Tidy out your home and cash in

A grand tidy out can reveal a whole host of unwanted household goods, but before you cart them all off to your local skip, stop and consider how some of the most familiar items around your home can make you money instead...

With Easter approaching, it may be time to treat your home to a spring clean. Tidying out your house needn't be a chore either because a grand sort out can uncover a myriad of possessions which you no longer need and which you can sell to raise some extra money during the recession.

With the power of the internet and people's eagerness to find a bargain, you could make a fair bit of money from books you've already read, DVDs you don't want anymore, old clothes, plus much more. There's no need to sell the family heirlooms to make a few hundred pounds...

Below is a selection of common household items which you might look to sell following your big clear out, and ways you may consider selling them.

Car Booters

Setting up a table at a car boot sale is one of the most straightforward ways of selling your unwanted house clearance items quickly. However, since your goods won't be listed online, as would be the case with eBay for example, they will not be seen by as many potential buyers so you may end up selling the items cheaper in order to get the sale.

You should be able to find a list of car boot sales in your area online and in your local newspaper. Remember that you will need to pay a 'pitch fee' (normally £10 or less) and equip yourself with items such as a folding table (to display the items you're selling), a foldaway chair (to save you standing all the time), price tags, carrier bags for customers and change.

It's a good idea to contact the organiser of the car boot sale to find out how far in advance of the start time you need to arrive in order to set up because this could be anything up to an hour or two. Don't forget to take refreshments in case there aren't any available onsite, and a book, just in case sales are slow. Ensure you also wear suitable clothes for the weather!

It's worth bearing in mind that dealers will often search for bargains early on; however, don't be tempted to sell items off too cheaply straightaway because you can always accept the offer later on.

Online or under the hammer

If the idea of a car boot sale doesn't take your fancy, local auction houses and websites such as eBay can be good starting points; remember to always check fees and commission. The author of the 'Rough Guide to eBay' advises anyone thinking of selling on eBay to provide a full description of the item for sale, along with good quality photographs in order to create a high-quality listing.

Furniture

While you may consider taking old furniture to the skip, it could be worth considering selling it instead. With consumers feeling the squeeze of the credit crunch and tightening their purse-strings, your old dining set could well be exactly what a bargain hunter is looking for in the current economic climate.

With advice on sprucing up old furniture offered online and on various TV programmes, in order to modernise tired pieces, or indeed to date them and subsequently add character, your junk could be someone else's treasure.

Magazines and Books

Old magazines can be popular with collectors and achieve a good return, particularly when in good condition, while well-kept paperback books can sell for around £1-£2 each online, of course first editions can make a lot more money.

Old Clothes

Before you throw out your old clothes or take the contents of your grandparent's wardrobe to the local charity shop, it's worth remembering that while the clothes may be of no use to you anymore, they could be the ideal addition to the next person's wardrobe. Hats, bags and shoes can also prove valuable.

With ever-changing seasonal catwalk trends which result in retro chic hitting the shops on the high-street time and again, the demand for vintage clothing shouldn't be underestimated. Clothes from bygone eras are also popular with those looking for something to where on a themed night out, so think twice before giving your family's old clothes away.

Electronic Goods

Laptops, iPods and cameras, particularly those which are boxed and in pristine condition, can sell for hundreds of pounds on sites like Amazon and eBay. Computers which are in a good condition can also prove popular with buyers looking for spare parts for their existing machines.

And before you throw your Sony Walkman onto the scrapheap, it's worthwhile considering the level of buyer interest in retro technology – according to the Times Online, eBay has reported an increase in the level of interest in outdated gadgets, with Sony cassette Walkmans fetching up to £60 and boxed Sega Megadrives up to £250.

Odds and Ends, Fixtures and Fittings

If you've got incomplete dinner sets, or anything else where you've only got parts of a set rather than the whole collection, e.g. a range of collectible toys, ornaments, and so on, before throwing them out, remember that buyers may be looking for the exact pieces you have in order to complete their own collections, so selling them could make a reasonable amount of money, particularly when the item turns out to be a highly sought after collector's piece.

Fixtures and fittings, such as decorative tiling and ornate fireplaces, can also make a pretty penny. According to the Times Online, a marble fire surround sold for £460 at TW Gaze auction rooms, while a number of Art Deco chrome towel rails sold for nearly £10 each.

CDs and DVDs

With the growing trend for music consumers to buy tracks online to download to their MP3 players, iPods, laptops and desktop computers, the demand for discs is said to be declining, so now could be the best time to sell off any unwanted CDs before their appeal has been completely replaced. Imports and CDs enhanced with 'bonus features' could prove particularly popular with music fans. DVD downloads are also threatening to replace film discs, so again, selling any unwanted DVDs now could prove timely.

So there you have it, and who knows, your spring sort out could well breathe new life into someone else's home.

Source: Times Online | Last updated: 20th February 2009

View property news archive »