A split screen, on the left a photo of a woman, guest Michelle Simpson and on the right a graphic of the charity The Chartwell Cancer Trust
Episode 183 – Donating to charity with Guest Michelle Simpson

Episode 328 – How to keep the plates spinning in a busy home with Anna Burns
Episode 327 – New Year new you or New Year same you?
Have you ever wondered what happens to the items that you donate to your charity shop and what happens with the money that is raised from our donations? In this podcast episode I’m chatting to Michelle from Chartwell Cancer Trust to find out more.
Prefer to read rather than listen?
Transcript of this podcast episode
[00:00:00] Ingrid: Have you ever wondered what happens to items that you donate to your charity shop and what happens with the money that is raised from our donations? In this podcast episode, I'm talking to Michelle from Chartwell Cancer Trust to find out more.

[00:00:17] So welcome, Michelle. Michelle from the Chartwell Cancer Trust. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. We are super excited to have you on the show. I have lots of questions. We in full disclosure, we have talked before, didn't we? And we will, I was like, okay, I've got so much to talk, to talk to you about.

[00:00:38] So I'm really glad we've got that out of the way. So we can now calmly have a really good chat about. Everything that the Chartwell Cancer Trust does. So let's start there. What is the Chartwell Cancer Trust? 

[00:00:53] Michelle: We are a local organisation that support adults and children that have cancer or leukemia. We have a big adult unit that we support and three children's wards.

[00:01:03] And when I say support, we top up the shortfall in the NHS. We actually support those wards and units and the nurses and doctors that are in the, working in the units and the wards and also the families that are going through there. 

[00:01:16] Ingrid: Okay. And do I, you say local? Where are you for, because we've got listeners all over the world.

[00:01:22] So let's, let's kind of define where you are. 

[00:01:26] Michelle: We are, um, a Bromley based charity. So Bromley is in, um, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Kent. So we are Bromley, Croydon and surrounding areas.

[00:01:40] Ingrid: And when was the charity set up? What's kind of a little bit of the backstory behind the 

[00:01:43] Michelle: charity? Our charity was set up in 2005, um, when our founder had leukemia himself and found that he was

[00:01:53] needing treatment more and more, um, for leukemia. And unfortunately, the second nurse wasn't available to administer that treatment, which then has a knock on effect with the next treatment and the recovery time and that sort of thing. So he decided that he was going to fund that additional nurse. And that's what he's done ever since.

[00:02:11] And that number has changed across the, you know, across the period of time. And also they've been asked us to do various other things and that's how we've grown to where we are today. Okay. 

[00:02:23] Ingrid: And so how many hospitals do you support? 

[00:02:26] Michelle: Four main hospitals. We have research programs in two other hospitals. Um, and then the nature of what we're doing, we have other children that are being treated, um, in some of the bigger London hospitals that we support them sort of after that part of the journey.

[00:02:41] But really it's four main hospitals that we support. 

[00:02:44] Ingrid: Amazing. So what started out the founder had leukemia himself thought what I want to do something that can help with my recovery. And that's kind of grown, grown into this. Well, it's still a small charity, but for me, it sounds really big. I mean, wow, how amazing that you support so many locations, so many people, so many hospitals.

[00:03:05] I mean, it's, it's a fantastic achievement, isn't it? Yeah, 

[00:03:08] Michelle: I mean, we've actually, we cover really six or seven London boroughs now because of the nature of the wards that we're supporting and we literally just started off, um, supporting the one main hospital in Bromley Borough and it's grown from there.

[00:03:21] Ingrid: It's, it's absolutely amazing. So what do you do within the trust, Michelle? 

[00:03:26] Michelle: So I'm the sales and marketing consultant, um, but I also fundraise for the charity, um, and raise awareness for the charity and have several other hats as well. One of my main roles is. running the support groups for the children and the families.

[00:03:40] And we've got four support groups, um, plus a teenagers group. So I do that. Um, but because we are a small charity, there's a, um, not very many of us, but we all have, um, quite varied and wide roles. 

[00:03:54] Ingrid: Okay. So you're a mighty small team. 

[00:03:57] Michelle: We are, we are very small team, but with a very big reach. 

[00:04:01] Ingrid: Amazing. Amazing.

[00:04:02] So. I assume that one of the ways that a charity fund raises by asking for donations, but another way. So if you're interested, uh, for our listeners, if you're interested in, in, in Michelle's story, I will put all of our details in the show notes about the website and all of the social media. And all of that, I'll put it all in the show notes, declutterhub.

