Getting rid of unused/unwanted clutter at home

Made a start with decluttering but husband is a hoarder. As soon as I put things out for charity shops etc he takes them and piles them up in the garage. As we have two double garages and only one small car I'm never going to win.

I donated four sewing machines to the charity mentioned in a previous post TWAM. The machines were in various states of repair but they cannibalise some to repair others. I also gave them bags of fabric remnants, they were very grateful.

Just a reminder not to get rid of old vinyl records. We got rid of most of ours when CDs came in and now our older son has an interest in collecting old vinyl records we realize we should have held on to them, the first two Beatles LPs for example are worth a lot of money.

We have also found nobody wants books but there is a book bank at our local tip.

We have moved house nine times since we got married so we have had to clear things out with each move but we are slowly paring things down, we had quite a few suitcases in the loft for example and we don’t really want to venture far since we have turned 80, we managed to get rid of them all using FreeCycle, people seem to want things if they are free.

We're about to put our house on the market and have had to declutter for the estate agent photographer who came today. House looks so tidy, but also a bit stark.
A lot has already gone to the tip, or been taken after being put on the wall outside with a notice asking people to take things (books seem to go well..). A good, working TV went to a lovely young man via our local Facebook group. But although we've made a dent in the junk, we still have a 3 room cellar full of stuff so I think we'll have to get a clearance company in or/and a skip. We're not even hoarders either, but we have been here since 1981 so I guess things just 'gather'!

Some charities find a use for old sewing machines - possibly for overseas. Better than putting in the tip.

Grammaretto - i wondered that too. I'm in NW Scotland and have sewing machines in the loft which could be of use.....

Just been clearing my brothers house after his death. I’m determined to clear anything I need to get rid of before my demise.

Oxfam always want books.
And so do most charity shops..

Do try them.

Have u tried donating the machine to emmaus . They look them over and donate them abroad. Lots of people can mend stuff. I dread having to move as it’s heartbreaking getting rid of family stuff. Our kids left stuff here until they had houses . Cherry picked the stuff and some is still here . I kept a firm rein on stuff when I was well but we now have other peoples stuff which can be hard to get rid of . I also have a sewing room so that is another tug on the heart strings. We are fortunate we have stuff but it still needs clearing. It isn’t cluttered but some isn’t ours to use .

Keep one or two treasures but get rid of the rest .that are just marterial things.you can't take them with you when you die ..and they gather dust.......am having a big blitz this week also tried selling stuff on ebay but people won't pay the price you want..

I use to make chutneys and relishes as well as apple butter with our fruit. Now I have a cupboard full of Mason jars in various sizes. I no longer have parties but have the glasses and china. I have my mother’s and grandmothers china and silver. And I sew and have a room full of material. I get in a panic at 3am and wonder what to do. DH won’t throw my uncles golf clubs away or his squash racquet last played about 60 years ago. Too tired now to do anything about them. Tomorrow is another day.

I have clocks that don't work. I keep

I have clocks that don't work. I keep them in hope I can afford to get them fixed one day

Have given a few " must have gadgets that will improve your life " that have anguished in cupboards for free on marketplace .
Surplus glasses , vases , coffee pots & spare teapots to charity last week.
Today took a food steamer & a slow cooker to the same charity shop .
We are slowly decluttering / Swedish death cleaning .
You realise your treasures , or will keep as it might be handy / I might use it one day is just stuff taking up space and if you were to die tomorrow would only be chucked or taken to a charity shop !

My husband is a terrible hoarder, and yesterday I persuaded him to make a start to go through his trousers. He had 27 pairs, not including jeans. I very much doubt that he’ll ever get into them again, and even if he did where is he going to wear them? I convinced him that all he needs is one pair of smart black trousers and one navy. 23 pairs are now in the car ready for charity shop. Dreading the shirts which are next, and then there’s jumpers. He’s taken some encouragement but I keep telling him that it’s really not fair on our daughters to leave all his stuff for them to sort through. Then there’s the books, but one step at a time.

Saltnshake, I'm trying to declutter my little sewing craft area as well. All those lovely fabrics I've lovingly stored for so long. Dare I get rid of them....No, I might use them one day.
The old VCR, together with so many so many cd's and old books and clothes have gone to charity.
My older sewing machine...hmm, what if my newer one stops working? No, I better hang onto that

Oh Bazza, my husband hoards too.. He prides himself in having T-shirts from when he was 20…and he’s 70 now. I’m currently unwell and a bit bad tempered….he is finally getting the message that all this hoarding stresses me out and he has started throwing stuff out. It’s going to be a long journey!

