When you move house, you often come across things you haven’t used in years, or things you simply cannot take with you. So, what do you do with things you no longer need? Sell them? Throw them away? Or… give them away?
When we moved from Nijmegen in the Netherlands to Hull in the UK, everything we took had to fit in one IVECO Luton van. So, that meant that we had to get rid of a lot of stuff. From sofa to washing machine to old box TVs, and more. We even had to take out our laminate flooring.
Of course there’s always the selling things online option, but in both the Netherlands and in the UK there are ways to list things you no longer need for people to collect for free. For every item, we received multiple reactions, even for the flooring, and in the end we managed to find a new home for all our big and small items. People were happy with getting something they needed for free. We were happy that someone else was happy (and that we didn’t have to take it to the tip…). Everyone wins!
Difficult December
We are all living in difficult, uncertain times. But some, unfortunately, are living in more uncertain times than others. Rene and I sigh and frown at the highly increased energy and weekly shopping bills, but can afford them. Others, we know, aren’t that lucky. What isn’t helping is that it has been the coldest December in a while, and, well, that it is December. A month known for giving and receiving presents. Especially if you are a kid. Even if you know your parents are struggling, you are still hoping for a Christmas miracle.
Giving things you no longer need could be that little bit of a miracle. I mean, maybe not that sweater with stains and holes in them (although, that might be cool now?). Over the past two weeks we’ve had various people collect various items. We donated a duvet and pillow for someone who recently had to start over again with absolutely nothing. Someone really wanted some still wonderful plates and games to give as a gift for their grandchild this Christmas. An old iPad for a grandkid as well. There are more things waiting to be picked up this week. I hope they’ll make someone happy, or at least they’ll get a new lease of life.
If you are reading this, in whatever country, and you know you have quite a lot of things you don’t use and don’t need the money that selling it would yield yourself: check on your country’s platforms for giving and help someone out.
Giving in the UK: Choose Freegle
In the UK, sometimes people offer things for free on Facebook Marketplace. But there are platforms dedicated to giving as well. One of them is Freegle. I came into contact with them while still working in the housing sector. What I like about them is that Freegle is completely run as a not for profit. Also, many local groups have volunteers that sometimes help transport items from a giver to a taker. You can also help by scanning items to try and keep the quality of items good, which in part keeps people safe.
When you register, you can join multiple local groups. In those you can share or ask for any items in one or multiple local groups. You simply share a picture of the item with a short description, and then people let you know that they want it by sending a message. Some items are or will be more popular than others. Any electronics, but also clothing will attract many people interested. It’s up to the person offering it to decide who you will promise the item too.
How to give?
Some people go ‘first come, first serve’, others will see what a person sends about why they want the item. When you promise an item to someone, everyone can see that. You then agree a time and place for pick-up. After they pick it up you update the item to ‘taken’. You can leave some feedback, and WHAM, that’s one item saved from landfill or dust.
As for myself, I have a mixture of the two offer tactics. Especially when it comes to items that are more popular. Just someone going “I will have this” will lose out to someone who sends me a lovely message. Of course, people can make those stories up. However, I always try and give people the benefit of the doubt. I only blocked one person in the app so far. This was someone who simply wanted every item posted with only a few words in the message. I had a strong suspicion they were selling on anything they got. That isn’t what Freegle is for/about, at least, not to me.
But, overall, giving is great, not just for you and the person receiving it, but also for the environment. Asking if people still could find use for things like carpet underlayers, leftover paint and kit/caulk, wood or even the once used (almost still) 5 litre car wash and wax we gifted to a person who had just bought a new car! So before bring stuff to landfill…. Give it a try (as long as it’s safe etc!).
You can find Freegle on www.ilovefreegle.org, and there is also an app you can download for both Android and Apple.
Other options
Of course there are also other options available. Spread your chances of finding the right person for your surplus items and list on multiple sites (but don’t forget to update them as taken if they are gifted elsewhere!)
- https://trashnothing.com/beta/
- https://www.freecycle.org/
- https://gratisaftehalen.nl/ (Netherlands)
- https://gratisafhalen.be/ (Belgium)
Header photo by Lance Grandahl on Unsplash
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