Letting go is easier when you know things are going somewhere good. This is the short list for Ealing and nearby. Facts change, so check the link before you travel.
Sorting as you go? Get the free one-page donation sorter by email (A4 or US Letter, colour or low ink).
Downsizing, sorting for a parent or clearing after a loss? Read downsizing your belongings before a move, Swedish death cleaning, the gentle way and clearing a loved one’s home after a death.
Give it away first (free, and it often goes the same week)
- Freegle and Olio: post a photo; neighbours collect. Ealing Council itself suggests these before a bulky collection.
- Charity shops: most take clothes, books, kitchenware and small household items in good condition. Ring ahead for anything big.
Furniture
- Many furniture charities collect for free. They will only take sofas, armchairs, mattresses, padded headboards and cushions if the original fire safety label is still sewn on. No label, no collection; it is the law, not the shop being fussy.
- Not good enough to donate? Ealing Council collects bulky items: £30 for up to 6 items, booked online; more than 6 items is priced on request.
Books and magazines
- Oxfam Bookshop, Ealing Green: 1 The Green, Ealing, W5 5DA (020 8567 2152). Oxfam’s bookshops take books, CDs, vinyl and DVDs in good condition. Ring ahead if you have more than a couple of bags.
- Oxfam Books and Music, Turnham Green: 90 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, W4 1QN.
- Most charity shops take a few good paperbacks and children’s books too.
- Selling: book-buying sites and apps give an instant price when you scan the barcode, and send a free courier for a box. The money is small; it’s often worth it just for the collection.
- Old magazines and newspapers go in your blue recycling bin. Ealing’s own bin leaflet lists newspapers and magazines.
- Damp, mouldy or falling-apart books can’t be donated or sold. It’s fine to let those go.
If the books matter (a parent’s collection, say), keep a small shelf of the ones that mean the most, and let the rest go to someone who will read them.
Recycling centre
- Greenford Road Reuse and Recycling Centre, Greenford Road, Greenford, UB6 9AP. You must book a time slot before you go; without a booking you will not be let in. Closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Clothes and textiles
- Textile banks at local recycling points take worn and torn clothes and shoes that charity shops can’t sell.
Things not to donate
Opened toiletries, broken electricals, anything damp or mouldy, upholstered furniture without its fire label.
When to stop trying to sell
Selling online takes photos, messages, haggling and people not turning up. If an item has been waiting to be sold for a month, it is fine to give it away instead. The space and the calm are worth more than the few pounds.
Checked against Ealing Council’s own pages on 15 October 2026.