Peckham residents can have a Christmas declutter in comfort with a new charity shop opening on Peckham Rye Lane on December 13.

The Chartwell Cancer Trust’s new charity shop in Peckham, offers a free collection service for furniture, household items, books, homeware and clothes. It is the charity’s 5th shop.

Upon visit the shop felt very spacious, yet with not that many clothes to buy. However, the shop also offered two other rooms, with the back room being most filled: including all sorts of crockery and furniture.

The three rooms were all on the same floor, with a ramp as well for disabled access. One staff member, who helps run the shop and asked to be kept anonymous, said “We want this shop to be everyone. We want everyone to feel welcome to come in here.” The shop gives off a welcoming energy, offering tea and lunch to customers, who stay and chat.

There is a toilet that any members of the public may use without having to buy anything. As well as this dogs are also allowed into the shop.

The shop’s policy is not to charge for breakages. The prices are sometimes negotiable and they also make it clear to customers they may buy specifically what they want, there’s no need to pay for a whole set if they only want one item.

The Volunteer also mentioned “Everything here, is recycled. You’re saving the planet here!”

The trust, founded in 2005, seeks to support NHS staff and patients wracked by cancer and leukaemia in south London, north Kent and east Surrey. Its CEO, Michael Douglas, who battled leukaemia, saw first-hand, the NHS’s struggle to “maintain excellence in care with limited resources and staffing shortages.”

The volunteer also mentioned “I volunteer and donate here because I know where my money’s going. St Mungos, Cancer Research, they’re businesses. Here, I know even in the shop we are helping people.”

The new shop in Peckham is expected to continue the trust’s tradition of well-staffed boutiques with good products and prices. Although there have not been any official reviews of the Peckham shop yet, one visitor wrote on Facebook: “Popped in yesterday. A treasure trove.”

The volunteer then went on and told different stories about different warming experiences and interactions with different customers, most notably a teenager who came in and found two copies of his dad’s old music from the 1980s on vinyl.