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Moving house is possibly the only time we pick up almost every object we own to make a decision about it, and remember the William Morris quotation, ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’
As moving day approaches, there are usually boxes of varying sizes scattered everywhere, the spare room is more packed than the M6 in rush hour, and the idea of putting a skip on your driveway starts to look tempting.
But plenty of what goes into a skip usually isn’t rubbish at all. It’s just stuff we’ve run out of time to deal with.
*This is a Collaborative Post by Dan Green, Springbok Properties. For more details, please see my Disclosure Policy.
Start earlier than feels necessary
If there’s one thing that decides whether an unwanted chair moves to the new home or ends up being thrown away, it’s usually not its condition; it’s time.
That’s because selling something takes time. Something I’ve realised is that the best gift you can give yourself is time, so from personal experience, I’d start clearing out as soon as you can, because it’s likely to take a bit longer than expected
Know what charity shops can actually take
Now, this often catches people out. A charity shop isn’t an alternative tip. As a former volunteer at a high street charity shop, I can say with confidence that whatever you donate needs to be safe, usable and saleable, otherwise the charity will have to pay to get rid of it.
Clean clothes and textiles, books, kitchenware, bric-a-brac and unopened toiletries are often straightforward donations. There are some larger shops that will accept working electrical items, but it’s always worth checking before loading up the car because they might need a safety test that an individual shop isn’t equipped to carry out.
Furniture is where things get a bit trickier. In particular, they’ll only accept upholstered furniture if it has a fire safety label on it. Missing fire labels are a common reason for items being refused. It’s such a small label that it’s really easy to overlook, particularly on older furniture.
Mattresses can also be difficult to donate, with many charities either refusing them or applying strict condition requirements.
And then there’s condition to think about. A damaged chest of drawers, a board game with missing pieces isn’t going to be useful because if a charity can’t sell it, you’ve handed them the problem (and cost) of disposing of it.
For larger pieces that do meet their requirements, it’s well worth checking if your local furniture charity shop has a collection service. Many do, and having a wardrobe or sofa collected from your house solves one of the hardest parts of clearing bulky furniture; especially if like me you have a small car so simply can’t transport it yourself.
Charity shops aren’t the only option
On the topic of furniture, don’t forget your council. Bulky waste collections for sofas, mattresses and wardrobes can be a lot more practical than hiring a whole skip, and local arrangements may include sorting or reuse.
Now, there are some things might have next to no resale value, but still be exactly what somebody nearby needs. Pieces of wood for shelving, plant pots, leftover materials such as bricks or slabs, old glass jars, and partly used tins of paint can all find a home via a local Freecycle group or similar on Facebook.
For anything worth a bit more, Facebook Marketplace is another option, or you could list your items on eBay if you’ve got time to post it, or you’re happy for people to collect. I’ve done both and they can work brilliantly, but unfortunately you do have to expect the occasional ‘no shows’.
Crafters have another option; community reuse projects. Fabric, craft supplies, tiles, buttons, and decorating materials may be far more interesting to them than a conventional charity shop. And even worn-out textiles shouldn’t automatically go into general waste. You’ve probably got a local textile recycling bin on a car-park that specifically accepts material for recycling rather than resale.
Be realistic about the craft stash
Anyone who sews, upcycles or just generally enjoys making things knows the danger of the sentence, ‘But that could be useful one day.’ I’ve heard it (and said it myself) hundreds of times.
Some items genuinely are worth keeping. But moving is also a very good time to admit that the beautiful piece of fabric you’ve moved between three different houses is perhaps not going to become the cushion you imagined it to be back in 2008.
If you use it, by all means keep it, but for the rest, a scrap store, community project or local craft group could be delighted to have them. And that’s got to be more satisfying than moving the same box again to your next house.
When the real problem is time
Of course, all of this is much easier when you’ve got spare weekends. Sometimes you haven’t, and a new job can mean relocating quickly. A property may need clearing after a bereavement, or for people downsizing, the problem can be particularly difficult because decades of belongings suddenly have to fit into a much smaller home.
That’s when the sustainable option tends to disappear first. Not because you suddenly stop caring, but because there are only so many decisions you can make in a day.
Even with a very fast move, I’d try to protect one day for sorting. Four categories are usually enough; ‘keep’, ‘rehome’, ‘recycle’ and ‘bin’. Just separating usable things from actual waste can save an astonishing amount from landfill.
The aim isn’t a perfectly waste-free move
Moving house is tiring enough without turning the decision making about every unwanted possession into a moral dilemma. Sometimes things do need to be thrown away, but a surprising amount of what we get rid of isn’t at the end of its useful life. We’ve simply reached the end of the time we have to deal with it.
By starting earlier, finding out what can actually be donated, and giving the awkward things a chance to find another home, you might find that you need a much smaller skip than you expected. Or, maybe, just maybe, no skip at all.