I'd like some free editing software for short video clips from my phone... does anyone have any recommendations? Nothing Mac or Apple based please... windows only! There are lots of review and rate type articles and sites out there but as a beginner they don't mean much to me at the moment. I just want to edit out unwanted sections, that sort of thing.

I have almost no experience except a tiny bit of tape (!!) editing when studying for my (unrelated) degree and that was at the turn of the century. So it needs to be intuitive! I don't need anything snazzy or tricksy, just basic chopping in and out, splicing together and so on. Not fussed about sound / music (or "The Sound of Music" either) currently. More of a Dogme 95 approach I s'pose. Without wanting to get all pretentious you understand.

Many thanks in anticipation!

My son and I use the free version of Videopad

https://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html

Windows 10 has a built in video editor I believe, but we've both been happy with Videopad so not really looked into anything else.

Before you edit any video, make sure you copy the original, then rename the video copy you are editing
There is nothing worse than editing an original video and losing it!

Which version of Windows do you have?

Windows Movie Maker is suitable for editing low resolution and short videos (such as Instagram stories)
You can then upscale them to HD, and then upload to YouTube

To edit high resolution videos use something like VLC
Equally, use VLC for additional editing features like rotate and stabilise
The instructions are useless, but once you get used to the program it works very well

If uploading to YouTube then make sure when uploading your connection is stable and no other media is transferring
Otherwise YouTube may save the video in a lower resolution

You can use Windows Movie Maker for more complex projects, just make sure you do not have any other programs running in the background
Equally, disconnect from the internet (turn WiFi off)
I have used it a few times to stitch videos together, add credits and text, add music, then save in HD format

https://www.openshot.org/en/ works for me,can be very simple,just drag and drop your clips into the timeline,or very complex once you start playing with key frames and funky transitions.The best part is the price,free

HitFilm Express is free and powerful, as is Resolve

https://fxhome.com/express
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/products/davinciresolve/