Selling unused clutter is an easy way to make money and pay off debt.
However, most of us have homes full of low value clutter not worth the effort to sell and end up giving loads of it away or chucking it out!!
But do you know what?
I have actually made good money selling lots and lots of low value clutter easily with very little effort.
And in this post I'll explain how you too can make money selling all sorts of clutter easily with tips on:
- What Clutter To Sell
- When To Sell Clutter
- Where To Sell Clutter
- How To Sell Clutter
- Selling On Facebook
- More Places To Sell Clutter
There's loads of great info so do bookmark or save on Pinterest to come back to.
What Clutter To Sell
I have sold all sorts of different low value clutter but some stuff is much easier to make money from.
So focus time on selling items people are most likely to buy.
Kids Stuff That Sells Well
- Almost all baby equipment
- Children's toys
- School uniform
- Sports kit
- Children's coats
- Children's books
- Children's comics
- Specialist kids shoes e.g. soccer boots, dance shoes, rain boots.
- Kids furniture e.g. beds, desks, small chairs, toy boxes.
- Unopened craft supplies
- General party supplies without a theme unless very on trend.
Other Stuff That Sells Well
- Storage of ALL sorts
- Sports equipment
- Small kitchen gadgets
- Luggage
- Gardening tools
- BBQs & equipment
- Small DIY tools
- Camping equipment
- Fancy dress costumes
- Specialist baking equipment
- Mirrors
- Adult games & jigsaws in good enough condition to gift
- Old tables that need doing up
- Old chairs that need doing up
- Very neutral soft furnishings - no colour or patterns.
Clutter That Doesn't Sell
Products produced at very high volumes, very cheaply are hard to sell second-hand. There are also some things we are keen to declutter that people prefer buying new.
So most of the time, I would free-cycle or recycle these items :
- Baby clothes
- Kids clothes unless very special
- Adult's clothes unless designer
- Shoes unless special function
- Soft toys & dolls
- Crockery, cutlery & glassware
- General pots & pans
- Knick knacks unless containers
- Duvets & bed linen
- Towels
- Adults books unless fairly new best selling hardbacks
- Leftover DIY supplies
- Leftover toiletries however good!
When To Sell Clutter
Many of us clear out our cupboards in January to reclaim space stolen by Christmas stuff. But nobody buys in January. We are ALL broke!
So making money from low value clutter needs a little planning. You need to sell a bit ahead of when people need stuff :
- Mar - Apr : Garden & DIY tools
- May - Jun : Travel, summer sports, outdoor games & equipment
- July - Aug : School uniform & stuff
- Aug - Sep : Coats
- Oct : Fancy dress costumes (or late Feb for World Book Day)
- Nov - Early Dec : Kids Toys & Books, Anything Giftable
The exception is baby equipment which sells well all year round.
If you are drowning in clutter do try and recycle, donate or just bin a bag or so of stuff week in - week out.
I explain how in Just 10 Things - it's truly life changing approach!!
Best Places To Sell Clutter
Collections of low value clutter can be sold efficiently to these bulk-buy services who will buy :
- Books
- Music & Films
- Tech
- Clothes
- Lego & more!!
Otherwise, it is best to sell clutter locally to make cash without costing yourself a fortune in lost time.
You do NOT have time to package up clutter or queue at the post office. And buyers do NOT have time to drive half way across town to collect.
So the best places to sell clutter are hyper local online groups on e.g. :
- Nextdoor
But do NOT join random groups. They need to be well regulated and only open to folk very local to you.
There is lots of fraud online and to make money time efficiently we must be able to trust buyers.
I made most of my money selling clutter on Facebook. Audience is falling but it still has benefits I'll explain in Selling On Facebook.
How To Sell Clutter
OK now we are ready to talk about how to sell all this low value clutter. It is NOT the same as selling high value stuff on eBay or Vinted.
My key selling tips are :
- Bundle stuff
- Pace sales
- Snap bright clear pics
- Tell a story
- Price to sell
- Convey value
- Leave in collection box
- Cash through door
Bundle Stuff
We all have loads of low value stuff worth about $5. It is obviously much better use of our time if we can make $15-$20+ sales.
So bundling up clutter is key.
When you are decluttering look for stuff you can put together e.g. sets of books, everything Harry Potter, baby stuff for a 6 month old.
Pace Sales
Many of us are drowning in clutter. It really does mess with our mental health and we want it gone fast.
But we will sell more by pacing it.
So sort clutter, bundle it and snap pics but only post one bundle of items per day in each selling group.
If you dump loads of items on e.g. Facebook in one go, most of them will not even be displayed.
Snap Bright Clear Pics
I admin a few Facebook groups and see so many dark, blurry pictures!!
Snap pics up close by a window with light behind you so they stand out.
Remember your buyers on Facebook or WhatsApp aren't searching for an item as on eBay. Your stuff must grab attention next to cute cat memes.
Tell A Story
Local social media is all about stories and connections so add a few personal comments to your posts.
I do NOT mean share private details just make clear there's a real person behind the stuff - in today's age that's not nothing!!
Price To Sell Quickly
The secret to making money selling low value stuff locally is to turn it into an easy habit you do weekly.