[00:04:24] com forces 183. You can find all of the details in the show notes. So you fundraise when you hope to force that people will donate money, but you also have charity shops, 

[00:04:35] Michelle: right? Yes, we do. We've got five charity shops now. 

[00:04:39] Ingrid: Okay. And, and did that kind of start as a fundraising exercise? It was a bit more like, okay, let's do this.

[00:04:46] And let, did you start with one? I mean, how did that all go? 

[00:04:49] Michelle: Yeah, it started as one and it was, um, it was sort of really just a trial and error one really just to see how we got on. We weren't really sure how it would go. Um, it went really well and then we decided that actually because it was going so well, we would get more.

[00:05:04] And this all happened just before COVID and actually during COVID we actually opened more. And decided that that was actually the way to go for us because people were having big clear outs and that was actually a way of us. Getting extra donations in an extra money when the fundraising was all stopping elsewhere, this was actually a way of continuing it.

[00:05:23] Ingrid: Okay. So were you, um, actually open with your charity shops during the, during the most of the pandemic then? Yeah, 

[00:05:31] Michelle: we were open all the time that we could be. Um, obviously when the shops were closed, we were closed, but any other time we were open and opening new ones. 

[00:05:40] Ingrid: Wow. That's amazing because I know a lot of people, let's talk a little bit about the impact of the pandemic because there were lots of people who, We're so busy working that they couldn't declutter.

[00:05:51] But there was also lots of people at home that were decluttering weren't there. Yeah. 

[00:05:55] Michelle: We found actually that loads of people were, and where, um, normally people may have sorted out sort of two or three bags, they 22 or 23 bags. There were. So many, um, items coming to us. Um, and we just said, great, you know, just keep them coming.

[00:06:12] Ingrid: So, um, what happened because you got so many donations, you didn't know what to do with them anymore, did you? Well, what 

[00:06:19] Michelle: we actually did was we did exactly the opposite of what everybody else did. We said we would collect, we would take donations during that time and we would collect them. So everyone else was saying no to that.

[00:06:31] We were actually doing the opposite. So we, we bought a big van and, um. a driver. I've got a driver and we were going around actively collecting everybody's donations. And yes, you're right. We ended up with so many that we actually were full and completely full and ended up having to get more storage space and storing all the donations wherever we could for that period, especially when the shop shut for the third time, we were a little bit overloaded, but, um, you know, we, we learned from that.

[00:07:04] Ingrid: It's absolutely amazing. So you've got five shops now. Am I right? You've got five shops all over here in, in the Southeast of London in London. You've got five shops 

[00:07:12] Michelle: now. Yes. Southeast London and borders of Kent. Okay. And 

[00:07:17] Ingrid: all, are all those shops the same, like the same size? Do they take the same things?

[00:07:22] How does that 

[00:07:22] Michelle: work? No, they're actually completely different. Every shop is different, mainly because of the locations of the shops. Some are quite small. Gifty a gift shop type. Um, more boutiquey type shops. Um, two of them are huge, um, charity shops. Oh. So almost like the old fashioned charity shop where you have all sorts of different things available in there and you can have a good rummage and actually find all your treasures in there.

[00:07:50] And then we've got another one, which is in one of the hospital reception, the foyers. Um, so again, that's more. gifty. Um, people can buy cards and presents and gifts to take to people that they're visiting. Um, so no, we, we have to be quite, we've learned this actually, as we've gone along, we have to be quite clever and careful of what we put where.

[00:08:08] So we try and get everything sorted and put them in the shop that's most appropriate for them to sell in. 

[00:08:15] Ingrid: So completely other question then, but kind of popped into my head. So if you sometimes get donations in one shop and you think, Oh, actually, That will sell better somewhere else. Do you actually move stock between shops?

[00:08:31] Michelle: Yes, we, we do that all the time now. We, um, we've, we, well, we learn actually through the pandemic that things that were being dropped off to the shops wouldn't necessarily sell best through that shop. So we have a big. storage and clearing, um, sorry, sorting area. Um, so things go there, they're sorted into the most appropriate, um, um, place that they should sell.

[00:08:56] So some things are not necessarily appropriate to sell through the shops. So we then, um, Have other ways of selling them, but we do try and now sort everything so it goes to the correct shop. So we get the best money, um, and the best, well, it's the most appropriate shop for them to sell in. Yeah, yeah, 

[00:09:14] Ingrid: yeah.

