Want to know a quick way to make extra cash and create a positive space at home? Sell stuff you haven’t used in the last 6 months!
If you are anything like me (I made some major improvement in this area in the last few years), you tend to accumulate various things after shopping during good sales and limited time deal events. As a result, you end up having stuff you don’t wear and items you don’t actually use. Besides clothing, I am also oddly drawn to buying quality hosiery, toiletries, kitchen and household items. This means that if I go shopping for jeans, there is a very good chance I will also buy some cute spoons and dishes, hand creams, scented candles, high-quality tights, and leggings. Very weird combo, I know, but that’s me. (Maybe it is because it’s just as important for me to drink my coffee from a beautiful cup as it is to feel the amazing quality of Wolford tights on my legs, while smelling a beautiful aroma of a warmly scented candle in my home).
While it all sounds great, what it means is after a while I would discover many of unused items in my closet, vanity cabinets, and kitchen cupboards. I found some unworn brand name clothing, bags, and shoes. A lot of these purchases still had tags attached or were in pristine condition. Prior to making a HUGE progress in the way I spend and save money, my home was drowning in all these items without me even knowing it. Not only these impulse-buy items were taking precious space in my already small home, I wasn’t even using them! This made them double-negative assets, speaking financial terms.
I’ll admit, I am not a big fan of rummaging through my stuff to find what I need to let go off. Perhaps it’s because this process reminds me of how wasteful I’ve been with my finances. Yet, getting into a habit of de-cluttering on a regular basis was an absolutely necessary step in my recovery as a deals shopaholic. In the last couple of years, I sold, donated, and disposed of a lot of items that I wish I never bought in the first place. Not because I no longer liked them, but because I realized how much more I could have done with all that money, especially as a single mother.
Now that I gave a bit of context to my own story, here are the steps you need to take to make money and create positive space in your home:
1. Choose one area of focus at a time
It’s very tempting to enthusiastically try to remember all places in your home where you might have things you can sell right away. However, you would do a more thorough job if you focus on one area of your home at a time. For example, you could de-clutter the bedroom closet today, bathroom cabinets tomorrow, and kids’ toy boxes on the weekend.
2. Be ruthless!
Be honest with yourself whenever you look at each item. Commit to letting go of everything that you haven’t used in the last six months. For example, I have a pair of dressy designer pumps which I wore only once before, even prior to being married and divorced! Even though it would not hurt to keep them, I know for a fact that I will not be wearing them in the next year, at the very least. Not only I don’t go out often, I now also strongly prefer more comfortable shoes in general. Conclusion? Must sell asap!
3. Don’t underestimate the value of what you have
You’ve probably heard the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” While we are not talking about trash here, you get the point. Sometimes I tend to assume that just because I personally don’t use something, someone else likely won’t use it too. Wrong! Many people around you are going through different stages in their lives and might actually need items that you might no longer need.
Example: I once sold a brand new digital kitchen scale to a young woman who was starting a home-based bakery. While I had zero use for this scale in my kitchen, for this woman it was an amazing bargain at 50% savings off the retail price!
4. Get into the abundance mentality
This is a really crucial step. While you are going through your items, instead of thinking of potential ways you might use them in the future, think of exchanging this old energy in your life for the new and better one. Remind yourself that the more you give the more you receive. The power of the abundance mentality is proven and it works. Yes, you will be selling your items at a big discount to other people, but at the same time, you will be creating space for new and better things in your life! Why sit on heaps of unused items, when you can turn them into cash and save faster for a trip you wanted to take, or an energizing life experience together with your little one.
5. Learn and teach the value of recycling with your children
Use the process of de-cluttering to have fun with your child, while teaching them about the importance of recycling, reselling, and letting go of things without emotional attachment. Whenever I was planning to sell my daughter’s gently used toys or no-longer-fitting clothing, I always asked her to help me find and separate the items she no longer needed. I then explained to her that some children will be very happy to have these and it is good to share and give. At the same time, I explained that by reselling some items we’ll be getting some money to buy something she can enjoy and use. As a result, now my daughter sees the process of de-cluttering as fun. She is also learning about the importance of not forming a dependent emotional attachment to commodities.
6. Know the best places to sell
Try to use Kijiji and/or Craigslist first. These free buying and selling platforms are full of local people looking for all kinds of things to buy. You can usually get the most money for your items on these free online platforms.
Your other option would be selling on eBay, but be aware that eBay has changed a lot from its previous days. It now has a 10% selling fee, so you would need to price your items accordingly. You’ll also have to ship your items by mail when selling on eBay. This creates more hassle than the first two options which rely on free local pick ups. However, some items are best sold through eBay for security reasons. For example, jewelry or very expensive items are safer to sell on eBay than locally.
You can also try various buy-and-sell groups on Facebook. I am not a huge fan of these groups myself. They typically require quite a few extra steps, like finding the right group in your area, asking to join and following many peculiar rules of each group. I also find that people in these groups want bigger discounts, and take a much longer time to purchase.
I hope you find these 6 tips on how to make extra cash and create a positive space in your home useful. Have fun de-cluttering your space and boost your finances while doing it!