London’s Unwanted Items Collected Free at Your Door

Greater London is home to roughly 8.9 million people, spread across one of the most densely populated and culturally varied territories in the world. Flats are turned over, houses are renovated, children outgrow entire wardrobes in a season, and shelves fill up with books that have already been read. All of that creates an enormous flow of unwanted-but-perfectly-usable items every single day. Our free doorstep charity collection service exists to intercept as much of that flow as possible — giving good things a second life, raising money for charity, and saving households across London the hassle of lugging bags to a distant drop-off point.

One booking, one doorstep, the whole of Greater London

We cover the W, SW, SE, N, E, and NW postcode areas, as well as HA and TW — which means we reach from Harrow in the north-west to Croydon in the south, and from Ealing in the west to the eastern edges of the city. Whether you live in a Victorian terrace in Enfield, a purpose-built flat in Hounslow, or a converted house in Bromley, the process is exactly the same: book a slot online, leave your bags on the doorstep on collection day, and we do the rest. There are no collection fees, no minimum quantities, and no trip to make.

Clothes & Accessories

Adults’ and children’s clothing in good, wearable condition — coats, jeans, dresses, shoes, belts, scarves and hats. We ask that items are clean, dry and free from significant damage. We do not collect socks, underwear or personalised clothing.

Books, CDs & DVDs

Paperbacks, hardbacks, children’s picture books, reference volumes, CDs and DVDs are all welcome. Reusing these items avoids the water and CO₂ involved in pulping, printing and distributing fresh copies — a meaningful saving when you consider the sheer volume of books that pass through London homes every year.

Toys & Games

Smaller toys, action figures, soft toys, puzzles with all their pieces (though not jigsaws — see our FAQ), children’s games and similar items in good, safe condition. If a toy is intact and a child could genuinely enjoy it, it almost certainly belongs in a donation bag rather than a bin.

Kitchenware & Crockery

Pots, pans, mugs, plates, bowls, glasses, cutlery, bakeware and small kitchen gadgets — all collected, as long as they are clean and intact. London’s high turnover of rental properties means kitchenware changes hands constantly; donating surplus pieces keeps them in circulation rather than in landfill.

Linen & Bedding

Bed sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases and towels in good, clean condition are all collected. Please note we do not collect pillows, duvets, blankets or mattress protectors — but good-quality linen is always in demand and very straightforward to donate.

Household Items & Ornaments

Vases, ornaments, picture books, candles, small decorative objects, handbags and similar household items are all welcome. If you are clearing a room or renovating part of your home, these are often the items that accumulate fastest — and they are among the easiest to donate.

How a doorstep collection works

Book your slot online. Choose a date that suits you from our calendar. We cover the full range of Greater London postcode areas, so most addresses can find a slot within a few days. The booking takes under two minutes and there is nothing to pay.

Fill your donation bags. Work through wardrobes, bookshelves, toy boxes, kitchen cupboards and linen drawers. A useful rule of thumb: if you have not reached for something in twelve months, someone else in the city almost certainly would. Bag items loosely — overstuffed sacks can split — and keep heavy books across multiple bags rather than cramming everything into one.

Leave bags on your doorstep on collection day. You do not need to be in. Place the bags outside before your confirmed collection window, and our driver will collect them and issue a receipt. There is no need to sort items by type — we handle that.

Items go on to raise money for charity. A large percentage of proceeds goes directly to charity. The items are sorted, priced and sold through second-hand channels, keeping them in use and out of the waste stream. Buying and donating second-hand is one of the most resource-efficient habits a London household can adopt.

Renovation tip: Clearing a room before decorating? This is the ideal moment to donate. Kitchenware displaced by a new layout, books moved off shelves being repainted, linen and towels replaced during a bathroom update — all of it can go into donation bags rather than bin bags, and our doorstep service means you do not need to load anything into a car.

The environmental case in Greater London

London generates a significant volume of household waste — that is simply the arithmetic of 8.9 million people living and moving and upgrading their possessions. When books, CDs and DVDs end up in general waste rather than being reused, the paper, card and plastic involved can break down in landfill and release methane. Reusing a book means no new tree pulping, no printing process and no distribution leg — avoiding the water consumption and carbon emissions that producing a fresh copy would involve. Scaled across the hundreds of thousands of books that leave London homes every year, those savings are genuinely meaningful, even as estimates drawn from published UK averages.