Best of luck Stillness! It stresses me out too, I’m the absolute reverse, as was my mother. Hope you feel better soon.

NannieChicken

Saltnshake, I'm trying to declutter my little sewing craft area as well. All those lovely fabrics I've lovingly stored for so long. Dare I get rid of them....No, I might use them one day.
The old VCR, together with so many so many cd's and old books and clothes have gone to charity.
My older sewing machine...hmm, what if my newer one stops working? No, I better hang onto that

My mother's Singer hand sewing machine? What if the electricity goes off, we need more clothes, just as well keep it! And the fabric, some of which has lingering under the stairs for years.

I very seldom take anything to the dump - one man's trash is another's treasure and all that.

Every single fabric item goes to the charity shop - they make money out of rags.

I took some branches out of my apple tree. I thought they might do a turn as bean sticks, so offered them on my local help fb page. One taker wanted them for her hamster to chew, another was making a witch's broom for her daughter's costume.

When my aunt died, I called in a house clearer; I was stunned at the bits of what I would consider ugly old vases, figurines etc that he wanted to pay me for. When I cleared the parish rooms, I took this lesson and advertised everything. I made £100 for some broken old furniture and a couple of wooden ladders.

I’ve been making good use of Freegle lately to move on things from our own house and also from my mum’s as she’s having a big clear out. I try to give good descriptions and take clear pictures - I sometimes suggest how I think people might use things. Although there are a few time wasters, most people are friendly and reliable and I’ve moved lots of things on in this way. Mum feels so much better when I can explain where her stuff has gone. It does all take time though, doesn’t it? My next task is to put a lot of clothes onto Vinted and/or eBay. If it doesn’t go there, I’ll put it in the charity shop. Because I do gift aid, I get annual statements showing how much my stuff has sold for, and it’s really gratifying sometimes. I take the time to make sure that things are presentable and saleable.

But trying to get DH to clear things out is really difficult. He’s not too bad with his clothes, but his ‘collections’, electrical stuff, tools etc seem to fill up space as fast as I make room!

I would say to please be careful about what you sent to charity shops - it’s costing them a huge amount of money now to dispose of everything they can’t sell. They certainly don’t make money selling rags anymore - there is no value in discarded textiles. I’ve actually started to put things like worn out polyester cotton bedding into my black bin. There is absolutely no way of disposing of this, and too much of it just gets abandoned in Third World countries. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/18/discarded-clothes-from-uk-brands-dumped-in-protected-ghana-wetlands#:~:text=UK%20consumers%20discard%20about%201.5,Photograph:%20Misper%20Apawu/The%20Guardian

On a brighter note, the electrical retailer Curry’s has developed an extraordinary business based around recycling disused electrical equipment. There is a big mesh bin inside each of their stores, and if you put your disused electrical goods in here (you don’t have to have bought them from Currys) you can be sure that they will be properly recycled or disposed of.

To echo Lahlah65 -A plea re charity shop donations- if you wouldn’t wear it yourself in time of need, please throw it away and don’t donate it.
Anything personalised, damaged eg broken zips, soiled, heavily worn or smelly should not be donated.
That may sound like stating the obvious but judging by some donations it still needs saying.
Charity shops don’t make money from rags, in most cases they have to pay to get rid of unwanted unsuitable ‘donations’.
Please don’t be offended if the shop won’t accept your donation, most have limited storage space.

The Guardian article is truly shocking. There must be a better way of reusing textiles closer to home than shipping tonnes of unwanted stuff to Africa. Money is being made not from the stuff itself, but from the movement of it...and then it gets dumped.

Kazzie19 please see my post further up Sewing machines and tools please consider TWAM ( Tools With A Mission) they pick up from your house and repair to send to third world countries to help start up businesses
Textiles Poor third world countries are drowning in our crap it’s awful the amount they have we HAVE to find something we can do with them I m on a mission

TanaMa

Some charities find a use for old sewing machines - possibly for overseas. Better than putting in the tip.

BlueBelle posted that information on Saturday. Together with the name of the charity.