if you take items to charity shops,an appeal

Recycling is just another task. But I would fret if I was throwing stuff away that is still useful. Much better for me to repurpose than to stress.

Our Salvation Army shop staff happily accept everything and are our go-to. We took a large bag of towels last week, in good condition they will be passed to currently homeless people being helped into accommodation. I smiled when I saw something I had donated (it somehow seemed to have shrunk in the wardrobe) on a mannequin in their window. It was a bit unusual so fairly sure it was mine. Our next trip will be bedding, we have for too much and it’s something they ask for.

We have a local RSPCA centre and they are always grateful for towels and blankets. We also have a village Facebook page and I often put unwanted items on that.

I give to a local hospice and they have a donation centre away from their high street shops.

You have to make an appointment to drop items off.

Seems a sensible arrangement to me.

I know this is about charity shops , if they aren't able to take them & you really want to get rid of them, shame if still good items have you ever thought of joining a free recycling site ? Nothing changes hands at all, but put your stuff on there

Do you mean that no money changes hands? I use those sites, but the ones I use are more for larger items (old TVs, or furniture that can be recycled) than clothes and ‘bric a brac’. I don’t think I would want people turning up at the door to decide whether or not they want an old vase or a dress that doesn’t fit - it would be awkward all round.

My problem isn't what and whether Charity shops take goods, but what to do with some things that are not fit to donate to charity, especially clothes.

Our local tip used to have big skips labelled 'textiles that I could put worn out textiles, whether faded or damaged clothing, ditto curtains, sheets, blankets etc. They went for pulping and turning into all sorts of coarse uses, as carpet felt etc.

These have now been replaced by clothing banks, so where do all the damaged textiles go? Currently into the black bin. There is no alternative.

Charity shops get rid of all the stuff deemed not good enough to sell to companies who pay by weight. My local charity shop happily takes things such as worn out sheets and towels for the “rag bag”.

My local Hospice charity shop accepts donations only up to 3 pm Mondays - Saturdays.

My goodness where do you all live No toys notgran we have a huge toy section 5 very very long shelves of toys and 5 large rails of children clothes we also have a large bookcase of childrens books which sell well especially David Walliams and Jacky Wilson we give each child one free book in the school holidays We sell school uniform dirt cheap and what is still on the rails by the end of august will be given away free
The toys and childrens things whilst cheap bring the parents in to try things on and buy whilst the children peruse in their section
The only things we can’t sell are childrens safety helmets for obvious reasons and duvets / sleeping bags hygiene purposes we can still take them if in good condition and pass on to the homeless groups Other safety items like inflatables ( unless still packaged and a few things like that otherwise we accept nearly everything with great thanks
We are very busy and rarely have any complaints everyone seems to love our shop Although we live in a so called deprived area the amount of designer clothes and expensive antiques donated is amazing
Please don’t think all charity shops are like your one (if it’s not so good)

I have found that charity shops seem to be specialising these days. We have a Salvation Army 'Boutique' one that sells 'vintage' clothing and higher end items, an Oxfam that won't take books as they have one a few miles away that only sells books, and another that specialises in furniture (Relate?).

I can't get to the specialist bookstore with a large bag of books - it would be enough of a hassle without them as I don't drive. Furniture is easy enough as it's not something we get rid of often and the shop has a van, but otherwise the problem is that it's no longer a case of just dropping things off as you pass on the way to the hairdresser or whatever.

These days, as well as having to sort out everything else that leaves the house into what feels like a million categories, you now have to think through which charity shop will take what, remember when it is going to be open and what times it takes donations, and risk being sent away with your bags if you get it wrong. It's different if you are just passing on a few cups because you've bought new ones, but if you are having a real clearout the temptation is not to bother, and just put everything in the recycling at the tip.

Where my sister lives there are more traditional charity shops with everything from buttons to pianos, and they are great to mooch in, not knowing what you will find.

I don't know - that probably seems like a moan over nothing, but I'm trying to work through the house getting rooms decorated, and have sometimes felt that clearing things out of the way is overwhelming enough without all the added sorting. Maybe I need a week off .

Where I live they are all traditional charity shops…. yay the specialist shops are in the posh towns ???

I think we have 8 shops in our actual main town a few others on the outskirts and they are all well set out but definitely traditionally selling anything and everything
Books are a great seller paperbacks 3 for a £1 and we also sell on Amazon and eBay

All our local charity shops accept toys, although they must be clean and complete. Before taking all the plastic toys my DGC used to play with to a charity shop, I pit them through the dishwasher on the full clean cycle. I told the shop this and they were very grateful.

Good idea if you have one Monica, what isn’t clean but in good nick we clean ourselves and any broken plastics can be bagged and sent away I presume to reuse in some way
All our rags are bagged and make money too and anything we don’t sell, but in good condition can be sent to other shops

DoodleDog said "Our council doesn't collect glass, so we separate out jars and bottles, wash them and take them to the tip (well, Mr Dog does - I don't drive, so would be stuck if he couldn't do it)."

Our Council does collect glass, but our village Community Garden and WRI are both happy to accept clean jam jars, coffee jars or similar, which they use for jam/jelly/chutney making.

infoman

please drop them off as early in the morning as you can.
I think most of the volunteers/sorters prefer to work in the mornings,this is why I think a lot of charity shops put up the signs,
"unable to take any more items today"

I drop donations off when I am able to, morning or afternoon and certainly wouldn't be swayed by your posting

Just an add on here to register for the charity to claim tax back if you’re a UK tax payer. It’s always satisfying when I hear how much they’ve managed to claim back.

Freegle is great for giving away larger items and sometimes people advertise a bag of children’s clothes or a box of toys. I have given away lots of things this way.

In my church we have someone who will collect clothing and sell the good stuff with the proceeds going to a church charity. Less good stuff will go to a Cardiff Homeless charity that our church has taken on to donate too.

Here in S Wales we have venues buying and selling good clothing to the public. I might even send my business suits from when I was working to be sold via our volunteer.

Some local food banks do clothing too, that can be worth looking into. ?

Just a reminder that, apart from the shop managers, all the staff are volunteers. They're working hard out of the goodness of their hearts, Doodlebug

rowyn

Just a reminder that, apart from the shop managers, all the staff are volunteers. They're working hard out of the goodness of their hearts, Doodlebug

Was that to me?

I'm not saying they're not. Why do you think I don't know that?

We live on an estate where there is a bookcase (under cover) for us to leave books. Other residents can come and see if there is anything they fancy and take it away. A few other items are left too.
Somebody comes and sorts it out periodically, no idea who, but I do wonder if they cream off the decent books and sell them on!

Does it matter?

I've seen an old bus shelter used as a swapping library, and the same with a disused telephone box. I think it's a great idea, as people can get rid of books they've read without waste, and others can read them and recirculate. If the organiser sells some of them and it makes room for others, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. They won't be able to retire on the proceeds - unless someone donates apart from rare first editions second hand books don't have much of a resale value.

Always take to a shop. Too many car cruìsers on charity bag pick up day grabbing bags before official collection. Hadn't realised that the things never make it to the shops either. So thanks for that info.

I tend to take just a few items when I’m going shopping anyway.