[00:09:14] Okay, that makes sense. So you've got like a little kind of van going in between shops, kind of, oh, this is donated here, but it would sell better somewhere else. Let's bring it there and sell it there. So of course the fundraising is appropriate to, to the area where the shop is at. Yes. Yes. Oh, brilliant.

[00:09:32] That's really great to hear. So, Is it really easy to set up a charity shop? 

[00:09:38] Michelle: No, no, no, no, no, it's not easy at all. Um, it's like with anything to do with charity, everything is absolutely scrutinized. You have to be transparent in what you're doing. Um, and there's lots of rules and regulations. It's a very difficult thing to do.

[00:09:57] You have to know what you're doing. Um, there are lots of Reasons why it's good to have a charity shop because there are clauses and things that are different to a normal trading shop. But no, you have to know what you're doing and you have to be transparent in everything that you do. 

[00:10:13] Ingrid: So not only transparent in the money, the flow of the money that goes through the charity, but also in how you set up the shop, the opening hours, the people who work there and et cetera, et cetera.

[00:10:24] Yes. Okay. Because I think people sometimes think, Oh, it's just a charity shop and we'll just donate it. But it's, it's, so it's a lot more complex than it actually sounds, isn't 

[00:10:36] Michelle: it? Yes. Oh yes. There's, there's lots of, lots of, um, rules and regulations, lots of things that have to happen. And we have a lot of volunteers as well.

[00:10:44] So we have to look after them. We have to make sure that the environment is right for them. There's lots of things that have to happen that people wouldn't. Wouldn't even dream about that. Go on. Um, behind the scenes. Interesting. 

[00:10:56] Ingrid: So the volunteers that work for you, do they just kind of randomly come up to the shop and go, hi, I want to volunteer.

[00:11:02] Or is it a lot of people who have had care and have been kind of been in contact with you through the hospitals, the, the programs, the, the, the research. And that then think I want to give something back. How does that work? How do people become a volunteer? 

[00:11:19] Michelle: Yeah, it's a real mixture of all those things, actually.

[00:11:22] Um, some people just want to work in a charity shop and they will actually go into the shop and ask. Um, but lots of them tend to be supporters or people that have heard about us or have actually been involved with us themselves or the family members have, um, So we do tend to have a lot of people, not just in the charity, but volunteers in general that are known to us and have, um, you know, been through one of our wars or units or know one of our families.

[00:11:51] Um, so we, we do have a lot of very, very loyal supporters for exactly that reason. 

[00:11:56] Ingrid: Amazing. Amazing. And you couldn't exist without volunteers, could you? You have to have those volunteers. No, 

[00:12:02] Michelle: our actual staff are tiny. We rely absolutely on the volunteers. All our trustees are volunteers too. The actual staff base is tiny.

[00:12:11] So yeah, we, we really need that. We wouldn't be able to do it without them. Right. 

[00:12:15] Ingrid: So, and as well, that, that amount of staff is tiny just because you want to spend all of the money on. The hospitals and not on the running of the charity, is that right? 

[00:12:27] Michelle: Yeah, everything has to go to the right place. Um, and so we have very few stuff.

[00:12:32] We have enough stuff to do what we need to do, but we all work hard. Obviously very hard and have lots of roles. Um, and yeah, we rely on the volunteers to do everything else for us. Amazing. 

[00:12:45] Ingrid: Amazing. So you mentioned that during the pandemic you did home collections. Um, So what kind of thing? So if I want to donate something, you, what can I kind of reason?

[00:12:57] Can I call you? Is it only for heavy items and kind of like a sofa or something? Or can I also call you when I have 20 bags for a clear out? How does that work? 

[00:13:08] Michelle: Yeah, every charity is different. But for us, we don't take those bigger items. We don't take the sofas and the beds, the mattresses. But we do take pretty much everything.

[00:13:19] We don't take the big white goods either. But we do take pretty much everything else. And we do take small electricals because we can pack test them. But we do take the bags and sometimes our supporters are unable to drive or unable to drop them off themselves. So we have that collection service that we can actually go and get them.

[00:13:38] Uh, sometimes it's for the larger items, you know, like paintings or tables and chairs and things like that, which are difficult to transport in a normal vehicle. So we've got the big van that can collect, but we have that service there for really whoever needs. It. Ideally if people can get to the shops themselves mm-hmm.

[00:13:56] we would like them to do that, but, but that facility is there and people love that. They love that we offer that, that service. Yeah. Yeah. And it's a free service. You know, we, it's, it's helping us as much as it's helping them. 

