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

Agreed. But I also think people are slowly waking up to it. I hate waste and try to reuse everything and I don't buy new wherever possible. Quite fun having a charity shop rummage when I need a replacement soap dish or whatever!

I was looking at a display of furniture and household knickknacks in our local shopping arcade and when the salesman tried to persuade me into buying a lovely carved bowl I told him I no longer bought anything without first considering where it would be put once I got it home. He laughed and said that if everyone did that he would be out of business! Mind you sometimes something slips into my house regardless but not very often!

I dont do bric a brac,I'm too lazy to dust it so I just dont have any.There might ocassionaly be a vase of flowers..though not often as my OH is allergic to pollen and I have one Buddha with a copper candle holder in front of him apart from that only the odd scented candle on a window sill.I have boxes of stuff in the attic that were my OH's grannies and I've promised my wee girls they can take it all to a boot sale and keep the proceeds ,once Grandpa agrees to let it go...lol.I'll keep working on him.

Most of these charity bags that pop through the door are not charity. You have to check the charity number on the bag to make sure it’s real. I spoke to the police about it but they couldn’t/ wouldn’t really help

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

Love those charity bags, fit my bin beautifully.

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.

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.

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

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 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!!