.....

savingqueen

re: what chazzas accept - GQ, as ever, has excellent advice. Have a look in the charity shops available to you and see what kind of stuff they stock. We have several nearby and some are fussier than others.
Do your council accept anything you think the chazzas might not? Ours takes textiles so anything tatty I put out in a labelled bag for collection. Freecycle or similar is another avenue for random things that might not sell but be useful to someone. I have rehomed several things that way - just make sure I state the condition of items honestly.
Community orgs might have use for things that are not so saleable but might be useful eg. odd scraps of material, wool etc might be welcomed by a school, playgroup, cubs or similar.




edit: sorry repeated the freecyle suggestion

jk0

Hmm.

Thanks guys. I think it will be a very rare occasion that anything I donate ends up in the window, if not impossible, in that case.

roundtuit

Good morning everyone x

How many times am I allowed to 'start again'?

Everything/everywhere is such a mess and I can't seem to find that magic wand that with one zap would reduce by weight/ clean & declutter my house/ sort my finances/ heal my mum/ etc etc.

Everything seems to be joined up - as in if I lose weight I'll have more energy to do chores after work which would make me feel better about myself so I wouldn't comfort eat, so I'd lose weight. That sort of thing!

But I can only start from where I am - wandless though that might be.

So I'm back... I'll empty the bins, recycle the cardboard sat on the kitchen worktop and load the WM and washing up bowl.

Feeling sorry for myself won't shift a thing - here goes.

Back soon xx

GreyQueen

(((((((((roundtuit))))))))) you're always welcome, my lovely, and life isn't a test which you pass or fail, and we're not your adjudicators, we're your online gang of cheerleaders and mutual handholders.

Hell, if life was a test, there'd be teachers and lessons and practices and re-sits. The lack of them reveals the truth; it's just life; 5% excitement, 5% trauma and 90% the same-old same-old. And wrangling the Stuff is a big chunk of that 90%.

If you have more Stuff than you have life, something has to give. For preference not your physical or mental health, we want you to be the best roundtuit you can be, not to be miserable.

Sometimes I suffer from overwhelm. Too much to do, zero energy, stuff everywhere, can't find my mojo (probably misplaced it under the Stuff). At such times I need to babystep it; get the dishes into the kitchen, get the dishes into the sink, wash them and get them put away. Get that bin emptied, get the recycling out, clear up the grossest and most obvious messes.

Suddenly, the world looks a little brighter, there's a hint of space. Start valuing space and time and de-valuing things which take your space and time. Is that shirt a real PITA, always needs ironing, never looks good for 5 mins once you have ironed it? Can you part with it? Can you simply everything you do, even a little? Lots of little simplifications add up to a goodly bit of time saved over the week.

I've simplified my hair into a crop - look, Ma, no comb. Get up and scruff my fingers through it, wash it every second morning, scruff my fingers through it. I have rendered combs, hairbands and hair conditioner redundant, yippee for me.

I simplify my allotment. Years ago, I had edged beds. I discovered that slugs and snails lurk alongside the edging boards, couch grass colonises it and is a beggar to get out, the wood rots after a couple of years and needs replacing......complexity simplified into gardening old-boy-stylee, one path down the side of the plot, the soil easy to access, dig and hoe.

I have a tendancy to want to do stuff now, which can involve running all over town on errands. With a bit of forethought, I can do a bit of consolidation, waiting a few days until I'm passing X anyway, rather than running a special errand. A lot of stuff isn't life or death, it's a bit flexible.

I'm also trying to cure myself of perfectionism, such as allowing a spelling mistake or a typo to sit up in a post without feeling I have to edit. It's OK, you're not giving me marks out of ten for my writing......

Errmmm, I hope you're not, in any case.

I'm working towards 'good enough' in a lot of things, instead of feeling something has to be perfect or it's useless. It's much more relaxing than perfectionism, I've found.

roundtuit

Bins emptied and new bin bags put in/hung; cardboard put in recycling bin; DS's workshirts swirling in WM; first bowlful of pots washed, dried and put away - I've also put seed out for the birds; emptied the fruit bowl of 'dead' fruit (unfortunately the only sort that was in it); gathered up 3 empty carrier bags that were lying around (??? do they breed?? I use them as bin bags so they will be recycled); taken clothes of the airer (all dry - been there a while) and folded them ready to go upstairs; put next lot of pots in to soak ... it's looking a wee bit better already.

Five minutes for the pots to soak a little - the next time I post they'll be washed, dried and put away - and the eleven cola cans on the kitchen worktop will be rinsed and in the recycling bin.


ETA oh Greyqueen = you've made mi eyes fill up wi wet stuff! Thank you for your open-ness - I have to break things down into smaller pieces too sometimes - even getting out of bed/ getting dressed some days ( depends where my anxiety levels are - and as they don't seem to bear any relevance to real life events it's a case of if it works for me, and it's not hurting anyone else, it's actually ok). Sending you thankyou hugs (()) xx

Sorry if this minutiae is tedious reading - it just works for me when I have this head on (did I tell you I'm related to Worzel Gummidge? haha)

Rx

GreyQueen

Other people's lives are interesting, and I do find it helps to talk through the minutiae.

I'm in limbo as the weather is trying to decide if it's going to stay static (flat calm, grey overcast, rained overnight but dry now) or if it's going to rain. I want to do some gardening and yesterday was a total washout, don't know what the afternoon will bring. Dunno if I should chance it and just get wet or wait a bit longer and see what happens. I have to bike to the allotment, so if rain stops play up there, I can still get pretty darned wet heading home. Sigh. I don't suppose I'd melt if I got rained on, my late Gradma told several generations that Yer neither sugar nor salt!

Hmm. Will eat leftover pizza for lunch and have a cuppa then head up there if it stays dry-ish. I detest these ambigious weather days, rain or don't rain, sky, don't just glower indecisively.........:rotfl:

roundtuit

And the ETA should be under my Rx but I am not editting my edit - so my 'perfectionist' gremlin can do one and sulk!
Rx

roundtuit

Won't the soil be a bit wet for gardening Greyqueen? Totally ignorant about these things- just know my gardening 'fairy' doesn't like wet soil.

I've had a similar dilemma re: putting washing out or not as it's very overcast here with no discernible wind. Think I'll stick to Plan B which is why I cleared the airer to make way for new washing.

Having said that my W has gone quiet so I'll put another load in and 'wesh' those pots.

Thank you for your encouragement - enjoy your pizza

Rxx