The Donation Directory

 

Here is a list of places for you to donate, sell or re-home your pre-loved belongings. Especially the more unusual stuff…

 

Reduce landfill, extend the life of an item, donate to charity or make some cash.

I’ve mentioned some places around Tunbridge wells, but these are ideas you can use anywhere. I’ve collated this list as I’ve re-homed items for my clients and in my own life, as I hate the idea of waste.

 

Please let me know your tips or if my list needs updating, so it’s fresh for everyone to use. Imogen@thelittleorganisingcompany.com

Contents

Includes:

Adventure and Sports kit

Antiques (see Furniture)

Blankets, linen & towels

Books, music & DVDs

Bras & Underwear

Broken household items

Cameras & Cine eqipment

Camping equipment

Coins & Foreign money

Clothing (good condition)

Clothing (damaged)

Clothing (cashmere)

Coat hangers

Computer and IT equipment

Computer games

Curtains

Duvets & pillows

Electrical items

Fireworks

Food items

Furniture & Antiques

Glasses, sunglasses  & contact lenses

House Clearance

Jewellery (including broken)

Kitchen knives (TBC)

Kitchen equipment (TBC)

Makeup bottles (cleaned)

Medicines (out of date and unwanted)

Mobile phones and tablets

Paperwork (shredding)

Printer toner cartridges

Running Shoes

Stamps & collector packs

Stationery, art supplies & folders

 

 

Also see the Repair Cafes:

Tunbridge Wells Repair Cafe 

Sevenoaks Repair Cafe

Tonbridge Repair Cafe

Forest Row Repair Cafe

Also Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has a helpful disposal list for lots of household items in local area ‘I want to get rid of…’

Adventure & Sports Kit

Working condition: 

Runner Need shops – recycled or re-home (70% reused) – sometimes they offer discounts on new shoes if you recycle. 

 

Donate unwanted (even worn but usable) sports kit and clothing Preloved Sports

 

Donate secondhand adventure gear – Kitsquad

 

Donate to a charity shop or post on Next door app or Facebook

Blankets, linen and towels

Good condition: 

Donate to charity shop or post on Next door app

Clean but well used:

Wildlife or animal sanctuaries

Folly Wildlife Rescue, Kent/Sussex

(not all will take pillows but call and ask)

 

Books, Music & DVDs

Donate:

General charity shops,  Oxfam bookshops

 

Sell:

Music Magpie 

Ziffit

The Book Buyer (rare or unusual)

 

Bras & Underwear

Your Smalls Appeal (bras and underwear, washed) – Storagebox Self Storage, Your Smalls Appeal, Unit 36 Plume Street, Birmingham B6 7RT

 

Smalls for all (new or gently worn)

 

Against Breast Cancer

Broken household items

Repairable:

For items like coffee machines, textiles, and jewellry amongst other things – If you want it fixed try the Tunbridge Wells Repair Cafe 

 

Beyond repair:

Electrical items, batteries, wood can all be recycled and the raw materials used in other goods. Please don’t put them in the bin, this will just be added to landfill.  Book a slot at your local recycling centre. 

https://beta.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/refuse-and-recycling/north-farm

Cameras & Cine eqipment

Sell:

Vintage Cash Cow

Pantiles Cameras, Tunbridge Wells

 

Camping equipment

Post on Next Door app or Facebook

 

 

Coins & Foreign money

Coins (Gold, Silver)

Can be sold by weight. Ask at a local jewellers.

Vintage Cash Cow

 

Collectible coins and packs

Ebay (look up similar items to get an idea of worth)

Get valued. See the directory of coin dealers, which includes Warwick & Warwick

 

Foreign money

Donate to charity.

Alzheimers Society request pre-paid envelope)

RNIB (request pre-paid envelope)

Oxfam (any shop)

Clothing

Donation:

 

Heart of Hospice (good quality)

 

Hospice in the Weald, including North Farm Industrial site, which has good access.

 

Oxfam, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge 

 

Sell:

 

Throughyourwardrobe – Dress Agency, Tunbridge Wells, Rye

Rethread.uk (free postage bags, they sell for you at %)

Thrift.plus (free postage bags, they sell and you earn Thrift points)

Vinted

Vestiairecollective.com (Luxury brands)

Depop

Ebay

 

You can batch clothes to sell if required.

 

Bras & Underwear – see section above ‘Bras’

For more on selling clothes – my top tips for selling clothes 

 

Clothes (damaged or stained)

Separate from good condition clothing. Bag up and label ‘Rags’. Donate to Charity shop (call ahead). See below for Cashmere.

 

If you want to remember a lovely item of clothing for a sentimental reason – use a section of the material to be made into a bag or home item by Lovingly Made by Lucie

 

Cashmere clothing

Donate to charity shop (good condition)

Turtle Dove gloves (receive a free pair for your donation)

 

Coat Hangers

Ask at Charity shops or dry cleaners.

Post on Next Door app to see if anyone looking for some.

Wood and metal hangers can be taken to Recycling Centre.

