Would you like to learn how to make money by selling clutter? In this post, we go over how you can sell clutter locally. We also cover which apps work best when it comes to selling clutter easily.
Let’s face it, no one likes to tackle clearing clutter. But if there was a reward for clearing it, would you be more likely to do it???
Maybe the reward of a clean space is not enough motivation to get you to clear clutter. But what if you could pocket a few hundred or a few thousand dollars for clearing clutter?
Now we are talking!
In this post, we are going to cover the best ways you can make money by selling clutter and how you can turn decluttering into an opportunity to save and invest.
How we ended up cleaning out a ton of clutter and making thousands in cash
When we decided to sell our house, we knew we had to do a massive purge and clear out a ton of clutter. We didn’t realize how much STUFF we had accumulated over the years!!! Much of it needed to go because we were downsizing to an RV. While we were keeping important items in storage, we didn’t want to pay to keep too much clutter. Moving and downsizing provided us with the perfect opportunity to clean out a bunch of things and also make some money by selling our extra stuff.
We started our decluttering journey by listing the bigger items we knew we didn’t mind parting with first. A friend of ours mentioned they had great success selling their items using their smartphone and a few apps (we go over which ones we used below). So we started off by listing our living room sectional couch, our dining room table set, some bookshelves, and lots of older tools and garden items. Within just 2 weeks, we had accumulated over $3500 from selling our items locally. And the best part was, nearly everyone came to us to pick up the items thru pre-arranged meeting times.
Here’s a free printable to help you discover items to sell from around your house!
Click on the image to grab your Free 20+ Things To Sell Checklist Printable to help you discover items to sell from around your house. This checklist will help you go thru your clutter so you can list items easily.
Best ways to get started making money selling clutter
We found one of the easiest ways to get started making money selling clutter was to use an app on our phone like Facebook Marketplace or 5Miles. We had the most success with Facebook Marketplace, and I think this was because of the local groups we joined within the marketplace.
All you need to do to sell items on Facebook Marketplace is to create a Facebook account (if you don’t already have one), and then click on the Marketplace tab in the Facebook menu. Once you get to the Facebook Marketplace page, look for the “Selling” or “+ Create New Listing” tabs in the menu.
Then simply add your photos and a description using simple keywords to describe your item the way someone would search. This is why using a smartphone comes in so handy. You can just snap a photo and then load it from your saved photos when you create a new listing.
How to get more buyers on Facebook Marketplace
Once you list the item on Facebook Marketplace, the app will show local groups you can join. Choose a few groups within driving distance to you, and make sure to join the groups with the most amount of followers. Each time you add an item, these groups should show up in your menu, and you can simply click to display the item to the whole group. This is how we were able to blast out a free listing to thousands of local buyers instantly!
How to communicate with buyers on Facebook
On Facebook Marketplace, buyers can message you, and they will often hit the “Is this item available” button to start a conversation. I suggest messaging them back with a quick response like, “Yes it is available, and we will be around Friday evening from 5 pm to 8 pm if you’d like to come by. Just let us know if you are interested, and we will make arrangements.” Be specific and clear about the day and time you can meet. If more people message about the same item, don’t ignore them. Quickly mention that you already have someone coming by, but if the first person doesn’t take the item, you will send a message.
Communication and fairness are key with buyers. Be willing to negotiate on price and be patient with interested buyers. Try to accommodate them if they work or need to wait until the weekend. But also decide what is best for you and your family. If you are moving and need to sell items quickly, communicate this to your potential buyer and be honest. Also, if you don’t want people to come to your home, mention a public place where you would be willing to meet. True buyers are often excited about finding the item they desire, and they won’t mind meeting you publicly.
9 Tips for selling your clutter easily
We made a lot of mistakes when we first got started selling our clutter. We made some adjustments and found some easy fixes for getting items to go more quickly. Here are some tips to help you sell your clutter easily:
- Start by clearing items that you might have multiples of or you would like to update. For example, we had three juicers because we love juicing. Over the years, we updated to better juicers, but never get rid of our old juicers. We thought we would use the old juicers as a backup, but we never did. So we sold the older juicers on Facebook Marketplace, and the buyers were very happy to get a great deal on a juicer.
