It’s that time of the year again. Have you started your spring cleaning yet? Out with the old and in with the new. If you look around your house, you’ll probably find that you have way too much stuff lying around. Before going out and purchasing spring/summer’s new fashions, or this summer’s new toy, consider getting rid of some of your old stuff. Not only do you not need most of what’s lying around in the spare closet, but you’re also sitting on some money right there! Here are some tips to help you turn your old stuff into cash for the upcoming summer.

1) eBay. If you’ve never used eBay before, you’ve been missing out. The world’s largest auction site, and a huge player in the e-commerce market. It’s easy to use and can help your sell basically anything to anyone in the world. A good rule of thumb to help you decide if you should sell your item on eBay or via another channel is the size of it. Smaller things like books, DVDs and tshirts that can easily be shipped make sense to sell on eBay. Selling bigger stuff just gets to be a hassle and shipping gets pretty extreme. See my article Tips for Selling on eBay for more helpful info. I’ve had a fair amount of success selling old textbooks or books in general here.

2) Consignment stores. These are great for selling larger items like bunches of clothes (not stuff your grandma wore, more like last year’s fashion). You take your stuff there; they sell it and take a cut. You collect the cash. For that matter, there are “We sell your stuff on eBay” consignment stores as well. Stores like Plato’s closet, Play it again sports or GameStop are all solid alternatives, although like a pawn shop, they won’t give you the top dollar for your goods.

3) Craigslist. Although it can get a bad rap sometimes in the news; I’ve sold my car, found a house to rent and got a solid part time job all through Craiglist. More of a bulletin board type website than an auction site like eBay. Craigslist is super easy to use and can be quite effective. Larger items that someone local could come and pick up are real winners for items to be sold. I’m thinking about listing some old scuba equipment I don’t use anymore here.

4) Selling services (just not the illegal kind!) Reach out to people in your social circles or neighborhoods. How about firing up that old lawn mower and cutting some grass? Good at filing taxes? Consider helping some friends out. Got a knack for organizing? Put your skills to use by helping neighbors with their extra clutter. A flyer, a Facebook post or simply word of mouth are great ways to get your name out there. I washed and waxed a buddy’s car this past weekend. I was doing mine anyways and he offered to pay me to detail his as well. It was a win-win!

Don’t be a pack rat. All that extra stuff laying around your house could be turned into a little extra cash with a little effort!

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