Beware the lockdown tidy up.

Luckylegs try Freecycle - we gave loads of stuff away, and we've taken one or two bits as well. Put a good photo up of the item and a good description though - I've just seen loads of entries on ours saying things like 'Curtains', or 'kettle'. Not much use. Leave it outside the door ready for collection and there's no risk to you. Some people will grab it to sell, but at least it's out of your conservatory

We decided to clear out our huge loft as it’s jammed to the rafters, not only with our stuff but a lot of our daughters as well. There’s a lot of baby stuff (just in case but those days have gone now) but ‘out of sight, out of mind’, she just keeps promising to take it all but never does.

Husband has been bringing huge amounts down all week which is now filling our conservatory because I just can’t find anywhere to take it! Everyone seems to be doing the same thing at the moment. Charity shops will take one bag in restricted times, the hospice places are full and not taking anything else. I’m reluctant to put beautiful sets of curtains, bedding etc into those containers on supermarket car parks as they could be so useful to people. I’m not trying to sell anything, I just want to give it away! I’m despairing now, it’s going to have to go back up.

Full of admiration for the declutterers but how did you deposit stuff in the charity shops?
Given the age and vulnerability of many volunteers in these shops, most were closed for the duration and only recently reopened for limited donations.
We've had stuff (rubbish) piling up and have had to book x 3 car visits to the council CA site.
We can't get in without a booking even tho there has always been adequate spacing between vehicles even before the social distancing requirements.
We suspect the council were taking advantage of the furlough scheme to reduce wage bills and have minimum staff onsite.

I always have a blackbag in the wardrobe for charity shop stuff and usually it is full within a month.

I am not a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I cannot bear to have unused clutter everywhere. Nothing beats the satisfaction of an empty drawer, or a drawer or cupboard with much less in it than there was.

All we have in our loft is Christmas decs, suitcases and some workpapers of DH, which I am gradually getting out and leaving in front of his wardrobe until he gets tired of tripping over them and sorts them out, followed by a trip to the tip.

I have been decluttering for ages - despite lots to the charity shops, selling on ebay and going to the tip my house still looks like a disaster zone. I've sometimes found it hard to focus during lockdown and start one thing and move onto another - fatal. I haven't started on the loft which is full to the brim and know that one of these days I won't be able to get up the loft ladder so really need to tackle it. I know I'm a bit of a hoarder and losing my sister and Mum within 6 months of each other had to clear 2 houses. I didn't bring that much from them but I think because whilst they were ill it was such an anxious time that the "stuff" I have became a bit of a comfort blanket.
I had things in the car until the charity shops re-opened and can now drop things off, although you do have to make an appointment for the hospice shop and had to wait 4 weeks so some went to one of the others. For those of you who can't get to the shops but have access to a PC you can print off a free label from BHF and send a box to them. I was going to do it but decided to wait until they re-opened - trouble is as things are think they might start closing again.

That was one of my most difficult throw outs. Beautiful Christmas decks amassed over the last 50 years. Awful but useless to me and mostly unwanted by my children.

We are moving soon, and have hired a skip to try to clear things from the attic and the garage (which has never seen our car in it in the six years we have lived here). I REALLY struggle to throw things away, and want to keep everything! I've been told this is due to my "disturbed" childhood (lived with Grandparents/Aunts/Uncles/Cousins/ and my mother from time to time to time). We have "made a dent" in the Garage, but I find it really depressing! Got the Christmas things from the Attic - as we hope to use those again! I have a suitcase of clothes to take to the Charity shop, though I can't say when exactly (we move next week!).

I've just thrown out a pile of old rollers and perm curlers; hope they're recyclable plastic.

Wait for curly hair to come in again in a couple of weeks.

Wheniwasyourage

It's sinking to the bottom of the heap, isn't it, when they steal from charity!
One of our local charity shops has a smashed wind and people steal poppy money boxes too.

DH sent my new battery charger (for golf cart) to the tip.

Happysexagenarian, I had a similar problem, the charity shop offered me a date two weeks hence to deliver clothes/shoes. I had difficulty getting them to the shop (I am an octogenerian), so I gave up and posted them in a "used clothes recycling bin", not sure where they end up.

I've been doing a bit (not enough...) of decluttering and now have a bag of clothes to take to the Salvation Army textile bin at the supermarket. However, today I passed the bin and the man who was trying to empty it said that there is a gang from Manchester going round breaking into the bins and stealing the clothes. If they can't get in, they superglue the locks so that the proper people can't get in either.

