What to do with your Covid decluttering items

When the UK went in to the first lockdown in March 2020, many people saw an opportunity to focus on improving their home. While some DIY shops were flooded with people buying paint and wallpaper or new lighting fixtures, the real issue came in May and June, when lockdown started to be relaxed. At this point many charity shops were inundated with donations, as people had spent some of their furlough or their weekends at home having a clearout.

The problem was that charity shops weren't ready for the flood. There was still confusion regarding how long Covid could survive on various surfaces, and many small charity shops didn't have the space to keep things quarantined. Many shops had to put up signs saying they couldn't accept certain donations, such as books, while others had to release messages asking people to phone and book a drop-in time so that donations could be staggered.

If you had a Covid declutter and took these messages to heart before the second and third lockdowns, then it's possible that you have a few bags of cleared out items still sitting in a cupboard. So what can you do to clear the space while charity shops are closed, or are likely to restrict the types of donations they accept?

Olio app

The Olio app is available on both iPhone and Android. Originally starting out as a food waste app, Olio has since grown to add some new features, including a section that lets you list "Non-food" items.

Once you've downloaded the app and registered an account you can start listing items you want to give away for free. Simply take a photo, fill out the title and description and the times when you'll be in for someone to collect, and select how long you want the listing to stay up for. You can list things individually, or as a bundle, and you can have several photos on a listing.

You can also use this for food items, but there are restrictions. You can't list anything that's past the Use By date, so a lot of fresh items may not qualify. But a Best Before date is suitable, so if you've found a few unopened tins of soup at the back of the cupboard then you can put them up, just make sure you state the Best Before date on the listing so that other users know what they'll be getting.

Once you have listed an item it will show up on the app, along with a map indicating where you live (it's not specifically pointing at your property, it just pins the road). Then when someone messages you asking for the item you can give them your address for them to pick it up from.

And of course, this works both ways! You can check the app to see if anyone is giving away something you need. Because Olio started out as a food waste app, you may find you have a Food Waste Hero in your local area. These users collect food items from supermarkets who are signed up to the app, and they then list the items themselves. The majority are fresh items, so you need to be quick about requesting before they need to be taken down.

The downside to Olio is that your range of prospective users can be quite limited, as it's not as well known as something like Freegle or Facebook Marketplace. But all messages should go through the app, so if someone becomes rude or abusive towards you, it's easy to report them to the app. It also has a rating function so you can rate people who you give an item to or collect one from.

You also can't use Olio to sell things unless you've made something yourself (in which case Olio has a separate section called "Made"). It has to be given away for free, so if you're hoping to make a few quid then this is one to avoid.

Facebook Marketplace and Groups

Speaking of Facebook Marketplace, this is another good way to give away some of your clutter. Many areas will have a "Buying and Selling" group, run by volunteer admins. You can either list direct to the Marketplace, or post on your local group (once you've joined and been approved), which will also give you the option of duplicating your listing to the main Marketplace.

Similarly to Olio, you just need a photo and a description. Unlike Olio, you can use it to sell your items. So if you have a large bundle of good quality clothing you could list it and ask for payment for it. People can comment on your listing, or contact you using Facebook Messenger to discuss it further. You can ask them to collect the item (it's generally polite to put "collect from [town]" in your listing) or they may ask you to drop it off to them (you don't have to agree, it depends on how helpful you're feeling). You can also list things that you are giving away for free if you just want to get rid of them quickly.

Facebook has a much larger userbase, so listing items on it significantly increases the chance of you managing to get rid of things. However, unlike Olio there isn't any kind of feedback feature, and there are limits to what you can do if someone gets demanding. In the past I've seen stories about people demanding an item is dropped off at their house as they don't have a car, or coming round to collect in person and then being argumentative and abusive when the seller refuses to let the price be negotiated down.

As with so many of these things, you have to be mindful of the risk you are willing to take. Some Admins can be proactive at banning someone who has a bad reputation among their group, but it can descend in to "he says, she says".

Stick things outside your house

If you have space outside your house (such as a small front garden) and you live in an area which can get some footfall during the day, then you could try simply putting things outside with a "free to take" sign.

For some people this can involve setting up a folding table and sticking a load of items outside on a good day. But given the pandemic you may feel a bit uncomfortable with having someone rifle through your items, picking them up and putting them down, and then having to bring them back in to your house afterwards.

On the other hand if you have something small, like a pile of books, then you could store them in a lidded plastic box. That way you can simply put them outside and take the lid off, then put the lid back on at the end of the day before bringing them back indoors.

This process is a lot less involved than a digital option. You don't need to take time to snap photos, edit them if you don't like them, and then type out a description on your phone. Nor do you need to keep checking for messages throughout the day. However, you will have a very limited audience, unless you're on a popular dog walking route or live along a high street. You might find it takes a lot longer for just one or two items to be given away, and after a few days of moving things in and out of your house you'll probably be a bit fed up.

However you could combine this with a Facebook selling group. I have occasionally seen people on my local group post a photo of a laden-down table at their garden gate stating "I'm giving away these items at [house number and road name] until 6pm, please pop by and collect." This increases the potential for getting rid of items, but means you don't need to keep checking your phone for replies (especially if you state that you won't hold items for people).

These are just three options for getting rid of items while charity shops are closed. Other options include Freegle, or keeping an eye out for any requests from people on local Facebook groups for specific items (I've seen a few "I'm moving in to my first home and need a few household bits, does anyone have some bits I can buy cheap?" posts in the past).

All of these have risks around giving your address out to people online, and risks around Covid. Remember that you don't need to invite people in to your house to pick up an item. You can place it in a carrier bag and leave it on your doorstep if you know that someone is on their way. Or keep the item next to your front door so when someone knocks you can just pick it up and hand it out the door to them. If you've had items on a table outside during the day then you can give them a quick wipe down with a Dettol wipe before bringing them inside, or if you have a garage you can pop them in there over night rather than put them back in your home.