[00:14:09] Ingrid: Yeah. And I think you're right, it's probably, I mean, there, there are loads of people who.

[00:14:14] Can't drive or don't have a car or the bigger items don't fit in that car. So I think having a van collect items is really, really helpful. But I agree with you. I mean, if, of course, if people can donate the items themselves, then it is better for you. So you can really keep that van available for. the people who don't have transportation for their items.

[00:14:36] Yeah. And do you normally book that home collection? Do you do that online? Is there a long waiting list? How does that work? 

[00:14:44] Michelle: We have an online system, so people just need to fill in the form, the online form. And one of my colleagues then Um, works out who, which route the van is doing on which days, um, and books them in, speaks to the books in the most, you and time.

[00:15:00] But at the moment, the wait's not that long because we're back on top of it now. Um, at certain points we were busy and there was up to two weeks wait, but it's normally that week or certainly within a week. 

[00:15:13] Ingrid: Okay. Okay. That's good to know. Now, I also saw, because I've been reading, of course, you know me, I prepare, I've looked at the website, I've looked at your Instagram, I've looked at your Facebook page, and I've done it all, and I also saw that you have a house clearance kind of branch as well.

[00:15:33] What's that exactly? What does a house clearance mean? 

[00:15:37] Michelle: So we work really closely with a house clearance company, but we will actually take ourselves anything that we can sell on. And that doesn't necessarily mean things we can just sell through the shops, because we have lots of other avenues too. And the only things we would then really not take is the rubbish, the stuff that really needs to go to the dump, because it's a free house clearance service that we offer.

[00:16:02] Mm hmm. But we were charged to take the stuff to the dump because we get charged to do that. Um, or we can take it and there's a small fee for that. But the rest of it we will take away for free. Because again, it helps us, but it also helps the person whose house we're clearing too. 

[00:16:20] Ingrid: So a house clearance, is that mainly for people who are, have passed away or bereaved or, or when do you do a house clearance?

[00:16:28] When do you get those calls? 

[00:16:30] Michelle: It tends to be, um, if someone's passed away, but it can also be if somebody's downsizing. Yeah. so much stuff they can't take it all, but actually don't know what to do with it. I would rather that it went to a charity and raise money for a good cause than just leave it or have to then pay a lot of money for it to be dumped or disposed of in other ways.

[00:16:53] Right, 

[00:16:54] Ingrid: right. So the house clearance company actually. Then gets in contact with you guys saying we've, we're, we're going to do a house clearance, but there's some stuff that we think that can be, you know, put to good use in a, in a charity shop. Do you guys want to come in to get, get the stuff out of the house that you can resell?

[00:17:12] And then we take care of all the kind of the heavy white goods and the sofas and the beds and the mattresses and all the rubbish and everything else then gets. gets to you guys. Am I understanding 

[00:17:22] Michelle: that correctly? Yes. Well, we, they normally contact us and we will then actually decide what we can take.

[00:17:28] And then we'll talk to the house clearance people and say, right, you can take that bit, but we work very closely together on it. Yeah. Because some of our bigger shops, you know, they sell lots of furniture through those shops. 

[00:17:40] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. I've, uh, that makes me feel really good because that's really sustainable.

[00:17:45] Isn't it? It's not like, Oh, the house clearance company just rips everything out and throws everything away. Actually, things are being reused and, and, and, and brought to you guys to, to sell off again. And it feels really sustainable. Yeah. 

[00:18:00] Michelle: It's really important to us about the sustainability aspect because we, we don't want anything to be chucked away that can't, um, and we've actually got.

[00:18:08] situations where we've, we've got, um, contracts set up with, um, people for rags, for books that we can't sell, you know, we, we have so many books and we try and sell them, but sometimes they've just been there too long. So we have an option to pulp them, but with clothes that are damaged or bags that are damaged, we can also get money for those.

[00:18:31] Um, so it's not a case of just because it's. damaged or it can't sell in the shop that we won't be able to actually still make some money from it. So we're quite thrifty with everything that we have. And over the course of the last few years, since we've had the shops, we've learned lots of ways and lots of tricks.

[00:18:49] Ingrid: Yeah. I would love to know a little bit more and Michelle, so let's go for a quick break. And then we're going to talk about all of the do's and don'ts of donating. We're going to see you after the break.

[00:19:01] Hi, everyone. Welcome back. I'm still chatting to Michelle from Chartwell Cancer Trust, and she's telling us all about the charity shops and about house clearance and about home collections.

