How to declutter, donate and discard during lock down.
How to declutter, discard and donate during lockdown | Hannahbullivant.com
With many of us in our home more than ever before, LOTS of folk are looking to refresh and revamp things a little. Kitchen and bathroom salesrooms have been overrun with enquiries and online Home & Garden retailers have experienced a huge spike in traffic and sales. It makes sense doesn’t it?! We’re more aware than ever of the parts of our homes that need attention, are stressing us out, are no longer working, or we’re simply bored of!
I‘ve created two new offerings, a free decluttering and home styling challenge called The Fresh Nest Challenge , and a brand new e-course called The Fresh Nest (doors close Thursday!) that goes into lots more depth on everything we touch on in the challenge. I created both of these way before lockdown, but they feel more necessary than ever.
The live challenge is officially over 😭but I have turned it into something people can sign up to anytime. Join here https://hannahbullivant.com/challenge-page for 7 days of emails that will help you to declutter and style your home. Each day has 2 versions of the homework- a quick win (doable in 10 mins) and tasks for those with more time. That means it’s great even for those that are feeling really overwhelmed right now!
Until charity shops open again, here’s how to discard:
Check your local council for what they can pick up in their kerbside recycling- you might be pleasantly surprised. Swale council accept rags and broken electricals for example.
If you have the time, and you feel the item is valuable, sell it on eBay, Gumtree, Preloved or on your local buy and sell Facebook group
Find (or join) your local community sharing group on Facebook to give things away on
Take photos and offer items to local friends and family members, local schools, nurseries or other community groups.
Make use of charities using postal donation bags, like The British Red Cross
Place things outside your house with a big “Free Stuff” sign taped above it
What to do with stuff
Broken, dirty, stained or ruined items beyond repair
Could the item be re-purposed somehow? ie stained ripped clothes could be turned into cleaning cloths (I haven’t bought a cleaning cloth in YEARS as a result and they look MUCH nicer)
Throw away (or recycle) anything which you wouldn’t touch in a charity shop!
Recycling and household waste collections are still being collected.
Old paperwork
Could paper and card items be put in the recycling curb-side collection or be (safely) burned?
Sentimental items such as journals you no longer want to keep can be burned too- there is actually something quite cleansing and ritualistic about it! Both myself and my clients have found they have quite enjoyed this process!
Books, kids stuff, toys, furniture and clothes that are in good condition
Consider selling anything of high value on eBay or local selling sites. (I tend to just give things away because I find it takes too long to photograph, list, post, reply to comments etc- but if you have time this might be a good option)
Place things outside your home with a big sign that says “please take”- as long as everything is labelled, things should go quite fast! Give things a final wipe down with antibacterial spray after you have put them down, and write that things have been cleaned on your sign.
Until the charity shops open again, use local community or Facebook groups to give items away locally, with no contact. I have a WhatsApp group for my street where we give things to each other. We operate a no contact collection- we put items outside of our homes, give them a wipe down with anti-bacterial spray, then they are collected. Could you start a local group or search for one? (The group is also lovely for community connections and supporting the vulnerable on our street)
Or designate an area of your home for storage until lockdown lifts, and you can drop things off at the charity shop again. Be creative! Could you use your car boot?! The shed? The space under a bed? Stacked in a corner of a lesser-used room? Just DO remember to donate them when lockdown lifts!
Important note
Always make sure whatever you’re selling or donating is clean and neatly folded/stored and labelled (ie kids clothes age 1-3, or ladies clothes size 14 etc) I put things in plastic bags or old bag for life bags, then sellotape a piece of paper on with a description of what’s inside.
Stop clutter coming into your home in the first place
You have probably arrived at this conclusion already- seeing all this stuff that needs to be donated or discarded will help you to think twice before buying more stuff for your home. One of the reasons I suggest that you wash/clean, neatly fold/store and label objects to be donated, rather than just throwing it all into a bin bag and dumping it at a charity shop, is because it's more considerate of the charity shop workers (a few have been in touch with some horror stories- dirty underwear anyone?!) , it's nicer for the people shopping the charity shops (me!) and because it forces you to address the items you are discarding. Yes, it takes longer than simply binning it, but it also helps you to hone in on what it is you're discarding so you can make better choices in future (ie- clothes that are the wrong size or colour for you, appliances you think you desperately need then never use- let that guide future purchasing)
The no or reduced buying is really hard for some people (it used to be for me!) but de-cluttering is pointless if you immediately- re-clutter again! Experiment with unsubscribing or unfollowing anyone who makes you feel like you need to constantly buy new objects for your home. Or you could try a ban on buying items for your home whilst you focus on decluttering. Or consider waiting to buy things until you have explored your home style and the needs of your household so can buy things that will complete a room, rather than clutter it (my e-course will help you with that! 😉).
I will continue to update this post if I think of more ideas, so please leave a comment with any other ideas if you have them
