Donating unwanted goods to charity is one of the best ways to make a difference on a budget. Whether you’re moving house or just having a spring clean, you’re likely to surprise yourself with the amount of unused and unwanted stuff you have lying around. Getting rid of it all can do wonders for your general well-being, and will make your house seem much bigger, too.

Here are five smart ways to turn your junk into donations:

Divide things into categories first

Rather than traipsing from shop to shop with a car-load of unwanted goods, separate your stuff into piles or boxes: clothes, furniture, electrical equipment, and entertainment. Do some research into your local charity shops to find out which ones take what. Some shops specialise in books and DVDs, whereas others will take more of an interest in vintage clothes. Make sure everything is in good condition — you’ll be wasting the charity’s time by giving them rubbish to sift through.

Take the surplus to a re-use centre

You might not be able to offload everything to the shops, and that’s fine. You can take unwanted clothes and shoes to a re-use centre. There’s probably one in your local supermarket’s car-park, next to the recycling bins. Charity shops are usually paid around £80 per tonne for the items that end up here — and, although that’s not very much, it’s better than the alternative, which is dumping them.

Beware house-to-house collections

Some charities offer house-to-house clothes collections, where you bag up your stuff and they take it off your hands. Be careful, though, as the money might not be going where you think it’s going. Make sure you read the company’s leaflet carefully before putting your clothes out for collection. If the charity is being paid per tonne, they’re only going to receive around 5p per item — but, if you take those clothes into a shop, they could sell them for much more than that.

Give online

Charity auction websites allow users to advertise unwanted goods and send the proceeds directly to their chosen charity. You can do this from home, too, which is great if you don’t have a car. Alternatively, there’s eBay For Charity, where you can list items and then choose what percentage of the winning bid you’d like to donate. By choosing Collection Only, you won’t even have to pay for postage.

Try a car-boot sale

If you’re trying to shift miscellaneous bits and pieces, a car-boot sale might be a good idea. Beads, old jewellery, comic, magazines, children’s toys and even unwanted crockery tend to be quite popular. Lower the prices of any unsold goods as the event comes to a close. Then, donate the proceeds to charity by giving online, by text, or over the phone.

Clearing your house of clutter can make all the difference to your mood, and you’ll probably feel energised after having a clear-out. You’ll also have helped the environment by donating rather than dumping your stuff, and you’ll have given money to a good cause, too.

By Sam Wright

Sam Wright is a freelance writer. He works for Third Sector, and often uses online charity auctions.