How to Make Money from Your Clutter

Ok, so you’ve decluttered. Congratulations! You have a big pile of stuff you’re willing to part with. You don’t want to dump it in a landfill, but…what do you do with all of it?  

The answer will depend on a few factors:  

• Do you care about trying to get a profit from it, or are you willing to donate it?  

• How fast do you want it out of your sight?  

• How much time and effort do you want to put into dealing with it?  

Below, I’ve outlined various methods I’ve used to help you make a plan for moving your clutter out of your home.  

Before we start, please note that this guide is not for someone trying to make a living by re-selling things online. It’s for the average person who just decluttered their home and wants to know what to do with all the “discard” bags besides letting them end up in a landfill. 

Also, this guide is related to methods for selling unwanted items. I’ll do a separate post about where to donate things you don’t want anymore. 

Poshmark

I’ve used Poshmark to sell designer clothes and purses, usually things people have gifted me that I don’t want. Often these things are new and include their tags. To go this route, you’ll need to set up an account (a “closet”), take photos of the item, write up a description, and set a price. Once someone purchases your item, you’ll also have to print up a label and head to the post office within seven days (though two to three days is encouraged). There will also be a period of time where you need to hang on to the item while you wait for it to sell. If you want it to go faster, you can always set the price lower. For these reasons, this is not the fastest or the most convenient option. However, you can likely get a good price for something that’s new or like new.

Advantages

• You can get a good price for pieces in good condition 
• Most of the work is online – only one stop at the post office to ship is required. 
• You can sell to anyone in the country, not just people in your area, so you have a higher chance of finding a buyer. 
• Poshmark creates a shipping label for you, which makes shipping easy. 
• You’re not meeting up with buyers in person (like with services like Craigslist), so it’s a safe option. 

Disadvantages

• Things may be listed for a while before someone buys, and they’ll be taking up space in the meantime. 
• You have a limited amount of time to respond to a purchase request and ship the item. 
• You need to do the work of packing and shipping. 
• The platform takes a fee from each sale – 20% of anything that sells for more than $15. 
• There are some limitations on what you can sell – it’s mostly clothes and accessories. There are also limitations based on what USPS does not allow – nail polish, perfumes, aerosols, and lithium batteries. 
• Poshmark is only available in the US and Canada, and it doesn’t offer international shipping.  

Tips

• Look at similar items listed on the site to figure out a competitive price. If you want something out of your space faster, set the price a little lower than that. 
• Write accurate descriptions, respond to questions promptly, and ship items that sell as soon as possible. Buyers will rate you based on these categories, and your closet will have a rating.  

ThredUp

I’ve sent several “Clean Out Kits” to ThredUp over the years, and I’ve had a great experience. I absolutely recommend them if you are planning a big closet declutter and you want your clothes gone fast. They’ll send you empty, pre-labeled shipping bags. You fill them with your unwanted clothes, shoes, and accessories, and then you ship them. ThredUp lists them for you, and you get a small payout or credits to use on their site for anything that sells. My favorite thing about this service is that they recycle clothing for you. You can choose to have ThredUp return items that don’t sell to you (for a fee) or to recycle them. If you feel guilty about decluttering because it’s wasteful or environmentally unfriendly to throw things away, this eliminates that guilt. And that frees you up to do some major closet clear-outs. 

Check out this post for help with your closet clear-out: How to Declutter Your Wardrobe: 10 Questions to Quit Hoarding Clothes

Advantages

• Very convenient – they do the work of photographing, listing, communicating with buyers, and shipping the items for you. 
• They’ll recycle anything that doesn’t sell. You don’t need to feel guilty about sending your clutter to a landfill. 
• You can get rid of things and clear space fast. Just fill the bags and drop them off at the post office. 

Disadvantages

• You can’t set the prices for your items. ThredUp will decide what they can sell for. 
• If you take the cash option, the profit you get for each item can be very low – about 3-15% of what it sells for. (Although pricier items that can sell for more could get up you up to 80%). I’ve earned anywhere from $0.60 to $25 for things that have sold there.  
• The site will offer you more money to use as a credit for their store, which could tempt you into buying more to replace your clutter. 
• What you can sell is fairly narrow – pretty much clothes, bags, and certain accessories. They don’t accept jewelry, for example. 

Tips

• As mentioned above, using credits to buy on the site is presented as a better “deal.” My advice for minimalists – don’t be tempted! Take the smaller payout, and enjoy the free space in your home as its own reward. 
• Select the option to have them recycle things that don’t sell for you. The last thing you want after a big closet clear-out is for some of your items to be shipped back to you (for a fee)! If you feel strongly that you want a certain piece to be purchased by someone who will really appreciate it, use a service like Poshmark to list it yourself.  
• This is a great place to send baby clothes your kid has outgrown. Check out this article for tips on managing kids’ clothes: Minimalist Newborn Series: How to Handle Baby Clothes

Facebook Marketplace

I have successfully sold a few household items on Facebook Marketplace – furniture, lamps, appliances, etc. To get started, you just take pictures, set a price, and post. From there, you’ll wait for people to make offers and decide on a meeting place and time. One thing to note about Facebook Marketplace – or maybe it’s just in my area? – is that people on there love to haggle. They will propose an outrageously low price, negotiate with you, and often just stop responding or say they don’t want it anymore. There are also flakes – people who will agree on a price and a meeting place and time and then just…not show up. It can be frustrating! I recommend this only if you want to sell locally, you’re not in a hurry, and you’re willing to do a good amount of back-and-forth via messages. That being said, there are advantages. 

