I made $135 in one weekend to be exact. I didn't even have to leave the house or do a lot of work to do it either! As a stay at home mum and a family on a single income I am always on the look out for extra ways to make a little cash to supplement our income. I had been doing up furniture in the early months of J.D's life and selling it but that has slowed down now that I am pregnant again and have a very helpful and energetic toddler around. I hope to one day continue that once the kids are a bit older.
Do you want to know what I did to get this cash in my hand? I opened my cupboard doors and did some de-cluttering. Yes it was that easy. Apparently it has been said that most families have around $2500 worth of unused items sitting around the house. Imagine what you could do with that kind of cash? Go on a holiday, pay some of the mortgage off or buy that thing you have been coveting for a long time. I used the little bit of extra money I made by putting it towards doing my office up.
So let's talk how we go about making some extra cash in the hand:
Step 1: Open those cupboard doors.
I earnt that money from opening one set of cupboards in my house. Imagine what kind of money you could earn by cleaning out of multiple cupboards, garages, sheds and under your bed. I was cleaning out a junky cupboard in our office which I needed to tidied up to make room to store my photography props. I had a lot of random items that I really wasn't going to use any more and I didn't want to throw them out. Some items I decided to sell were old decorative vases, a heat sealer I used to seal plastic bags, bulk box of loose leaf tea from an online tea store I use to run, a few new tea pots from the tea store and some silver storage tins. You would be surprised at what people will buy and find useful - remember the saying goes "one man's trash is another man's treasure" .
Step 2: Take some pictures.
I simply pulled out my phone and took a few snaps of the item I was going to sell. It doesn't need to be perfect but the picture does need to be clear, bright and easy to see the item you are selling. If you are selling something worth over $100 I generally pull out my good camera and get a better shot using this. A picture speaks a thousand words and if you put up a dodgy photo you may lose some buyers because they can't get a good look at what you are trying to sell. Don't touch the photos up to much or add any strange effects. Keep it simple.
This helps give the buyer a better idea of the item and will make up part of the description of the item when you post it to sell. It is a good time to take note of any cracks, chips or defects in the item so you can honestly describe it later on. I think it is important to be honest about the condition of the item you are selling. The buyer will appreciate knowing the "warts" and all about the thing they are buying. I know I do.
Step 4: Write a description of each item.
I write a brief description of each item describing what it is, measurements, any defects, price and if it needs to be picked up/and or can be delivered. Don't overprice your items because people just won't be interested in purchasing it. I generally search around a bit and see what other people are selling a similar item for to get a rough idea.
When pricing an item I always add an extra 10-20% onto my initial selling price. This will allow for negotiations on the item and allows a little bit of play with the price.
I use a number of different sites to post my items to depending on what it is. For small miscellaneous items I generally use a local buy/swap and sell Facebook site. Other sites you can try is eBay, Gumtree and Greys Online. I find I get more instant result on my local Facebook buy/swap and sell site. That's how I managed to offload $100 worth of goods in a weekend. Otherwise it might generally take a little longer to sell things. Be patient and willing to haggle.
Step 6: Organise Delivery or Pickup.
If you are a stay at home mum, like I am, I like to organise pick-ups from my house when my husband is home. This is just a safety precaution and may seem a little extreme but if I'm the only one at home with little kids I like to feel safe with strangers coming to my house. Ditto for deliveries. I also confirm the price of the goods before the buyer gets the goods so they have the correct amount with them. I have had someone come $20 short once (not sure if it was on purpose) and didn't feel I could send them away to get the extra money so I let that item go less than I wanted too.
Check that you have the correct amount in your hand and wave good-bye to the buyer. I call these little selling bouts earning my little bit of pocket money. I pop it in a safe place and save it up or if we have some expenses coming up I might use it towards that. In a one income household every little bit makes a difference.
So there you go that is how you can make a little bit of pocket money in a weekend. Now that spring is here it is a great time to tie your hair back and open those cupboard doors to do a bit of spring cleaning. You might be surprised how much stuff you have store away that might be a little bit of extra cash in your pocket.
Food & Drink blogs