MONEY MATTERS

Sell Your Clutter for Cash

Want to get paid for cleaning out your closet? Tap to see how.

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We could all stand to declutter, but the process can be hard to start. Who wants to spend weekends digging through the closet?

The good news is the process can leave you happier and make you money. Two mighty powerful incentives.

Think of this collection of apps as the jump-start you might need to send your no-longer-used stuff to a happy new home—while making a little extra coin in the process.

If it exists, you can probably buy it on eBay.

The champion of reselling

Decades after its launch, eBay remains a fantastically effective way to offload nearly anything: designer clothing, handbags, 30-year-old comic books, posters, outgrown kids’ sweaters, and old empty film-reel canisters. Seriously, you can still sell anything. (You can buy anything too. Just remember that perusing eBay is known to increase the number of objects in your house, which is not your goal today.)

Decluttering apps don’t get much easier than ThredUp.

Declutter in bulk

If you’re looking to chuck as much as you can with as little effort as possible, the consignment app ThredUp is your friend. Just tap Clean Up Now and ThredUp will send a large bag for you to fill and send back—and you’ll earn cash or store credit based on what they accept. Decluttering doesn’t get much more efficient than throwing everything into a bag and waiting for your money.

On Etsy, you can list anything and everything.

Open a virtual thrift shop

Do you own an excess of tasteful antiques or cool vintage items? Set up an Etsy shop to begin turning your basement into a sales floor. And don’t be afraid to list anything and everything: One person’s old wooden crate is another’s rustic bookshelf.

With apps like LetGo, you can sell your stuff locally—no postage necessary.

Offload the big stuff

Selling is great, but hauling it all to the post office can be a backbreaking drag. To get around mailing, use LetGoand OfferUp, which are sprawling local marketplaces where you can buy and sell with people in your area.

No shipping means you can move larger items, like TVs, dressers, and motorcycles. (Really. You’ll be surprised at the number of motorcycles for sale.)

The neighborhood-based social network Nextdoorcan also help you sell or give away your extra stuff. Just go to the top of your feed and tap the “Post a message, event, poll, or urgent alert to neighbors” box, then select “For Sale and Free.”