Inside: Clearing the clutter is not only a way to make your home feel better but there are also great ways to make money while decluttering. Here are eight ways to help you to earn more money while creating a space you love.
If the stuff in your home has been stressing you out, decluttering is a great way to simplify and regain control over your space.
Trying to manage too many things is a surefire way to set yourself up for feeling like a failure and for not enjoying your home as much as you could be.
By letting go of items you no longer use and love, you can make your home a more peaceful place that is easier to maintain.
Not only will you get to experience feeling better in your space, but if you’re hoping to put a little cash back in your pocket you can also make money while decluttering your home.
Read on for eight great ways to make money while decluttering. Decide which one(s) will work for you. They can provide additional motivation throughout the decluttering process.
Why Declutter Your Home?
There are a number of solid reasons you may want to declutter your home. You might be tired of not being able to locate items in your house. Or perhaps the number of things you own is making you feel overwhelmed or burdened.
For others, the idea of leaving everything behind for family members to deal with it is a motivator for simplifying and downsizing.
It’s true that there are many awesome benefits to decluttering your home. Feeling a greater sense of peace, having more time, and saving money are just a few of them.
In this post, we’re focusing specifically on how decluttering can help you make and save more money. So let’s get going!
8 Great Ways to Make Money While Decluttering
Here are eight ways you can make money while decluttering your home.
1. Return items
Do you have items you haven’t used that you can still return? Even if you can’t get your money back at this point, perhaps you can get a store credit to use for something you actually will use.
Coming across new items while decluttering can be pretty frustrating. Often things that were intended to be returned get misplaced or forgotten about.
If that has been the case for you, there are a few things you can do to prevent that from happening again in the future.
First, set up a place near your entryway or mudroom where you place items that need to be returned. It should be a place that you will see as you get ready to head out the door. That makes it easy to quickly pick it up and take it with you to return that day.
Another way to prevent getting past your return date again in the future is to set an alert on your phone. That will help to remind you that you’re nearing the end of your return window so that you set aside to take care of it.
For new items that you were not able to return, consider the next option.
2. Sell online
There are things to consider when selling items online. It will take some time and effort to make it happen.
You will need to navigate the technology, take good pictures, write a thorough description, and communicate with interested buyers. You may decide that some items are not worth that effort.
But if you want to give it a go sites like OfferUp and Facebook marketplace can be great places to list items. Decide in advance if you are willing to ship or only want to sell locally. Also plan to meet up with any interested buyers in safe public places.
If you are willing to ship some additional places to consider listing items are eBay for just about anything and Mercari for clothing, purses, accessories, etc.
Before listing your items, do a little research to see what similar items have sold for. This will help you to have a realistic idea of what you might be able to get.
It’s also helpful to set a deadline to sell your things so that they don’t linger in your home for an extended period of time. Be willing to reduce prices or negotiate in order to sell unwanted items online quickly.
3. Consign
Another option for making money while decluttering your home is to check out local consignment stores in your area. Some of them may allow you to put items in their store on consignment.
They do the work of selling your item and take a cut of the profits. In some cases, it can be a pretty significant percentage of the price, but at least it takes very little time and effort on your part.
Some items to consider for consignment are furniture, antiques, or jewelry. Make sure you understand upfront what you’re getting yourself into.
What happens if the item gets damaged while in the store? Be sure you understand the potential liabilities before proceeding.
Ask what percent profit the store takes and how they handle pricing. They may also have a timeframe during which they want the item to sell otherwise it needs to be picked back up or donated.
4. Host a yard sale
If you have a lot of unwanted things you’ve discovered while decluttering your home, hosting a yard sale can be a great way to go.
Check out this post with 8 tips on how to host a successful yard sale.
Not only does that help to provide a deadline for decluttering as many spaces in your home as you can prior, but it’s also a great way to get a lot of things out in a single weekend.
Be aware when hosting a yard sale that people are likely to try and haggle with you, so if the idea of that really bothers you this may not be your best option for making money while decluttering.
You’ll also want to have a plan for what to do with the yard sale leftovers. Some options are to have Sunday afternoon be a half-off time to try and clear out as much as possible.
You could also leave things out for free and list it on your local Buy Nothing page or in community Facebook groups to let people know they can pick up those items for free.
Whatever does not get picked up in your given timeframe should immediately get dropped off at a local donation center in order to not have unwanted items continue to take up space in your home (or garage).
5. Found money
As you go through each drawer, cabinet, and shelf in your home while decluttering you may come across money in the form of cash, checks, or gift cards.
As your sort through purses and clothes you no longer want, make sure to check all of the pockets. You never know what cash could have been tucked away.
While decluttering drawers in your home you may rediscover gift cards you didn’t even remember you had. Call the number on the back to check the balance.
As you declutter your office you may come across misplaced checks that were never cashed. Unfortunately, if they’ve been missing for a while they may be expired, but you can contact the issuer to see if they will send you a new one.
I’ve heard some great stories over the years about how people stumbled across found money (or valuable items that were missing) while decluttering. Perhaps you’ll be the next one!
6. Declutter bill paying
No one wants to waste money paying late fees due to misplaced bills.
Paper clutter can be overwhelming initially. Once you’ve taken the time to get them under control, evaluate which bills you want to put on autopay so that you don’t have to worry about any future late payments.
It’s still a good idea to review your bank and credit card statements monthly to ensure that the charges to your account are correct.
This is also a great opportunity to simplify your life and save more money by reviewing your statements and canceling any subscriptions you no longer want or use.
All of those seemingly small fees add up over time and getting rid of them can end up saving you quite a bit of money.
7. Shop smart
As you declutter your fridge and pantry you may come across a variety of foods that you ended up having to throw away. What you learn in this process can help you to reduce food waste in the future by not overbuying on groceries.
Being intentional with meal planning and combining it with shopping the weekly sales can help you to creatively save more money on food on an ongoing basis.
For non-food-related items that you are interested in purchasing, take the time to do some price comparisons. Many stores will price match.
Wait for a deal and make sure it is something you actually need or want before buying, which brings us to the final way to make money while decluttering…
8. Buy less
Be more intentional with shopping going forward. Decluttering has a way of making us face past regrets and mistakes.
It may be painful to sell unused items for a fraction of what you paid for them but instead of getting stuck dwelling on that, let it serve as a reminder to be more careful with your purchases.
Decluttering also helps you to gain a greater sense of what you own and makes accessing it easier. This helps to lessen duplicate purchases in the future.
Buying less will look different for every person and household. In this post, I wrote about some of the things I stopped buying after simplifying our home. I hope something from my list might be helpful as you consider where you can save more money.
Other ways to get rid of unwanted stuff (if you don’t care to make money while decluttering)
There’s nothing wrong with using some of these ways to make money while decluttering, but if you don’t want to invest the time or effort, there are great options for giving away your unwanted items.
Check out this post with some ideas for how to responsibly donate items you no longer want.
Check out this post which talks about one of my favorite ways to donate within your community by joining your local Buy Nothing group.
What’s your favorite way to make money while decluttering? Let us know in the comments section!
Sign up on the form below to get weekly decluttering tips and inspiration sent straight to your inbox. You’ll also get the free 5 Areas to Declutter in 10 Minutes Checklist to help you get started decluttering today.