[00:19:13] And I, and she already mentioned before the break, kind of all these outlets that stuff go to. But let's start at the beginning, Michelle. Why do you want people to recycle? Why is that important for you? 

[00:19:26] Michelle: The main reason it's important for us is because we can get money from things that are donated, which is very important to us, especially at the moment and through the pandemic when all of the other fundraising outlets were Restricted or not able to happen.

[00:19:42] The sustainability side is very important to us. Me personally and our team, we really want to try and reuse things. It seems such a shame to chuck things away or waste items that have still got lots of life in them. So that's a really important aspect for us too. 

[00:20:03] Ingrid: Um, let me then ask you first. So let's chat about then the do's and don'ts of donating.

[00:20:09] So to go into the nitty gritty here, what kind of stuff do you love? Are you like, if you get bags of this stuff, you're like, yes, this is exactly what we want. Can you just give me a whole. List of things that you are happy for people to donate. Well, 

[00:20:26] Michelle: ideally, we, we like things that other people would be happy to buy.

[00:20:31] So it needs to be either new or what we call pre loved, um, or things that are good quality that aren't really, really worn out. Um, so things that aren't, that are clean, that haven't got holes in, that are, um, that you would wear yourself. Yeah. The things that are easily able to sell on in the shops. Okay, 

[00:20:53] Ingrid: so is that mainly then things like clothes and shoes and handbags or do you?

[00:20:58] Also take like ornaments or kitchen stuff. 

[00:21:02] Michelle: Yes, we do. So again, with things like that, it would be things that haven't got chips in or things that aren't broken. Some things like that do sell, but um, ideally if you're buying a set of six plates, you wouldn't want one to have a chip in it. Um, so it's things that you would buy yourself.

[00:21:18] So they're good quality, haven't got any damage to them. And with the clothes or the shoes, if the shoes are really worn, you know, somebody wouldn't necessarily want to buy them. So it's good quality items that would sell on is our perfect and ideal donation. 

[00:21:36] Ingrid: Okay. And do you basically accept anything? I mean, like toys or books or?

[00:21:46] pictures or stuff like that as well. Yeah, 

[00:21:49] Michelle: we do. We, we do. We take literally anything like that. Um, and what, what we believe and what we know from our experience in the shops is that one man's, um, rubbish is someone else's treasure. I think that's the saying. Um, and people love. What, what somebody doesn't want anymore, somebody else will absolutely love.

[00:22:10] And we see it time and time again, people coming, Oh, this is amazing. I've been looking for this for ages. Oh, this is lovely. I really like this. So, yes, as long as, um, it can sell, it will sell for our shops. Okay. 

[00:22:23] Ingrid: So, if I would be having a clear out of my kids... Bedroom and I find like kids' children's books and I find some of their toys.

[00:22:33] I can donate them to your charity shop? Yes. We 

[00:22:36] Michelle: take all that, books, toys, um, everything. And we would even take the bedding. We wouldn't take the actual duvet or the pillows. Okay. Or the bed. Or the mattress, but we would take the bedding. Okay. Um, So we, we, yeah, we would take pretty much most things, 

[00:22:52] Ingrid: right? So just to kind of go back to the toys, it has to be complete, right?

[00:22:58] A puzzle needs to be complete that people donate. Ideally, a toy needs to be working. Yes. A book needs to not be completely falling apart with half read pages and. Yeah, but just a book that's been read, pre loved, not a problem, but as long as it's not falling 

[00:23:17] Michelle: apart. Yeah, I mean, we do get something like that.

[00:23:20] And then we do have this option where we can sell them on because they go for pulp. Okay. Um, or... There's other uses for books if we can't sell them for the charity shop. But with regards to the toys and things like that, ideally we'd like them to be in a good condition. Yeah. Something that you feel you'd buy yourself.

[00:23:40] Ingrid: Okay. Okay. That's good to know. So you mentioned kind of linen, bed linen from kids rooms, like so duvet covers, pillowcases, that kind of thing. Yeah. I'm assuming that goes. I mean things like towels and stuff you, you, you can, 

[00:23:54] Michelle: you can, yeah, towels, curtains, all those types of things we take. Okay. Okay. 

[00:23:59] Ingrid: How about things like CDs and DVDs?

[00:24:02] Because everybody's streaming now, uh, do, would you accept that 

[00:24:07] Michelle: kind of thing? Yeah, we do. We do. We take CDs and DVDs. They don't necessarily sell in some places as well as others, but, but they do sell. And there's always, um, places as well that will buy those in bulk. Okay. So we do have other options for those.