- Search for comparable items for sale in the Facebook Marketplace. This gives you an idea of the competition and how much money you might be able to fetch for your item.
- Group multiple, similar items and sell them together. We found it easier to group items together by theme, especially smaller items like garden tools, and sell them as a complete set. This works out as a great decluttering strategy because you get rid of a lot of clutter all at once, and the buyer gets a big score of stuff! Many buyers who came by for the grouped items seemed very excited to get lots of items at once.
- List items just before the weekend and be readily available for pickups. We found we had more success with selling more items if we listed items on a Thursday or Friday. Remember many people work during normal business hours, so try to accommodate their schedule.
- Have a few payment apps installed on your cell phone and know how to use them. If people don’t have cash, they are going to want to use a payment app like Paypal or Venmo. We don’t recommend giving out your Zelle info to pay you because people can hack your personal information.
- If some of your items don’t sell right away, keep them listed, but edit the keywords and description. We found some items sold very quickly, and other items took more time. But we had the most success with practical items and a mention that the item “needs to go because we are moving.”
- If your items don’t sell within a week, try taking better photos. Make sure to clear away clutter from the background and place the item in natural light for the best photos. You may even want to create a simple backdrop area just for taking photos if you have a lot of items to photograph and list.
- When items have been listed for a few weeks, make sure to boost the listing by either relisting them with a fresh photo or adjusting the price down for a quicker sale.
- Use words like “must go,” “needs a good home,” “will deliver,” and “will negotiate” to attract buyers’ attention and help them see the urgency in the sale of the items.
Be careful of scammers when you sell your items on Facebook Marketplace or any sellers app
Unfortunately, there are scammers everywhere. One scam we fell for in Facebook Marketplace was a potential buyer asking for our phone number so they could text us instead of using the Facebook Marketplace messenger.
DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER. Just respond and tell them you only text thru the marketplace messenger. If the scammer gets your phone number, they will go to Google and take possession of your Google Voice account tied to your phone number. If you do fall for this scam, you can reclaim your phone number by going to voice.google.com on your computer. Click “settings” in the gear icon. Then click “New Linked Number” under “Linked Numbers.”
- Enter your phone number.
- Click Send code to get a six-digit number sent to your mobile phone. If your landline number was stolen, click verify by phone, then call.
- Enter the code and click Verify.
- Click Claim.
Steps for making money selling clutter as a side hustle
Our friend Michelle and her husband, Rob, actually make a living selling used items. They have even created a seller university to show others how to make the most money by selling clutter and used goods. You can also make a decent side hustle out of buying items and then reselling them for a profit. Find out how this couple makes thousands per month in extra income from buying and selling old items.
If you find you enjoy making money by decluttering, I highly recommend you spend some time learning how to maximize your efforts. This way, you can spend less time and make more money while recycling items.
How can I make money selling clutter as a side hustle?
- Offer to pick up items from your friends and family and sell their items for them. Sometimes people are just happy to have you take their old stuff away for them and will gladly give you items. Others may have nicer items they no longer need or want, and you can offer to give them a cut of the sale.
- Tell your neighbors you are happy to take used items off their hands if they are trying to clean out their house or garage. You may even find that most people will just give you the items and you can sell them for profit. Often when people are moving, especially out of state, they want to get rid of items quickly and they don’t have the time to deal with listing and selling items.
- Visit local Goodwill centers and look for items that might be resellable. You might be able to find items such as music instruments or gardening equipment that could use a little updating and then you can sell the items for a profit. A friend of mine is very handy and he makes extra cash fixing up old guitars and bicycles and he sells them for more than what he pays.
- When you drive your neighborhood, be on the lookout for items that might be sitting around collecting dust in someone’s yard. Offer to take the items off their hands and then fix the item up and resell it. A friend of ours finds old cars and RV’s this way. He’s even been able to get the items for free many times, then invest a little time fixing the item and selling it for a profit.
