5 things that charity shops definitely don’t want

I had fully intended to do a piece on the benefits of volunteering, fresh from my piece about making friends as an adult. However, that idea has since evolved.

Following a chat with Hannah, who is a manager of one of our local charity shops and having heard her harrowing tales of disastrous donations, I thought that I would write about that instead.

I still fully intend to write about volunteering and why it’s good for you, especially as #38 of the Kettle List was ‘Volunteer for 50 hours + ‘, but this is something anyone planning on donating to charity shops really needs to be aware of.

Unwanted Donations

Part of ‘the plan’ is to clear out my house and become far more minimalist. With this in mind, I have written a number of pieces about clearing the clutter. One previous decluttering piece makes mention of what you should and shouldn’t be donating, but here are 5 items that one volunteer has come across during her time at a charity shop that you certainly shouldn’t be offering to anyone else!

1- Clean your dishes

“We often get boxes full of random stuff, usually from students clearing their houses to move back home, or from people clearing out after someone has died,” Hannah told me.

In fact, lots of charity shops have a glut of donations at the end of term when university students are packing up their houses. If you are thinking of making a donation though, may I suggest that any plates, cups or bowls are thoroughly cleaned.

“We had a bag of plastic boxes, like Tupperware. I took the lid off of one, and the spores from the mould in there just erupted into the air. I’m pretty sure it was moving. Those went straight in the bin!”.

If you can’t be bothered to wash your kitchenware, just throw it out. Even though it is a waste, expecting volunteers to clean it for you is just lazy, and they don’t have time. Send your donations in good condition, or send them to the tip.

2- Public Health Issues

Perhaps it is because some people store their donations in the garage, waiting for them to build up so they only have to visit the charity shop once, that sometimes things that people did not intend to donate get mixed in with the books and toys.

“We once had to call in the Public Health people after we opened a box to find an overflowing sharps bin”. The bright yellow plastic bins in which used syringes are put can pose a huge risk, and it appeared one had been packed and donated along with other goods. Basically, if your donations bag has been sat around for a while, look on it in the same way you should check bonfires for hedgehogs.

Be sure to do a final check of any donations you are delivering, particularly if there is more than one person putting items in the box.

3- Wash your clothes

“The majority of the donations we get are clothes,” Hannah explained. “But because we don’t have a lot of storage in the shop, it is hard to store any out of season stuff, which is annoying as we usually get given all of the Summer stuff at the end of Summer and all the warm clothes, once the Spring starts.”

It would seem like basic common sense that if you are donating clothes, you check they are clean and have the potential to be resold. Sadly, not everyone is on the same page when it comes to cleanliness.

“One of the worst bag of clothes we had donated was one that was full of dirty underwear, it was as if someone had just tipped their laundry basket into the donation bag. Perhaps it was cheaper to buy new ones, rather than wash them. The worst bit was that one of the pairs of women’s pants still had a liner attached to them.”

It goes without saying that you should only donate clothes that are clean and are in good condition. Probably best to avoid your old underwear too.
There are charities that accept old bras, such as: Against Breast Cancer, Smalls for All and OXFAM

4- ‘Toys’ that aren’t for children

It may be hard to believe but some of the toys that get donated are not suitable for children… and due to health and hygiene issues, it is highly recommended that everyone else try to avoid buying them second-hand.

“We were going through a box once when one of the other volunteers pulled out what she thought was an ornament. I burst out laughing and joked that it looked like a butt plug.
Turns out, I wasn’t wrong! The rest of the box was full of various sex toys, and whether they had been cleaned or not, we didn’t think that putting them out on the shop floor would be a good idea!”

It was after a few of these incidents that the volunteers all started wearing gloves while going through the donations.

Seriously! If I need to tell you why this is wrong – I don’t think I can help you. However, if you are decluttering and don’t want to type ‘recycle sex toys’ into your search engine, don’t worry, I’ve done it for you. Love Honey will accept your unwanted toys, even if you didn’t buy them from their website.

The things I will Google for the sake of full disclosure...

5 -The most unwanted donation

Remember when I said the volunteers now wear gloves when they sort donations? Sadly that policy wasn’t instituted before this incident.

A bag was received from an anonymous donor, which was basically a duvet with belongings piled inside. These often come from house clearances, and the first couple of items, such as clothes and bric-a-brac, suggested it had come from an older persons house.

In a literal representation of why the proverb ‘look before you leap’ exists, one of the volunteers pulled out a handful of human excrement.

I have often muttered the phrase “I don’t get paid enough for this”, but people giving up their time for free don’t even have that comfort. There is no excuse for sending items in this condition ANYWHERE that doesn’t involve the item in question being triple bagged and placed in a bin.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many charities

Charity shop volunteers in the UK make a massive contribution to charities, the environment and the economy; a cost that is almost impossible to quantify and is often overlooked.

If you are unable to offer physical hours please help those who do by making the time they spend worthwhile; no one wants to give up their weekend to wade through your rubbish. Only donate things that you know are good enough to be resold.

And maybe give your donation box one last look through before you drop it off.