Kelly Robertson
Do NOT dread the spring cleaning. Don’t think of it as a chore, but as a money-making opportunity. The stuff you have all around your home could be sold for real money if you don’t need it.
In a way, spring cleaning could get you the money you didn’t know you already have. It is little like finding hidden cash in your own home.
Here are 5 ways to how to maximize profits from spring cleaning:
1. Be ruthless
While cleaning out your home, you want to get rid of all the stuff you don’t need. Think about every single item you find around the house/apartment — how often do you use it? If the answer is once per year or less, chances are you don’t need it.
Your CD and DVD collection are not worth as much as you think. Old textbooks? The same thing. Old toys? Gone.
Scrutinize everything and look around for the every last item you could get rid of. Check out the basement, garage and shed.
You won’t only make more space in your home, but also make some money as there are folks out there who will actually pay for your old junk.
(Yes, we are calling it junk — cause some of us had the same problem years ago).
2. Create a few piles
You don’t want to have everything stuck on a single pile. Rather, make multiple piles each of which will gather different kinds of items. One pile is for your old clothing; one for CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays; one for electronics; and one for everything else.
You can have as many piles as you deem necessary, these are the basic ones most of us would have — it’s up to you to determine how piles you need.
The idea is to organize your old stuff in the same manner you will be disposing them off. This will make the process much easier later on when you actually start selling your stuff with, for example, clothing going to a different store from electronics.
There is an option to sell the entire bunch of your old stuff to a single seller, but while convenient, that will get you less money. So work on those piles, as you prepare for the next step…
3. Check Decluttr, consignment stores and eBay
I like to start with Decluttr. There are other similar services, but I use this one more often than others. The reason is simple — it lets me get rid of my junk using nothing but my phone. Specifically, Decluttr will take in your old DVDs, CDs, Blu-Ray Discs, and video games; as well as electronics such as mobile phones, tablets and game consoles — and get you some decent money for it. Don’t expect a small fortune, but a fair pay.
Next, visit a local consignment store and see how much, if anything, you can get for your old clothes. Even better, you can use some of these sites and do the same thing from the comfort of your couch.
Finally, for those items that don’t fit anywhere – try eBay, and see if someone out there would be willing to pay for your stuff. Or you could…
4. Organize a yard sale
In addition to using it to get rid of funky stuff you can hardly sell online, a yard sale is the moment when you want to sell your old furniture, lamps and other stuff that are hard to ship (or for which shipping is expensive).
Depending on how much stuff you want to offer for sale — and again we urge to look at the stuff you don’t use as junk and offer as many items as possible — you may end up with a couple hundred dollars in total.
Also read: 6 Things to Know to Organize a Successful Garage Sale
Finally…
5. Donate stuff no one wants
Chances are you will have some leftovers that didn’t sell. Try donating them to local charities, some of which may even come to your house to pick up the goods.
At this point, you should ask for a receipt so you can claim the donation on your itemized deductions next year. Yes, this won’t decrease your taxes significantly, but there is really no good reason to pay more taxes than you have to.
Conclusion
If you did all of the steps right, you should have a bit more money in your pocket, and perhaps more importantly — a more comfortable space to live in.
I guess we don’t have to remind you that you shouldn’t go on a shopping spree, but rather to save money. Or, better yet, invest it. You can either put it in a savings account, some fund, or invest in your education. You’ll figure it out from here. 😉
And if you need more tips how to organize a successful garage sale check out the Garage Sale Toolkit, which will help you plan, promote and profit from your next garage sale.
