We all buy things we don’t really need!

Any die-hard Kmart shopper knows that you walk in with one thing in mind, and walk out hundreds of dollars later!

This is how we build our clutter collection without even trying! That momentary joy is later shadowed by chaos and clutter in the home – which can bring stress into our lives … in more ways than one.

If your clutter is stressing you out consider turning your garbage into gold. Out with the old and in with the new! You can convert household clutter into extra cash. Here are some ways to do just that.

6 Ways to Turn Your Clutter Into Cash

1. Hold a Garage Sale

With a garage sale, you can get rid of all your clutter in one fell swoop and end up a few dollars richer.

A garage sale will also be perfect if you’re moving to another house or city. By getting rid of your excess belongings in a garage sale, you’ll have fewer items to load into the truck of the local moving company you’re hiring.

When holding a garage sale, always make sure that the whole neighborhood knows about it. The more people come, the bigger the chances of everything actually going.

Make fliers or posters about your upcoming garage sale and make sure they’re seen by as many people as possible. As for your items on sale, don’t forget to price them as fairly as you can. Don’t charge too much for them, but don’t sell some of the pricier pieces cheaply either. Some of them may prove to be more valuable to some people than you think.

However, don’t go selling all your clutter in one garage sale, especially if some of them are actually antiques.

2. Resell Antiques That Hold No Value To You

If there’s an antiques store near where you live, you might want to check out how much they’re willing to pay for some thingamajig that belonged to your dearly-departed grandpa. For all you know, that piece could be a centuries-old heirloom for which some collector with an eye for the old and unique would pay top dollar.

3. List Items Online, Buy/Sell Sites

The Internet is a pretty big place, with lots of corners that you can use as a platform to unload your clutter for serious cash.

• Facebook – The world’s biggest social media network is a perfect place to sell some of your unwanted possessions. Post an image of the item that you want to sell, and your friends will definitely see it (unless they’ve Unfollowed you) and contact you if they want it. Depending on your Facebook privacy settings, friends of your friends may also see the item for sale and express interest.
• eBay – Of course, no article about selling things online will ever be complete without a mention of eBay, which is a good place to sell name brand items you no longer want.
• Craigslist – The main difference between eBay and Craigslist is that with the latter, you actually have to meet with the buyer to hand over the goods. As always, keep safety in mind when dealing with the strangers you meet on Craigslist for whatever reason.
• Etsy – If you want to dispose of that lampshade you made with your own hands in 12th grade, Etsy would be a nice place to do it. Etsy is a good marketplace for fun, decorative things, as it’s a hunting ground for people who can use your fun and even fancy items for their next artistic project.
• Gazelle – If you have old laptops, phones, desktop computers, digital cameras, tablets and other gadgets that are no longer of any use to you, you can dispose of them through this site. To see how much they can go for, just type in information about your device, and you will see what they’re worth.

4. Approach Consignment Shops

If holding a garage sale would be a bit too much for you, then sending your castoffs to consignment shops would be a much better option. At least your old designer clothes, sports equipment, and musical instruments that are still in good condition can be on full display at a consignment shop for as long as it’s open.

Of course, they’re going to ask for a cut of each sale, but that will always be better than having them occupy valuable space in your home while being useless. You can call consignment stores old-fashioned, but at least you won’t have to deal with the hassle of shipping to buyers or having to meet with them.

5. Sell to a Junkyard

If you have rusty lawn furniture, a non-functioning AC unit, a barbecue grill that has seen better days, or anything metallic you don’t want to keep, you can sell them to a junkyard. An old, beat-up, and dead car rusting away in the backyard can also fetch a decent price.

6. Donate To Goodwill (& Get Tax Breaks)

If you think selling your clutter takes a lot of time and effort, then you can just donate all of them. There’s nothing like helping people out, right? Doing so, however, would not be purely just out of the goodness of your heart. You also stand to benefit from it, after all.

In the United States, donating to charitable organizations is rewarded by the government with tax breaks. As long as you keep receipts from your donations, you will be able to deduct the fair market value of the items you donated come tax time. Sure, filling out all those forms is rather tedious, but at least you would be able to get something out of your clutter without having to make an effort to set up a yard sale.

Indeed, there is money in your clutter, but keep in mind that all the cash you’re going to get is just a bonus. The biggest benefit of selling your clutter for cash is that you get to declutter your home. You’ll finally have a cleaner house, more living space, and a reduced level of stress.

Thanks to our friends at A&C Brothers Moving for this Guest Post.