[00:24:23] Um, and vinyl is obviously making a huge comeback now. So we, we take vinyl, we, we, we take all those things. 

[00:24:29] Ingrid: Okay. How about... Because that's a question we get a lot here in in the declutter hub with our clients. How about things like tape cassettes and video cassettes like the VHS tapes? Is that something that you accept or not?

[00:24:44] Michelle: Um, we do, but they don't sell very well. So quite often we'll end up being left with things like that. Um, it's like some of the games as well, the games consoles, some of the, the older ones now they don't sell very well, but people then want to offload them when they've bought new ones. Yeah. So we will take them, but they just don't necessarily sell as well.

[00:25:05] So we do sometimes end up getting stuck with things like that. Okay. 

[00:25:09] Ingrid: So actually what you're saying to me, Michelle is like, It really depends on each charity shop. Definitely you sound like you are very accepting of a lot of items, but if you are, I mean, you're only in Southeast London. If you are in an, in an another place in the world, check with your charity shop, what kind of items they would like to have and what kind of things they would like to accept, because then.

[00:25:32] You're doing good instead of dumping lots of stuff that they don't want in their shop. 

[00:25:37] Michelle: Yeah, we take a lot more than quite a lot of the other charity shops. But we don't take everything, the bigger items, but we do take more than most charity shops. 

[00:25:48] Ingrid: Okay, so now I've got an idea of what you do take. I've got actually one last question because a lot of people ask me about it as well.

[00:25:56] Do you take like... A whole series of National Geographic, or a whole series of a magazine, because magazines normally are quite transient, they go into recycling, but sometimes if people have like a whole series because they've collected it over time, is that something that you 

[00:26:14] Michelle: would want? Yeah, we can do.

[00:26:16] Um, and we do actually have, um, people that we work with as well. So we have, um, some of the dealers that we can speak to that may know of somewhere that would buy those. Uh, we do have people that come into the shops regularly that would say generally the answer is yes. Interesting. We would try to take them to be helpful, um, but we would also try to then be able to move them on.

[00:26:43] Yeah. 

[00:26:44] Ingrid: As well. Yeah. So then let's talk a little bit about things you don't want. You kind of mentioned large white goods like fridges and freezers and washing machines. You don't take beds or mattresses or frames, pillows and duvets. Is there anything else you really don't take? 

[00:27:03] Michelle: No, I think that is pretty much it.

[00:27:05] It's those bigger items, and the only reason we don't take them is because we haven't got the space to store all those. Um, because even though we have two of our shops are very, very big, they're not big enough to store those types of bigger items. Right. So we, we do have, um, chairs and tables because they sell very well.

[00:27:27] So we try to. Keep the bigger items, the ones that we know that we can sell quite quickly to keep the turnover and the space free. 

[00:27:35] Ingrid: So there are of course items that are not sold. You mentioned kind of pulping of books and things. I want to talk to you about rags because A lot of people that I've worked with in the past, they would in the past always say, Oh, it's just a sock with a hole.

[00:27:52] I'm going to throw it away. And I would say, No, no, don't do that. Please keep it to the side. Make a bag with rags. Is that something you would really appreciate people doing? So if they're decluttering clothes, that they put things with holes and stuff in a separate bag so you know it is rags and that it's, it can go to a separate, Um, reseller.

[00:28:10] Is that 

[00:28:10] Michelle: helpful for you? Yeah, we have that. We have, um, quite a lot of items that we end up needing to rag anyway. Um, and they're all sold on and we actually get money for the rags. Right. So, and it's done on weight. So it's definitely a good thing for us to have that. Certainly better for us to have it than it to go into landfill.

[00:28:30] Yeah. 

[00:28:31] Ingrid: Oh, I completely agree with you. Definitely. So. You get like bags and bags full of items. They go into your sorting. Warehouse I, I kind of envisage like all these tables with all these people. Is it like three people working their socks off to get everything unpacked or have you actually got a lot of room?

[00:28:49] How does that work? No, we wish, 

[00:28:50] Michelle: we wish we had that many people . It's, it's one or two people as and when they can do it, really they work very, very hard. Um, as well as doing loads of other things as well. But there is a case of actually sorting them to make sure that everything is actually going to where it needs to go.

[00:29:06] Mm-hmm. . So, yeah. It, it's, it's, uh, a long, tireless task that's never ending. Yeah. But it is really important that we do that and actually sort it all out so we know that every item we have is getting the best value and going to the best place. 

