What happens to a donated wardrobe?

Donate a wardrobe to Doncaster Refurnish and it is easy to imagine it going straight from your bedroom to someone else's spare room. In reality, it usually passes through several pairs of hands and at least three separate checks before it is ever ready to sell. Here is what actually happens behind the scenes, in between.

Collection and first look

Most wardrobes arrive by one of our collection vans, booked in advance so our driver knows exactly what to expect and how many people the job needs. On arrival, our team gives the piece a first-look assessment: is the frame stable, are the doors hanging straight, and is there any sign of damp or damage that a simple clean will not put right?

Flat-pack wardrobes are usually taken apart for the journey and rebuilt at the warehouse, while solid wood pieces travel in one piece, carefully wrapped to protect the finish. Either way, the wardrobe is logged on arrival so it can be tracked through every stage that follows, from intake right through to the shop floor.

Cleaning, repair and testing

Every wardrobe gets a proper clean inside and out, and any hardware, hinges, handles, runners, gets checked and tightened or replaced where needed. Scratches and marks are treated by hand, and any wobble in the frame is fixed before the piece goes anywhere near a customer.

People are sometimes surprised how much goes into something as simple as a wardrobe. It's not just a wipe-down, every hinge gets tested and every shelf gets checked for how much weight it can safely take.

Warehouse processing note

Ready for a new home

Once a wardrobe passes its final check, it is priced, photographed for our online catalogue, and moved onto the shop floor or into storage ready for delivery to its new home. From donation to display can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on how much work it needs, and it is all done by a small, patient team who take as much care over a straightforward wardrobe as they do over anything else that comes through our doors.