How much money can I make selling my clutter?
We made about $3500 in the first round of selling our clutter. This included selling furniture that we no longer wanted or needed. Some people sell clutter for a living. They pick up items from neighbors or friends and family and they list the items and make a great side income. If you want to start a side hustle selling clutter, you can head to this article and sign up for this free course to learn how to make the most money selling clutter!
What are valuable things to sell around the house?
Some of the more valuable things to sell are things like watches, jewelry, and collectibles. If you are no longer attached to these items, and you need cash quickly, consider taking them to a local jeweler or pawn shop. You can also list them on eBay, but it might take a little longer. If you have more time and would like to get more money, we recommend a reputable online ring and coin buyer like DiamondsUSA.com. They pay within 24 hours of acceptance. They also have an outstanding BBB rating, and they ship fully insured from your home. If you have higher-end jewelry to sell, check out AbeMor.com.
What sells quickly?
We found that useful items were more likely to sell quickly. Things like garden tools, kitchen gadgets, and home appliances seemed to be the most popular. We also had a lot of success with home decor items and furniture, but those items took a little longer to sell. Here’s a list of the 20+ most popular things to sell to make money with your clutter. Get this 20+ Things to Sell printable for free and use it as a checklist as you walk around your house looking for things to sell. Click the image to download!
How to make the most money with your clutter
Here are our best tips for making the most money with your clutter:
- Find local sites that have lots of eager buyers- we had the best luck with Facebook Marketplace. But things like Craigslist and Nextdoor work great as well.
- Take clear photos and use important keywords to list the item. Clean the item and take a photo in good lighting. Keep other items out of the background to keep the focus on the item you are selling.
- Include a description with keywords that best describes the item. Think about what keywords a buyer would type in on a search.
- Look at what other comparable items are listed at- what price have others set for similar items
- You don’t need to haggle with popular items. Stay firm on your price especially if you get many interested buyers. We would often list an item and then wait to see if we received responses from multiple buyers right away. If so, it was a sign that we could get the asking price for the item.
What are the best things to sell online to make money?
If you don’t want to have people come to your house to buy your items, you could also just focus your efforts on selling online. Some items sell more easily online than others. You need to think about whether an item ships easily or not. And consider how large the item is and how much it might cost to ship.
Some of the best things to sell online are collectibles, jewelry, handbags, books, games, electronics, sports equipment, musical instruments, and car parts. The one thing in common with all of these items is there is a strong desire for them. Collectors and hobbyists scour the internet to find their favorite items. So if your item is needed or highly desired, it will sell easily online.
Where are the best apps to use to sell items online?
The apps we had the most success with to sell items online included Facebook Marketplace, Amazon Trade-In Program, eBay, Offerup, and 5miles.
There are some other apps that can make selling your clutter easy. Decluttr.com is a great app for selling everything from games, toys, books, and electronics. Gazelle.com is great for selling electronics and cell phones, and they also make things very easy, as they connect buyers to sellers online. SecondSale.com is an app specifically for selling used books online.
How you can turn your clutter into investments so you can grow your money
If you have clutter, you might be sitting on money that could actually be working for you. Here’s how…
While it can be easy to turn around and spend the money you make from selling your clutter, why not challenge yourself and your family to set aside a portion into a high-yield savings account and then send off a portion to a brokerage account each month.
By setting aside extra money you make each month, you start building wealth over time. This money will compound if you let it sit in an investment account. This means your money is making money for you passively.
Declutter your finances and organize your money
While you are on your decluttering journey, you may want to set aside some time to declutter your finances. We have a Free 5 Day Master Your Money Email Course that includes worksheets and templates to help you organize your finances. Learn how to budget, get tips for how to start investing, and more.
We hope you enjoyed this article on the various ways you can make extra money selling your clutter!
Let us know your best tips for selling clutter in the comments below! Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest to stay up to date on all the best money-saving and money-earning tips!
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