Bonanza for bargain hunters at Oundle declutter and donate weekend

The streets of Oundle are to be transfomed into an open market as residents set up shop outside their homes to sell off pre-loved items to make money and reduce waste.

Charity shops in the town have been finding donations difficult to manage due to the pandemic so event organisers Oundle Waste Less (OWL) are providing stallholders with the chance to make some money for themselves or their favourite charity and also promote re-use.

Visitors will able to download a map to find the stalls selling, or asking for donations for, household items, clothes, furniture and other goods as part of the second garage sale.

Camilla Sherwin, OWL project manager, said: "‘Around 35 households participated in the first Declutter and Donate event, generating over £2,000 in total and raising over £1,500 for charities such as Oundle Community First Responders, Oundle Volunteer Action, the East Anglian Air Ambulance and Parkinson’s UK.

‘We hope our second event will be even more successful. The pandemic has hit charities’ income hard, so this is a good opportunity to raise some funds for them and rehome some useful, pre-loved items."

Anyone wanting to get their stall added to the event map should email [email protected] by today (September 16) with brief details of their location, what they are selling and whether they are donating any proceeds to a chosen charity.

Sellers will be asked to read the risk assessment and agree to put a few simple coronavirus prevention measures in place, such as having hand sanitiser available.

Those wishing to visit the stalls will be able to download a map, available from September 18 from the @OundleWasteLess facebook page or www.transitionoundle.org.uk.

A few hard copies will be available from the stalls and from outside The Coffee Tavern in the town’s Market Place on Sunday September 20 from 12 noon to 4pm.

As parking at many of the locations is very restricted, buyers are being encouraged to walk or bike around the town and only drive to collect any large items they have bought as they are on their way home.

The event is part of the Oundle Waste Less project, run by Transition Oundle, which aims to reduce waste by creating opportunities to re-use, repair and refill opportunities.

Over the past 18 months the project team have run several Repair Cafés, signed up over 20 local venues to Refill East Northants, been instrumental in setting up the zero waste shop Refill Revolution at Oundle Wharf as well as arranging talks on environmental topics and engaging with schools and businesses about how to reduce their environmental impact.

For more details on the projects click here and @OundleWasteLess on social media.

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