What on earth possesses these louts to come all the way to the North East to do something so disgusting and heartless? (And by the North East, I don't mean Newcastle, I mean past Aberdeen.) No doubt they are bringing their Covid with them too.

Cleaning out the wardrobes it was going fine, I went to check an email and had my 'everyday' reading glasses on a chain around my neck.
Never seen them since, must have come off into one of the bags.

I have redecorated and re-carpeted my lounge so I also decluttered. I gave away a sideboard and today Freecycled a very old china cabinet. The trouble was that it took me hours to find the glass shelves and the tiny key! I have also freecycled my old television. All collected within 3 hours of posting so I am looking for more things to give away.

Last year I had my loft insulated with the spray foam insulation. In order to do the work the company needed access to all sides so the contents of the loft had to be stacked in the middle. I didn't even know if I could get up into the loft to do it so I paid my next door neighbour's teenage son to help. He did the crawlingninto inaccessible areas and passed stuff to me and I roughly piled it up in the middle. It only took about an hour and I'd never have managed it alone. Definitely £10 well spent. I hope he didn't feel ripped off!
At some point I'll need to tackle clearing it all when I finally de-clutter and downsize but a few items did make their way out to the bin or were given away. Unfortunatrely I don't feel safe going up there alone so it won't get touched again for some time!

Oh dear you are all making me feel very lazy.
I need to do a lot of decluttering but just don’t seem to
be able to face it.
I have several books on how to start etc.My “ pantie “ drawer
is the only recipient of the books lol.
I shall start tomorrow, wish me luck ?

I sorted out two huge bags of good quality clothing, curtains and a box of china and ornamental stuff for a local charity shop but had great difficulty getting them (or anyone else) to accept it. The charity shops were swamped by donations and their collections depots never seemed to be open. We carried it around in the boot of the car for a couple of weeks until we saw a depot that was open then marched up to the door with it. A young man said "You need an appointment to bring donations here" I said "Take it or leave it, I'm not coming back again" I don't know what happened to it but at least it's out of my wardrobe and may do someone a good turn.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I got to know our local hospice charity shop lady quite well when we were dropping stuff off during a house move a couple of years ago. I asked her about the offer of giving back the money they had raised and was absolutely AMAZED that some people DO ask for the money back! Incredible. They use it as a sort of cheap alternative to putting their junk through a sale room. Nothing surprises me any more!

Before the pandemic started I suddenly had a crisis of conscience about the amount of stuff I had stored in my loft. I hired 3 sixth formers from the local school who formed a human chain from the loft to my garage. When the loft was completely empty I was able to sort through the stuff in the garage and throw or store what was there. it’s amazing how much you think you want to keep but you really don’t want to or need to.( A level papers from 1960? Never looked at and now impossible to answer!)
So much went to the tip, the rest to the charity shops, some to my daughters and very very little went Back up to the loft. I even made a map of what was where. I totally recommend this as an activity, Which will give you peace of mind and real sense of achievement.

I was determined to go through the house decluttering - almost made it apart from one cupboard which is brimful of books and papers and three big boxes of photos.

Well, I've almost done one box of photos and handing them to those who are in the photo so that they can make the decision as to whether to ditch them or not. One of my daughters has already told me, "Please no more photos" and I think I offended one friend by saying that I couldn't keep wedding photos of others now. This was the wedding of her son and DIL and don't think she understood!

I have this week found two items of clothing that I thought I had impulsively given to a charity shop and subsequently regretted it. That was a happy find! We have visited several shops over lockdown and unloaded our estate car, crammed to the roof and back door with 'stuff', and I can't say I have given any of it a second thought, except to regret having carted it all about through several moves. I've had a letter from two of the shops and have been pleasantly surprised at the amount they have raised - and even more surprised that they have offered me the money back . I had no idea they were obliged to do that. I wonder if anyone has the cheek to let a charity sell their unwanted goods and then ask for the proceeds .

I have tried, but DH wants t hang on to everything!! I donated my sheepskin jacket to a charity shop (I haven't worn it for about 10 years) He wont part with his which he hasn't worn since we lived in Aberdeen (28 years ago!)

I can almost guarantee that whatever I throw away is the very thing I’m going to need shortly afterwards - and very often have no recollection of disposing of it.

I am always de cluttering, then forget where I have moved stuff to!
my dh always used to remember, miss him in more ways than one