[00:29:21] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Good, good, good. Now did, I'm see somewhere that you've got your own kind of little auction site going on.

[00:29:29] Is that right? 

[00:29:31] Michelle: Yeah, we do things that come in that we know we can get more money from rather than going into the shops, we can get more money from an auction site. We put things on the auction sites just because we want to always maximize the money that's coming in. And we don't want to sell off things too cheap for the shop.

[00:29:49] Or if we know we can't get it through, you know what it's worth through the shops, we put it onto an auction site, one of our auction sites. 

[00:29:56] Ingrid: Okay. All right. So it's actually, so if you get, um, for example, a pair of shoes with the famous, um, red bottoms, you're like, Ooh, these are really good. Let's not sell them at this shop.

[00:30:07] Let's put those on the auction site. Yeah. And that way collect a little bit more money for it. 

[00:30:13] Michelle: Yeah, definitely. We've learned a lot about how to actually do this. When we first started, we, we were selling things, you know, they weren't necessarily the right price and like people were loving coming in and getting a real bargain.

[00:30:26] So we learned very, very quickly about how to identify particular items and the best place to sell them on. 

[00:30:33] Ingrid: Okay. And, um, I mean, that must be really a steep, steep learning curve because You, you, you just, you don't know if there's like a rare book or if you've got like a famous painting or something. I mean, so your volunteers must be really like be out looking for clues to kind of go, could this possibly be an item that is worth more money?

[00:30:56] Yeah, 

[00:30:57] Michelle: well, there's a lot of things like that is sometimes it's very difficult to know. Um, sometimes the person that's donated it will tell us. Um, and sometimes there's history through the generations of a painting or a book or something that's come in. We do have quite a lot, as I say, quite a lot of dealers that we would work with that would be able to identify certain things.

[00:31:16] But we do hold onto things, um, on the off chance until we've spoken to them. Okay. And there are some actual sites for books and things like that where you can actually scan them to see if they are worth more money. So we always try to do that. Nowadays the odd one still slips through but generally we're a lot more savvy than we used to be.

[00:31:40] Ingrid: Which is good because you're doing such amazing work. You want to raise that money. You want to be able to get the most from from an item. So because it goes to such a good cause, doesn't it? 

[00:31:53] Michelle: Yes, definitely. Okay. Yeah. It's important that we actually do know that they're going for the best possible price.

[00:31:59] Ingrid: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, um, I just, something popped into my head while you were talking and I thought, Oh, I need to ask Michelle this as well. So. Clothing, for example, it is very important that it's clean when it, when it comes into your shop, right? Because you do not have washing machines and dryers on site to, to wash and clean items.

[00:32:21] Is that, is that 

[00:32:22] Michelle: right? Yeah. No, we don't have any of that. Um, we don't have steamers or anything. We, anything that comes in, we put it onto the hangers and hang it up. So it needs to really be clean and in a good condition for us to put it onto the, um, out onto the rails. Okay. And if something was particularly dirty or smelly, we would, we would actually leave that to one side and wouldn't be able to sell it.

[00:32:48] No. 

[00:32:49] Ingrid: And is that something that also then goes into racks just because you can't. Do anything with that. At least you can go and put it in rags and get some money for it. But definitely it can't go on the shop floor, obviously. Yeah, 

[00:32:59] Michelle: I think so. I mean, occasionally if there's certain items, um, someone might take it home and wash it themselves.

[00:33:05] But generally we try not to do that because you'd be there all day and constantly doing things. Sometimes we have to be a bit ruthless, but ideally we want to be able to sell everything. 

[00:33:16] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's good point. Let me talk a little bit about upcycling because you told me a story that absolutely made me grin from ear to ear.

[00:33:26] And I thought we'd have to talk about that in the podcast. So what's the deal with upcycling? Well, 

[00:33:33] Michelle: loads of people. It's not even a new thing, but loads of people like to get a piece of furniture and paint it or add this or add that and actually make it look like a very modern piece of furniture. And that's great.

[00:33:48] And we have loads of people that want to do that. And they've got all these ideas, which. Brilliant. But the story you're referring to is about, um, how many items we then have brought back where the upcycling has gone completely wrong and they sell it or give it back to us because it's a complete disaster.

[00:34:05] I 

[00:34:06] Ingrid: mean, it's a great way to be sustainable though. Isn't it? I mean, To go to a charity shop, get some items of furniture and go, you know what? I'm going to make a project of this, but it, some people just change a couple of handles while other people kind of go all out and want to paint it. And things don't always work out as they planned, did they?