Advantages

• It’s easy to snap pictures, write a description, and post any item using an app you likely already have on your phone (if you’re a millennial or older, at least!) 
• You can sell pretty much anything there, as opposed to other services that have limitations. (For example, ThredUp doesn’t accept jewelry, and Poshmark won’t allow you to ship liquid cosmetics.) This would be a good platform to use after minimizing your skincare routine.
• You can set your own price and decide which offers you want to accept. 
• People communicating with you have a Facebook profile, which means you can at least do a little research to determine if the person you’re agreeing to meet is a murderer.  
• You don’t need to pack anything up or wait in line at the post office. You can meet up with someone local who will take your item off your hands.  
• Whatever you sell your item for, all the money goes straight to your pocket. No service is taking a fee.  

Disadvantages

• As mentioned above, people are flaky. You will likely have a lot of false starts, wasting time on chats that end with the interested buyer simply ghosting. Personally, this is the reason I started this section by saying I don’t have a lot of patience for this platform.  
• It could take a while for something to sell for the price you want, and you’ll need to hang on to the item in the meantime. 
• Although you can at least view someone’s profile before meeting them, there could still be a safety risk of meeting in person with a stranger.  

Tips

• List your item for a little higher than you want to sell it for. As I said, for whatever reason, people on this platform love to haggle. (In fact, I have long suspected that some people just entertain themselves with haggling, never intending to buy anything.) Listing it a little high gives you room to lower the price, which makes your buyer feel like they’re getting a deal.  
• That being said, if your main goal is decluttering and you want to get rid of something faster, set a lower price. If it’s a steal, someone will likely take it off your hands fast. 
• I recommend using this (or Craigslist) for larger or fragile items that would be difficult and expensive to ship. It is usually up to the buyer to figure out how to transport the item.  
• Bring someone with you when you meet up with someone to sell, and don’t meet at your home or share your address. I have never had any remotely scary experience in all my years selling or giving things away using platforms like this, but it’s always important to stay safe. 

Craigslist

I’m always amazed that Craigslist has kept the same interface for decades. It’s like a blast from the past. And yet – it works! It doesn’t have frills, but it’s perfectly functional, and I’ve had success selling many things there. Generally, like Facebook Marketplace, I use it for things that would be hard to ship – furniture, fragile household items, etc. Given how anonymous the site is, I’ve been pleasantly surprised how normal and pleasant buyers are. I’m usually on Craigslist around the time of a move, trying to get rid of furniture and household items that won’t fit in my new place. But you could sell or give away just about anything you want to declutter here. 

Advantages

• You can snap pictures and list something within a minute or two. 
• You can set your own price. 
• As with Facebook Marketplace, the full payment goes straight to your pocket, not just a percentage. 
• No packing or shipping required. 
• You can sell a wide variety of items. This is helpful if you’re moving or doing a general declutter of your home, not just your closet. 

Disadvantages

• Postings expire after 30 days, and you’ll need to log in to refresh them. 
• The platform allows people to be anonymous, which could pose a risk. However, there are safety features that allow you to communicate without giving any personal information like phone numbers or e-mail addresses. 
• Buyers can be flaky, although for whatever reason, I haven’t experienced the same level as with Facebook Marketplace. 
• The platform is very no-frills, and you may appreciate something with a more intuitive interface. 

Tips

• This one will sound strange, but it’s absolutely true based on my experience. Do not try to give things away for free on Craigslist. Even if you would be willing to part with something for free, put a nominal price like $5 on it. I cannot explain the psychology behind it, but people are much flakier about pickups when something is free. When I’ve tried this, I’ve gotten caught in endless loops of people asking for schedule changes, changing locations for pickup, help with transportation, and on and on. Whatever the reason, I’ve found the whole process is more straightforward when some money is changing hands. 
• List your item higher if you want room for buyers to haggle. 
• Offer a lower price than you think it’s really worth if you want it gone fast. 
• Be safe! Only communicate through Craigslist and don’t share your personal information. Bring someone with you when meeting up for a handoff. Do it during the day in a public place if possible. (Again, I haven’t had any sketchy run-ins, but you should always put safety first.) 

eBay

In theory, you can sell almost anything on eBay. In my experience, I’ve only used it for items that might be considered collectibles. For example, when a relative passed away, we listed her Waterford crystal collection there. To be honest, it wasn’t that successful; things took a very long time to sell, and most didn’t sell at all. Still, this platform has its advantages.  

Advantages

• You can set your own price. 
• You can also use the auction format to allow for bidding. If you want to get rid of something faster, you may be willing to take a bid that’s lower than the price you had originally set. 
• You can sell almost anything on this platform. 
• If you feel something is valuable and hate to see it discarded, you can find a fellow enthusiast who will appreciate it as much as you did.  
• You can sell to anyone around the world, not just people in your area. This increases the chances of finding a buyer. 

Disadvantages

• The platform takes a fee from each sale. For many items, this is around 15%, but it varies. 
• It could take a while for something to sell, and you’ll need to hang on to it in the meantime.  
• You do the work of packing and shipping, and it needs to be done within a certain time frame.  

Tips

• If you want to get rid of something faster, use the auction format instead of a fixed price 
• Look at similar items listed on the site to get an idea of what a competitive price would be 
• Respond to inquiries and ship items promptly. Your buys will rate you to establish your seller rating, so this is important. 
• Make sure your product descriptions are accurate. If too many of your sold items are returned with the reason “item not as described,” you’ll get charged another fee. 

Conclusion

I hope this guide helps you create an action plan for moving unwanted items out of your home efficiently. After the overwhelming task of choosing what to eliminate, figuring out what to do with your “discard” pile can feel daunting. But as this guide shows, you’re just a few steps away from finishing your declutter process. Trust me, it feels so satisfying to create more space and peace in your home, and make a little extra pocket money at the same time!