Your support helps!
By donating furniture and household items you no longer need you are supporting people, the environment and your local community. We are grateful and rely on your continuous donations, thank you!
Gift Aid Information
If you are a UK taxpayer and are donating to us we can claim an extra 25% back from the UK Government at NO cost to you. Will you consider gift aiding your item? For more information please visit:
- Gift Aid declaration form available here
- Gift Aid FAQs available here
- Gift Aid HMRC information available here
How to Donate to Us
We currently collect items donated by people living in the Scottish Borders area. Please note:
- Soft furnishing items legally require fire retardent labels to be attached for resale
- Items must be in good condition, unmarked and all donations suitable for resale
- Household electrical items must be in working order
It is important for Home Basics to acquire products that meet safety standards and can be resold quickly, this ensures the organisation can operate to its capacity, consistently meeting the needs of primary beneficiaries whilst preventing more landfill. We appreciate all offers but are unable to accept items that might require Home Basics to pay for disposal. Our selection process seeks to avoid unnecessary cost to the organisation or impact on our limited storage.
Our drivers have authority to decline items therefore we cannot promise to accept items prior to viewing. Alternatively feel free to bring your item(s) for us to see at either the Hawick or Walkerburn depots.
Thank you for your understanding.
We can not accept
- Gas or Calor Gas items – we do not have the means to legally test them
- Electric blankets
- Some Children’s equipment (prams, car seats and occassionally cots)
If the items you wish to donate are in another part of Scotland please visit the Community Recycling Network for Scotland Website (CRNS) where you will find an interactive map that will lead you to the most appropriate organisation. http://www.crns.org.uk/
When you book your collection we will ask you the following questions:
- Are the items clean, working and saleable with no stains or tears?
- Do soft furnishings have fire retardant labels?
- Is there adequate access for our vehicle at the property?
- Are items easily accessible with appropriate room to remove them from the property?
If the answer to these questions is Yes, please contact us to discuss and book in a collection date. Please be aware we are unable to guarantee a time of collection/delivery.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are hazardous chemicals that, once released into the environment, pose risks to human health and ecosystems. These “forever chemicals” include substances such as DecaBDE and HBCDD, used in fire-retardant treatments for upholstered domestic seating.
SEPA’s 2024 guidance mandates that domestic upholstered seating which is not fit for reuse must be incinerated through specialist contractors potentially incurring significant costs. Disposal via landfill is no longer permissible. Unusable items have to be stored and transported separate from other waste.
As a result, Home Basics has to check and ensure that any domestic upholstered furniture which it accepts must be suitable for reuse and does not have any damage whatsoever. We apologise for any inconvenience that this causes and appreciate that donors understand that this situation is beyond our control.
We are grateful for financial donations towards the work of Home Basics. Please contact the Walkerburn office about how to donate financial gifts towards our work and the impact your support has. Thank you.
Your Support Helps!
Telephone: 01896 870455 Email: walkerburn@homebasics.org.uk
Volunteering
Home Basics is fortunate to have a strong and reliable volunteer base whom form the backbone of its operations. This includes sales, sorting, cleaning, repairs, renovation, collections, deliveries, administration and governance.
Home Basics offer opportunities for those who require upskilling and work experience in a supportive environment. We help support people according to their need, be it a will to learn, grow in confidence, references to re-enter the job market from a stronger position, or combating loneliness. A number of our volunteers enjoy benefitting from belonging to a team and working together for a local community organisation.
A large part of the Home Basics team relies on volunteer support, in fact collectively they are our biggest donor!
We are incredibly grateful to our valuable and generous team who commit many hours each week to our cause.
A volunteer Board of Directors steer and consult across members of the local community. All of our volunteers carry the reuse message helping transform the attitudes of our customers and beneficiaries toward a reuse and repair society.
Our grateful thanks to you all!
If you would like to enquire about joining our volunteer team we would love to hear from you. Please call our Walkerburn office on 01896 870455 or email at walkerburn@homebasics.org.uk
