Clear out for cash: making a little money out of a bad situation

We, as people, and especially millennials, often have to get used to the fact that the place we call ‘home’ usually isn’t a permanent one, and that moving from time to time – unpleasant though it may be – is inevitable. But what to do if you have too much stuff? Parting with cherished items is hard enough, but otherwise where do you put them?

Where I live, in Glasgow, every year, when people (usually, by the looks of it, students) move out, the back entrance to our building is flooded with stuff that they don’t want. Rather than being courteous, they choose to simply dump their former belongings – much to the dismay of everyone who still has to live there.

And so, ahead of my boyfriend and my big move, I started to ask myself how I would deal with the stuff that we couldn’t keep.

Trade in

The other day, after having a long and hard discussion with my partner about which DVDs to keep, and which to get rid of, I gathered up a collection of about 50 DVDs (there’s plenty more where that came from!) and headed into town. I stopped by at a chain store known as CeX who took all but three of my games/DVDs. And so, for just under 50 DVDs I received £25.01. You might scoff and say ‘for 50 DVDS?! That’s not a lot.’ And you’d be right. But these were, for the most part, second hand items that might have otherwise been binned – so that’s £25.01 that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Online

Another option which is pretty popular (but takes a fair bit more effort) is to sell unwanted (or reluctantly parted) items online to put up for auction on sites like eBay. This can be a little unreliable, as you don’t always know what will sell, or whether you can get a good selling price for it, but watching the auction progress, especially in the later stages, can be a bit of an adrenaline boost, and money’s still money at the end of the day. We’re currently selling three of our Star Trek Eaglemoss ships on eBay- watching them gain followers is, in itself, very exciting!

Donate

And if all else fails (or even before that!) you can donate your unwanted things to a good cause. Charity shops are always looking for stock, banks sometimes have book-sales for charity, and you can probably find a clothes bank near where you live. There’s also a great charity called Smalls For All, who you can send your old unwanted underwear to and they will recycle and donate it to women and girls in Africa. Charity shops are also great for dealing with unwanted furniture – organisations like Barnardo’s will even send people around to collect it! Which could, in itself, save you money.