[00:34:28] Michelle: We've seen some real disasters, but we have also seen some amazing, some people have come back and been so proud of to like to show off their design and how it's all worked out. So it's amazing the things you can do, and you would never recognize some of the items as you know, things that have sold, what they look like, um, after they've been upcycled.

[00:34:50] Oh, that's so nice. 

[00:34:51] Ingrid: So people actually say I bought this here and I've got a picture. Look at how it looks now. And I did this myself. Yeah. Amazing. 

[00:34:57] Michelle: Amazing. And because some of the shops, people that come in are regulars. They actually talk about it or they're waiting for a particular type of furniture to come in.

[00:35:05] So yeah, it's actually a, a sort of big project that actually involves quite a few people quite often. 

[00:35:12] Ingrid: Amazing. My, I think one of my last questions, um, is going to be about the. pet testing, because you mentioned that with because you do take small electricals. I mean, so you don't take fridge and freezer, but you do take small items.

[00:35:25] What does pet testing actually mean? 

[00:35:28] Michelle: It's really simple. It's um, a machine that you actually have to just put, plug the item into. And it gives you a reading mm-hmm. , and it tells you if it's actually safe or not. Okay. And once it's got that reading, you then have to put a sticker on it to say that it has been tested.

[00:35:44] Yeah. And that it, it is fine. And that it's safe to be sold on. And it's really, really quick. It's very easy. It's just a, a so certain, um, machine, they're not even expensive to buy, but you just have to know how to use it. Yeah. So it, it makes sense for us to have that there because there's so many things like lamps and kettles and stereos, things like that, which are.

[00:36:04] Perfect. And people would like to, to have them obviously a fraction of the price. Yeah. And buy new. 

[00:36:11] Ingrid: Yeah, of course, of course. And have you, um, seen an influx of people using the charity shop, especially in maybe even in the last couple of years, do you see that people? Are being more mindful about the environment and feel that I think I was talking to one of one of, um, somebody I know she said, Oh yeah, my daughter now goes to the charity shop and her friends go because they try to, they want to kind of find little vintage items and be cool and have something that, that, that hasn't been, that's not from the current thing, but this is really vintage.

[00:36:44] Do you see there's more use, a use now or more? Influx in charity shop 

[00:36:49] Michelle: use? Yeah, there definitely is. And it's for very, like various reasons, certainly for that reason, lots of people like to look for the vintage items because that's very trendy at the moment. But also I think the cost of living has changed.

[00:37:03] Um, people actually aren't embarrassed about buying things from charity shops anymore. It's, there's no stigma to it. It's actually cool. If you can find a top for two pounds, you go and boast about it. Look what I got for two pounds rather than paying 22, 32, 42 in a high street shop. I think there's a lot of reasons why people are shopping like that.

[00:37:23] But also I think people's money has to go a lot further these days. And it's a very, well again about sustainability, it's a way of actually getting what you need for a fraction of the price. And why not? It makes sense to do that. 

[00:37:39] Ingrid: Well, thank you so much, um, Michelle. It's been absolutely brilliant. I've loved learning so much more about your amazing charity, about your charity shops.

[00:37:50] Now, of course, listeners, these charity shops are only here in, in, in, in, in South of South London and in, in, in Kent, in the Southeast here in the UK, but. You know, support your local charity shops with your donations. Don't throw stuff away. Ask them what items do they need to give it a second life? Because, of course, anything that we don't let go into landfill is an amazing win.

[00:38:16] And it, of course, the items need to be in the best quality as possible. But like you've heard Michelle say, They can sell on racks. They can sell on books. They can get a lot of money for items that don't sell well, but can be sold to him through other channels. And that still will raise money for, for their charity shops.

[00:38:34] So thanks for being here, Michelle. I really appreciate it. 

[00:38:38] Michelle: Thank you. It's been really nice joining you today. So thank you very much for having me. Well, 

[00:38:43] Ingrid: good luck with your charity. I hope you raise lots and lots and lots of money for your amazing charity and, and your trust and that it may help a lot of people along the way.

[00:38:53] Next week, we are talking about, Lesley and I are talking about Is there a one size fits all solution? So listen in next week to find out what we've got to say about that. Thank you so much for being here and we'll see you next week.
Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode
Listen on
Apple Podcasts
Listen on
Amazon Music
Listen on
Spotify
Watch on
YouTube
Prefer to watch rather than listen? Watch on YouTube