Bric-a-brac....is there just too much

We wash and pack up clothing we no longer wear and take to Salvation Army which has collecting box at our local Morrisons.

The Age Concern charity bag that comes about twice a year to my house states that it takes bric-a-brac and I believe goes straight to the local shop and the Shaw Trust shop near me actually wrote back to me telling me how much they raised from the sale of my donations so that would be a good one to give to ( no begging letter from them either afterwards). I also give to a local animal rescue charity shop. I NEVER put anything in charity bags that only give % to charities. Someone is making a profit there from your cast offs.

I agree - the so-called "charity bag collections" are a scam - sorry, girls and guys! and if you read the small print, most of the stuff you give is sold in Eastern Europe. Better to give your stuff to a genuine charity shop. The only thing I've found that they won't take is electrical goods for health & safety reasons.

Slightly off subject but for many years I have had concerns about the safety aspect of these unsolicited plastic bags being pushed through our doors. Although it doesn't currently affect me, the potential hazard of a pet or small child getting hold of one before the householder is aware doesn't seem to have been highlighted as yet.

There was a programme on TV a year or two ago about charity shop clothing going to Africa in huge bales which African shopkeepers would buy (not knowing what would be in the bales) and selling the clothes on their market stalls. One African country had banned the import of these bales because the local clothing industry was being damaged, people were buying western clothes in preference for locally made African clothes and putting local clothing producers' jobs and income in jeopardy.

I work as a volunteer in a charity shop..and I always manage to come home with something!! I can't help myself!! Today it was 2 pictures of New York, day and night view of the twin towers... I bought them purely for historic purposes....where I'm going to put them I don't know! Oh and I got a lovely little jacket which is currently drying on the washing line..oh and a small toy for my husband's grandson for when he visits next...oh and a tray with 3 flower pots...have to buy some plants now!! Heeeelp!!

I love charity shops but won't buy bric a brac. I buy books which I read and return. I buy toys which my grandchildren play with but when they outgrow them they go back to the charity shop. Clothes etc., I'll wash and wear for a while then return them to be sold again. I never fill the bags left on our doorstep as once a rogue van collected them before the charity van arrived.

I save up all my charity bags and put them in my caravan to use for rubbish or dirty laundry.

Those 'illegal' bags are sold onto poorer countries in Europe where they pay good money ( for them) for our cast offs.
They are often horrified by what we throw out.
Many of the big charities sell the stuff off to 'entrepreneurs' in Africa.
There was a programme on tv where they followed electrical goods from our tip in Southend to one African country.

I take things directly to charity shops, also give things to the village bring and buy/ jumble sales and have given things on freecycle or sold them for a small sum ( through free ads in the local magazine.
I never fill the bags that come through the door.

If I go into a charity shop, I always look at the bric-a-brac. Sometimes I find something that matches an item I already have, like some wine glasses to replace those I broke. I must try to donate more bric-a-brac before I run out of cupboard space.

I do donate books, but usually return with the same number.

I take clothes to the charity shop, usually because they have mysteriously shrunk or, more likely I have grown out of them, but seldom see clothes I want to buy. None of the stylish ladies who donate their designer cast-offs seem to be my size.

Love those charity bags, fit my bin beautifully.

One of the great things about Freecycle sites is that you can often pass on items which simply can't be given to charity shops because they are too old, slightly damaged, out of fashion, or whatever. We've given away tired old garden pots, odd rolls of wallpaper, wax-covered candle holders, pieces of fabric, half-tins of paint & other part-used DIY materials - to name but a few! This is all stuff which otherwise could have ended up as landfill.

The charity shop I work in sells loads of bric a brac we also do electrical pap testing but we don’t have a collection scheme people donate directly to us We actually can barely keep up with the bags of donations a lot of the time often over a hundred bags a day
I would never use the roadside bags I don’t trust them

I don't fill these bags any longer; if you do read the small print the charity gets very little indeed from the proceeds, and there were reports of 'rogue' collectors who, on seeing bags being distributed, come with a van shortly before the 'official' collection is due and pick the bags up. Probably best to take items directly to a shop if you can. I do use the bags to line my rubbish bin so they do get recycled after a fashion! I would also never sign up for any charity using the 'young people with a stand in the street' type of collectors, as they are not employed by the charity and their organisation take money EVERY time from your donation . How careful you have to be - people give so generously and it should all go to the charity, not to scheming individuals or companies.

I understand exactly what you mean. When I watch those antiques shows and see all the tat for sale (not counting real antiques in this) it makes me wonder. There isn't a hole in the ground which could be dug deep enough to bury all of it. I'll never be a minimalist but try not to go to the other extreme.
When it comes to bric-a-brac there's a skip at our local supermarket which is for 'books, records, clothes and things' which I take stuff to. It's for the British Heart Foundation. Could there be similar in your local area if you look more closely? It's a help.

My village holds a monthly Swap Shop for usable items, where everything is given or taken for no payment, which is very successful. I plan to take some cookery books tomorrow. They refuse clothing, but I have seen some useless donations like broken crockery or lamp shades!

The legacy of years of shopping trips 'just to get something for the house' :-)

I am reluctant to use the free-cycle website as I have been told people then go on and sell what has been given away which annoys me. I tend to take mine to BHF or donate it to a local childrens charity.

How about local Fetes, Church or Village Hall. I always save up my "stuff" and it usually sells. This year, at the last minute, I took down 10 filing boxes, used but in good nick. I was going to take them to the recycling depot but decided to give the village fete a go. I went to the stall and within minutes there were three people holding a bidding war for them. They sold for £15!!! Lots of people run their own business from home and need stuff like this.

They're quite handy for garden rubbish...left one at the front door and it was collected!

I dread to think how many of these bags end up in landfill. At one time you could leave unused bags and they would be collected to be reused, but not now. I use them to line the recycling bin and for holiday laundry then put them with carrier bag recycling, but I get far more than I can use.

It's my experience that many charity shops are happy to take bric-a-brac if you bring it in. (And it seems to sell). DH and I are having a big, ongoing clear-out which includes giving lots away on our local free-cycling website. It's amazing what people will take; we've given away houseplants, blankets, toys, tired old furniture, & old garden items, amongst many other items. It would appear that the world is full of stuff but there's usually someone who can use it.

Minxie this is not a police matter. If you read the small print on some of the bags, they state that a percentage of the proceeds of sale will go to the charity concerned. They are misleading, but not illegal. It is best to read the small print. I use the bags as they are nice and strong, and take the stuff direct to the charity shop of my choice!

I wouldn't dream of using those bags that come through the door. Firstly, there are quite often people quite willing to take the bags just before the real collections, so you're just giving the items to some low-life. Secondly, I have read that out of every pound they make, just a few pence goes to the charity! I'm not sure, but didn't Nick Cleggs' family start out doing that, if not him then some other millionaire. It doesn't take long to drop them into a charity shop and at least you know where it's gone to.