If you sell one or two $20 bundles every week you can make $2,000 in a year!! If you use that to pay down debt you will save even more.
Each sale you make will motivate you to to declutter even more.
Convey Value
Always include current price of items so audience knows they are getting a good deal by buying second hand.
Leave In A Collection Box
This next decluttering tip helped me sell clutter super efficiently but may not work for everyone.
I put sold stuff in a big plastic box in my porch. Buyers collected when convenient with no faff for me arranging times to be in.
I had a few no shows but had nothing stolen despite living in a fairly intense area of London!!
Cash Through Door
To make things even easier buyers just popped cash through my letterbox, honesty box style!!
That sounds risky but in well run, local social media groups everyone knows someone who knows you so trust is built in and buyers pay.
You may be nervous of these 2 tips but they let me make $20 for 10 minutes effort. That's $120 an hour and makes selling a mountain of small clutter worthwhile.
How To Sell Clutter Successively On Facebook
The big benefit of selling clutter on Facebook is their algorithm is great at getting nice bright pics from local groups in front of neighbours.
So your super cool but long outgrown kids toys pop up in front of some mother scrolling away 3 blocks off who wasn't even actively looking.
And Facebook rewards good sellers. If you bundle clutter well, price to sell and share with bright pics and cute comments people will engage so stuff gets seen and sold fast.
But these are my top tips for selling clutter safely on Facebook :
- Join private NOT public groups as members more reliably local.
- Skip groups full of spam as your posts won't get seen in feeds.
- Do NOT sell on Marketplace as you can't trust who the buyers are.
- Roughly indicate location so buyers know you're close without giving away private details.
- Stick to first come first served rules to keep it super simple.
- Take a few seconds to like comments from all buyers as FB rewards your engagement
- If one post gets lots of engagement, post another bundle of clutter in next 24 hours to ride wave.
Selling Clutter In Bulk
If you have big collections of certain types of clutter you can sell them quickly to specialist buyers of :
- Lego
- Books
- Music, Films & Games
- Tech
- Clothes
Lego
If your kids have outgrown loads of lego, you can sell it all in one go to one of the bulk buy lego services:
- Music Magpie (UK) - buy per 0.5 kg
- Decluttr (USA) - buy at $1 per 1lb
- BrickBin (UK) – pay £5+ per kilo
- WeBuyGames (UK) - £5+ per kilo
- BrickLink (USA/UK) – buy specialist sets, figures & parts.
Books
You can make money selling books in bulk but it takes time to enter or scan IBSN numbers and in reality many books are not accepted or earn low pay outs. So do give these sites a try but they may only be worth it for high value books :
- Ziffit (UK) - simply scan books for free collection.
- WeBuyBooks (UK) - enter IBSN numbers to find value of each book and then parcel up for their Freepost collection.
- Book Scouter (US) - for academic text books
Music & Films
You can sell CDs, DVDs & Blu-rays to :
Tech
You can sell old phones, laptops, tablets, games consoles and other tech safely through specialist sites like :
These sites give good guidelines on completely cleaning old tech of data.
There are now also aggregators like SellCell and Compare & Recycle who find you the best price for your old phones across multiple sites.
Clothes
If you have lots of kids or adults clothes cluttering your home you can bulk sell them to :
They need to be laundered and in good condition and you may wait for them to sell and to get paid.
You can also sell back clothes to increasing numbers of retailers like :
To sell higher value or designer clothes for best price try :
And there you go - lots of practical tips on how to make money selling lots of low value clutter easily. I hope it helps you declutter your home and pay off debt.
Do bookmark or save on Pinterest to come back to.
For more tips check out my other declutter guides and follow me on Pinterest.
Original image source: Yard sale and rawpixel.com
L. Gaylord says
You didnt mention how to get paid?
Cris Hays says
Make sure your advertisement states if you take cash only, or if Zelle, Venmo, PayPal or some other form of payment is accepted.When you meet to turn over the item/s cash can be exchanged then.
Ann says
How do you start putting the items on websites? I have never done this and have no idea how to start.
Alice says
Hi Ann - Thanks for the question. It is pretty easy to get started. If you have lots of the same old stuff e.g. books, DVDs, CDs it is easiest to use of the websites listed here - each website will have step-by-step instructions to get started. For more random stuff especially bulky things, Facebook is very useful. Search for a very local buy & sell group in your area on Facebook and request to join. You will then be able to share photos and details for what you're selling. I hope that helps but do shout if any more questions. Best wishes Alice
Norva says
What about selling jewelry? I have costume jewelry, some name brand pieces, plus a collection of name brand also.? Norva
Alice says
Hi Norva - thanks so much for the question. I do think you have to take your time selling costume jewellery online as there are plenty of sites that will rip you off by either charging you for valuations or significantly underpaying. I would start with items you think are most valuable and research what similar items are selling for on e.g. eBay, Etsy, Vinted. You can then use that as your minimum price for selling online yourself or selling to a dealer. I am sorry not to have a quicker solution but there can be hidden value - although not always - in great costume jewellery. Does that help at all? Do shout if you have more questions. Best wishes Alice