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Clear the Clutter in Your Home For Cash

ByKim Anderson
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Everybody goes through a season where they just want to clear the clutter in their lives.  After you ditch all the stuff, you need to know what to do to get rid of the stuff AND hopefully make money off clutter.   Check my ideas for how to sell used clothes near me gain more space in your closet and more cash in your wallet.

Do you ever feel like you are drowning in stuff?  For me, it always seems to be paper.  I have this obsession with creating paper piles of mail, important documents, pictures, cards, and anything I don’t feel like dealing with.

Every January I get on this organization high, and I run to Bed, Bath & Beyond with my 20% percent off coupon in hand and buy up organizational baskets, bins, hangers, and do-dads.  Only to come home and use them as places to shove my clutter.

Those “organizational” items were supporting my hoarding.  I never even thought about it that way until I read a book on minimalism by Francine Jay, The Joy of Less. I happened to buy the ebook after the positive reviews I saw on Amazon.  This book changed the way I saw my stuff.

To give you insight into how severe a change my husband noticed.

Let’s be honest ladies, isn’t that ultimate proof of really drastic change?  Is your spouse or significant other noticing?  He doesn’t notice that you cleaned the toilet or when you got your hair done, but he notices when something big happens.  I turned over a new leaf.  The drowning stopped and I started swimming around in wide-open rooms of freedom.  I also had a little extra cash in my pocket too!

What can you do with all your stuff?  Well, let me tell you.

1. How to Clear the Clutter for Cash at a Consignment Store

Consignment stores are some of the quickest and easiest ways to clear the clutter from your home and your life. It makes selling your used stuff flexible and the least amount of work. Unlike a garage sale, consignment selling can be done any time of year, rain or shine, and you don’t have to price anything or sit around and wait for it to sell.

Here’s how consignment selling works:

  • Start by finding a consignment store.
  • Get an appointment to have someone look at your items.
  • They will review your items and decide if they want to sell them or return them to you.
  • Some stores use technology to track your inventory and sales, which is ideal.
  • They usually give you a percentage of what the items sell for. (My store is 40%).
  • Every month or at a given sales threshold you can go down and get your money in the form of payment that they use. My store would print a check.

Here’s how you find a consignment store to sell at:

  • Do a quick Google search on consignment sales near me.
  • Look for stores in plazas or locations that get decent foot traffic. Your stuff will do better at these kinds of locations.
  • Take a look at the consignment store website or main page and find out:
    • What do they take?
    • When do they take it?
    • Do you need an appointment?

2. Clear the Clutter for Cash at Resale Retail Stores

Resale retail stores can be even easier than consignment to clear the clutter because you don’t need an appointment, and they will hand you cash upfront, but potentially less cash than a consignment situation. If consignment seems like too much effort, this may be the best place to start and see what you can get.

Here’s how resale retail selling works:

  • You bring your items in neatly folded or hung (usually drop-in, no appointment needed).
  • A store employee will go through your items while you wait.
  • They will usually plop everything they want into a bin and tell you they will give you $_________ for the items in the basket. You can take it or leave it.
  • These stores pay you cash upfront for the items they go through and select.
  • They are much pickier and are looking for certain brands.
  • Examples: Plato’s Closet (trendy young clothing.), Play It Again Sports (used sports equipment) & Once Upon A Child (used baby clothes & toys).

3. Trade-in or Sell to Amazon

  • Amazon has a program where you can ditch your old stuff and get Amazon.com gift cards in return.  I buy everything on Amazon, so that is a huge perk for me.
  • It seems simple, according to the website- 1) Submit Items  2) Ship them for Free 3) Get an Amazon gift card as payment.

4. Seasonal Kids Consignment Sales

Kid’s consignment to clear the clutter was all new to me before I had kids. It was first introduced to me by a co-worker leaving work early one day. As she packed up for the day, I noticed she was carrying a laundry basket with a rope attached to it, and I inquired what it was for. She laughed and said she was off to the kid’s consignment sale and that when I had kids, I’d discover a complete sub-culture of consignment moms.

She wasn’t wrong. Once I had kids I was a regular shopper and seller at these crazy big sales where I lived in Atlanta, GA. It’s WAY more work to participate than dropping something off a store for cash or at a consignment store, BUT most sellers keep 70% of the selling price. These are extremely highly trafficked; I usually sold 90% of the items I dropped off.

Here’s how kids’ consignment selling works:

  • You can do a Google search for this, but one of the best sites to go to is https://consignmentmommies.com/.
  • Once you find a sale, you’ll want to visit the website or webpage and read up on the requirements for selling.
  • Most sales have you register and then give you access to an online portal where you enter each item you are selling, a description, a price, and then once you are done you print all the tags and attach them to the clothes you are going to sell.
  • I’ve a got a full in-depth tutorial for how to sell the most items at the sale in How to Sell Children’s Clothes On Consignment.

5. Clear Clutter at a Garage Sale

This option is one you might choose if you don’t have a lot of other options in your area. To have a successful garage sale or yard sale it’s a TON of work. I’ll dive into this in my article, The Ultimate Guide to a Profitable Garage Sale.

6. Facebook Marketplace & Selling Groups

Facebook Marketplace and other online sales platforms are a way of selling items more on an individual basis. I use this for times when I have one-off items I’m decluttering that I know are worth selling rather than donating or taking to consignment.

Over the years I’ve discovered that it’s almost better to be in local sales Facebook groups, than try to put the listing out in the basic marketplace because you just get hit up with so many messages in messenger for people you can’t imagine driving THAT far to get your item.

Here’s how you can sell on Facebook:

  • I recommend starting with looking for a local group to sell items.
  • If that doesn’t work, try selling in the general marketplace.
  • To sell all you need is a Facebook account.
  • Add an item sell, add a photo, description, price, and whether it’s a pickup, shipping, or both.
  • List it.
  • Wait for people to reach out.
  • For each person that reaches out, I’d click on their profile and do a little stalking before I commit to meeting up. Read these safety articles from Facebook.

7. Other Clear the Clutter Online Retail Options

As time goes on there are lots of new ways popping up every day to sell your used stuff through apps and other websites. I’ll list some more online retail options that you can explore on your own.

  • Poshmark- my friend Arlene is kind of an expert on this platform so I’ll send you over to her How to Sell Quickly on Poshmark article.
  • eBay- I dabbled in this about 11 years ago, so my experience is not up to date but it’s still a spot to sell used stuff.
  • Mercari

I hope that as you clear the clutter in your space that you find these ideas and tips helpful and that hopefully, they put a few or more extra bucks in your pocket!

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