Decluttering your house can yield extra cash

Has the time come to make some space in your house? Whether you’re just trying to make a fresh start or you’re literally crowded out by stuff that no longer serves you, it’s a great time to declutter — especially if you can do it in a way that earns you money. With a little forethought and preparation, you can become your own little consignment store by utilizing at-home shipping, such as PayPal Shipping or USPS Click-N-Ship, or taking advantage of existing services that will do the work of reselling for you. Other options include repurposing and upcycling items so that you don’t have to spend more money on replacing them. Here are tips to clean out and cash in.

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Consign old clothing

Chances are the very items you no longer wear will be someone else’s fresh start. Clothing in good shape can fetch a decent rate on consignment at sites like ThredUp and Poshmark, or provide you with credit toward new items for yourself. ThredUp will even send you a “clean out” bag that you can fill to the brim with used clothing. Whatever they don’t take for resale, they’ll recycle for you.

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Resell preowned consumer electronics

Just because you’re finished with your older generation model iPhone, tablet or other forms of consumer electronic, doesn’t mean it’s done for. Sites like Gazelle allow you to send your old, but in good shape, tech to them for resale. You’ll have to delete all your data and restore it to factory settings, but it’s a nice way to recycle and earn a little cash, too.

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Socially distanced yard sale

With COVID-19 safety protocols in place, you can still take advantage of the good old-fashioned yard sale to get rid of lots of household items quickly. Since outdoor spaces are the safest for people to gather, why not set up a well-spaced sale, requiring participants to wear masks and socially distance. You can put things like furniture, old household items, exercise or entertainment equipment out for sale and even do contactless payment with Venmo or other payment modality. At the end of the day, you’ll be less cluttered and cash plenty.

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Repurpose old toys

Your kids may be bored with their old toys, but if they’re in good condition, with all their parts, they might just make another child’s day. Numerous places allow you to resell toys online, from Swap.com to Facebook Marketplace. Financial blogger Lauren Greutman recommends you make sure you’ve got the best quality toys, photograph them before you upload them and keep an inventory of what you’re selling. Toys with any kind of collector’s value might even net you a significant amount of cash.

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Upcycle to save money

Upcycling — refinishing and refurbishing old furniture or other items into nicer versions of themselves — is a great way to save money and achieve new life or function from an item. While simple things like paint and cloth covers can go a long way, ApartmentGuide.com also recommends some fun projects such as transforming a crib into a bench, an old headboard into a coat rack and a dog bed out of a dresser drawer. Upcycling allows for creativity and can save you on a bigger purchase down the road.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How to make extra cash while decluttering your house