Plastic ones cannot normally be recycled (metal tops can be removed for recycling)

 

Computer and IT equipment

 

inc. mobile phones/ tablets / ink cartridges / computers

Computers

Sell:

CEX, Tunbridge Wells (and online)

Envirofone

Ebay

Donate:

Jamil Trust (for charities)

Computers 4 Charity

Recycle:

CPR Computer Recycling (and data wiping service)

Computer Repair Centre Tunbridge Wells (recycling)

UK computer recycling

Ink:

Ink and Toner Recycling Limited (any condition)

Mobile phones/tablets

Sell:

CEX, Tunbridge Wells (and online)

Envirofone

Donate:

Oxfam (any condition)

Little Lives UK

WaterAid (via fonebank)

 
 
Recycling:

Apple products (inc info on how to wipe data) 

Kent County Council

How to delete smart phone data

Computer games

Sell:

CEX, Tunbridge Wells (and online)

 

Curtains & Blinds

Sell (great condition):

The Curtain Exchange (area dependent), Vinted or donate to a charity shop. The Haines Collection might sell depending on the quality of the material.

 

Damaged, stained or sun-bleached:

Donate as ‘Rags’ to a charity shop or take to the textiles Recycling Centre

Duvets & Pillows

Post on Next Door app  (Clean and in good condition)

Take to the Recycling Centre (damaged or stained)

 

Electrical items

Good working order donate:

British Heart Foundation, Grosvenor Road (Free collections)

Hospice in the Weald, TW industrial estate & at Hospice in Pembury

 

Sell:

Ebay

 

Broken but repairable:

For items like coffee machines, radios, toasters amongst other things – If you want it fixed try the Tunbridge Wells Repair Cafe 

 

Beyond repair:

Electrical items, batteries, can all be recycled and the raw materials used in other goods. Please don’t put them in the bin, this will just be added to landfill.  Small electrical items can be left ON YOUR BIN LID to be separately recycled by Council (Tunbridge Wells only)

 

 

Book a slot at your local recycling centre. 

https://beta.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/refuse-and-recycling/north-farm

Fireworks

Used fireworks can be submerged in water for 24 hrs and put in your normal rubbish bin. For unused see more information here

 

Food items

Donate (in date items):

Nourish Community Foodbank or your local group. See the link for what is needed and collection points.

 

Next door app for items food banks don’t need. Post a photo of what you have.

 

OLIO app to share food in your community – even if you have half a cake left.

 

Too Good To Go app Restaurants can share food which is perfect but going out of date soon. Have fun collecting a magic bag.

 

Out of date food:

See your local food recycling collections – so food can be used as energy.

 

 

 

Furniture & Antiques

 

Donate:

British Heart Foundation, Grosvenor Road (Free collections)

YMCA, Goods station road (Furniture only)

Hospice in the Weald, TW industrial estate & at Hospice in Pembury

 

Sell:

Get an idea of value from a visual scan Selling Antiques or from a local dealer .

 

You can get items valued via photo and description on Gorringe’s (Tunbridge Wells / Lewis area)

Glasses,  Sunglasses & Contact Lenses

Donate:

Peeps (by post)

 

Take to your local Boots or Vision Express store

 

Non-prescription sunglasses can also be donated (good condition) otherwise take to Recycling centre

 

Used Contact Lenses can be recycled Vision Direct

 

House Clearance

British Heart Foundation (Charity)

 

They will quote and clear an entire house or just a room. Cost depends on what is being cleared

They sell or recycle what they remove. Collection included.

 

Jewellery

Good condition:

Donate to most charity shops.

 

Alzheimer’s Society (request pre-paid envelope)

Broken or damaged:

Alzheimers Society request pre-paid envelope)

General metal can be taken to Recycle centre.

 

Gold, silver or precious stones:

Take to a trusted local jeweller for advice on sale. Gold and silver can be sold by weight too.

Mobile phones, Tablets (Also see Electronics)

Sell:

CEX, Tunbridge Wells (and online)

Envirofone

 

Donate (free postage):

Oxfam (any condition)

Little Lives UK

WaterAid (via fonebank)

 

Ink and Toner Recycling Limited (any condition)

 

 

Make up bottles

Superdrug (cleaned)

 

 

Medicines

Boots chemists and most pharmacies (will take unwanted or out of date medical items)

 

For more information on clinical waste collection 

 

Printer Cartridges

Running Shoes

Worn or unwanted

 

Runner Need shops – recycled or re-home (70% reused) – sometimes they offer discounts on new shoes if you recycle. 

 

Donate unwanted (even worn but usable) sports kit and clothing Preloved Sports

 

Donate secondhand adventure gear – Kitsquad

 

Stationery, pens art supplies & folders

Ask at local schools if they can use the items.

Or post on Next Door app or Facebook

Stamps

Used stamps

Donate to charity. Ideally, separate into the UK and international stamps. Money raised by weight.

RNIB (request pre-paid envelope)

 

Stamp books and collectible packs

These also are accepted for donations and will be valued to best advantage for the charity.

RNIB (request pre-paid envelope)