Donating items during a house clearance

Donation is the right first thought for furniture and household goods that someone else could use. It is not a way of making broken items disappear.

Solihull Council itself suggests giving old furniture in good condition to charity before booking a bulky collection. The same logic applies before a clearance.

What charities can usually use

• Clean, complete sofas and chairs (fire-label rules still apply for upholstered furniture)
• Tables, bookcases and chests that are intact
• Kitchenware, small appliances that work
• Clothing, bags and bedding that are clean
• Books that are not damp or mouldy

What they usually cannot use

• Stained or broken furniture
• Incomplete flat-pack
• Mattresses in poor condition
• Anything damp, infested or mouldy
• Half-used chemicals and paint

Practical order

1. Walk the house and put a note on the pieces worth offering.
2. Contact a charity shop or reuse organisation yourself if you have time — you choose the recipient.
3. Tell us what is still going on the clearance.
4. We take the remainder and still prefer reuse where it is realistic for what is left.

We do not claim a partnership with a named Solihull charity. If the owner later confirms one, it can be added to the site.

Time pressure

Charity collections can take longer than a clearance slot. If a sale completion is close, donation of everything may not be possible. Donate the best items first; do not delay a whole house for a shop that cannot take a stained sofa.

Responsible clearance sets donation in the wider reuse hierarchy.