Is it better to patio public sale or donate items I am removing from my cluttered house?
Answers: The question is who is it better for?
A patio sale, IMHO, is little more than entertainment for avid yard-sale shoppers and possibly for you quite a bit of work simply to make you consistency like you've at lowest gotten something of your initial purchase price back, and the side issue is to get someone happy.
Donating items, then again, is more built on faith that you will manufacture someone happy, even if you can't see who it is, and is much easier on you.
I'd a bit donate myself. Give them ALL of the good stuff, not freshly the leftovers.
Do a courtyard sale, that approach you can get money for your things, and doesn`t matter what didn't get sold, donate.