The same logic applies to clothes: manufacturing new garments is resource-intensive, and London’s fast-moving second-hand market — from market stalls in Ealing to vintage shops in south Croydon — shows that demand for pre-loved items is real and growing. Donating rather than discarding keeps that supply chain alive. For kitchenware and household items, the savings are in avoided manufacturing: a donated saucepan that sells at a second-hand price is one that nobody had to smelt, cast and ship from scratch.

What we do and do not collect

We collect	We do not collect
Adult and children’s clothing (clean, wearable)	Socks, underwear, personalised clothing
Books, CDs and DVDs	Magazines, comics, VHS/cassette tapes
Smaller toys in good condition	Ride-on toys, prams, cots, jigsaws, ball pits
Kitchenware, crockery and cutlery	Microwaves, white goods, large appliances
Bed linen, pillowcases, towels	Pillows, duvets, blankets, sleeping bags
Household ornaments and small decorative items	Lamps, mirrors, picture frames, rugs, curtains
Shoes, bags and accessories	Suitcases, sports equipment, exercise equipment

Ready to clear some space in Greater London?

Book a Free Charity Collection

Frequently asked questions

There is no strict upper limit on the number of standard bags you can leave out, but please keep individual bags to a manageable weight — particularly if you are filling them with books. We are not equipped for bulk-clearance runs or the contents of an entire house in one go; if you are having a major clear-out, consider spreading it across two bookings a few weeks apart.

No. Leave your bags on the doorstep before the start of your collection window and the driver will collect them and leave a receipt. This makes the service particularly useful for working households in areas like Harrow, Hounslow and Enfield, where daytime availability can be limited.

Generally yes. Older paperbacks and hardbacks in readable condition are donated and sold rather than recycled, which is always the preferable outcome — it avoids the energy and resource cost of pulping. The one exception is books that are heavily water-damaged, mouldy or falling apart; those unfortunately cannot be resold and should go into your paper recycling instead.

Absolutely — this is one of the most common and most useful donation scenarios we see. Pots, pans, crockery, bakeware and small appliances (such as kettles and toasters) that are being replaced during a kitchen update are all collectable, as long as they are clean and in working order. We do not collect built-in kitchen fixtures, white goods such as fridges or washing machines, or microwaves.

Items are sorted and sold through second-hand retail channels. A large percentage of the proceeds goes to charity. The service is free to use precisely because the resale value of donated goods covers the operational costs — so the more good-quality items Londoners donate, the more the charity benefits.

Yes. Bromley, like Croydon, Ealing and the rest of Greater London, falls within our collection territory. Enter your postcode at the booking stage and the system will confirm availability and show you the next available slots. We cover BR postcodes as part of our Greater London service area.

8.9m

people across Greater London we serve

postcode areas covered: W, SW, SE, N, E, NW, HA, TW

£0

cost to you — the collection is completely free

every donated item kept out of landfill and back in use

Second-hand living does not require any particular lifestyle commitment — it just requires a slightly different decision at the moment you would otherwise reach for a bin bag. In a city the size of London, those small decisions add up to something considerable.

If you are in Enfield and clearing a spare room, in Harrow and replacing worn-out kitchen kit, in Hounslow and sorting through a child’s old toys, or anywhere else across Greater London with a bag of good things you no longer need — we are ready to collect. Book your free slot today and leave the rest to us.

What we collect across Greater London

Every one of these is collected free from your doorstep in Greater London — read what we take, and how to get it ready:

Councils we work with in Greater London

We work with 7 councils in Greater London to help residents pass on what they no longer need, rather than putting it out with the waste. Read more about each:

Where we collect in Greater London

We cover the whole of Greater London — if you are on the map, we can collect from your doorstep.

Donate specific items across Greater London

We collect from doorsteps in Croydon, Enfield, Harrow and London, and from the villages around them. Each town below has its own page, and you can go straight to the kind of donation you are making — every collection is free and we come to your door.

Other counties we collect from

We run free doorstep collections right across the country. If you are outside this county, or you are arranging a collection for family elsewhere, pick the county below.

Free collection, anywhere in Greater London — and we come to your door.