Cash in the Closet

For those of you who have been following The Budget Queen System or have had a private consultation with me, you know that 2 of the steps towards reaching your financial goals are creating an emergency savings and paying down your debt. Well, as I was cleaning out my closet for the first time in probably 5 years, I ended up with several bags of clothes, shoes, and purses that I was able to sell to a local consignment shop. I was absolutely ecstatic about this. But, I had lots more items that couldn't be sold on consignment here in town. I was torn about giving up these items because I felt like they worth something. I knew that I needed to get rid of them because they were cluttering up my life, but I didn't want to just give them away for nothing. I needed to find a way to get some money for them.

At the same time, I was working with a client who was trying to build her savings and pay down debt, but didn't have a lot of extra money to do this. I was looking for an easy way for her to make some extra money, but hadn't figured out anything that wouldn't impede on her already hectic lifestyle. Then, I read an article in which eBay stated that the average American household has about $3,000 worth of items that could be sold. Eureka! I had revelation. We could all make money to pay down our debts just by cleaning our houses! Wouldn't an extra $3,000 to pay off a credit card or student loan be great? So, now I am on a mission to spring clean my home and make some extra cash and you can do it too!!

To make money on your items you need to start cleaning! Start anywhere. For every item you come accross, ask yourself if you use it. If you don't, then sell it! Even if you can't sell it you can always donate it. The closet is a great place to start because you can sell clothes to consignment stores and start getting money right away. There are several in town. For children's clothes there are quite a few in town such as Baby Basics, Once Upon a Child, and Polk a Dots and Paisleys. For teens/misses there is Platos Closet. For childrens to adults there is Upscale Resale.

For other items there are several options for getting a return on your junk. First, you could have a garage sale. This is great because you can make some quick cash right away to put towards your goal. Second, you can sell your items on eBay.com or Craigslist.org. This takes a little longer and you generally have to do 1 item at a time, but it may be better for certain items that wouldn't sell as well at a garage sell, like valuable collectables. Lastly, you can give your stuff to Goodwill or Salvation Army and get a receipt for your taxes. When you file your taxes the costs of your items will be deducted and help you to either pay less or get money back from your return. Your tax refund can then be put in your savings or used to pay down debts.

I hope this helps all of you to get ahead on your goals. Good luck with your spring cleaning!