Now I want you to be honest. Do you have any clothes in your wardrobe that you don’t wear? Any clothes that you don’t wear because they don’t fit you or you just don’t like? 

Ok, have you received any gifts that you didn’t like but you’ve kept just because you felt bad about getting rid of it. Are they in the back of a cupboard somewhere or in one of those many boxes in the spare room, the loft or the cellar?

Well potentially that is cash that could be used to bolster your emergency fund.

When I was 40 I lost a lot of weight and went down to a size 10. Over the next 10 years my weight started to creep up slowly. By 2016 my weight had ballooned to almost a size 24. As I grew out of my clothes I would pack them in a bin liner and put them under the bed. If you can imagine I had several bags of clothes. I kept them because I wanted to believe that one day I would lose the weight and be able to get into them.

Thankfully I did not give up. As I went down a dress size I would take clothing out of the bag of the corresponding size.

I also had clothing in the bags that I just didn’t like but for some reason I was keeping. When I was larger I tended to wear clothes that could fit me rather than clothes that I liked.

So I’ve just shared an example of how someone may end up having lots of clothes that they do not wear. I also had a spare room with boxes full of stuff from floor to ceiling. Some stuff belonged to my mum who sadly passed away in 2012. And some stuff were kitchen items and appliances that could not fit back into the kitchen after we got it updated.

My journey has not just focused on taking control of my weight and my finances. I also decluttered my home because I took an interest in minimalism. I wouldn’t call myself a minimalist but because I decided to reduce my spending and live within my means I stopped buying stuff.

So because I was looking for ways to reduce my spending I was also looking for ways to bring in some extra money without having to take on another job. Selling stuff I no longer wanted seemed the best idea. I had lots of stuff I didn’t want.

Years ago I would have considered a boot sale. I’ve done a few of them in my time. They are fun but can be hard work. Getting all the stuff together, packing the car, getting to a spot early, unpacking and laying out, and then taking back home stuff you don’t sell.

I knew I was no longer in the position to take that on due to my illness.

 

The internet and smartphones have made it so easy to sell unwanted and unused items from the comfort of your own home.

I think the most well-known of these sites is Ebay. Many people use Ebay to sell stuff. I’ve done so in the past. However, I didn’t want to have to pack stuff and post it off. Also I didn’t want to have to pay a fee to sell stuff.

Thanks to smartphone apps you can easily post a picture with a short description and you can request the buyer pick the item up from your home. I have sold several items using one of these apps.. There are apps that specialise in clothing, books, CDs, DVDs etc.

So your task is to go around your house. Yes, a bit like when you went around looking for money. This time you’re going to be looking through items in your home that you don’t want, don’t use or don’t like. This is likely to be an overwhelming task. Decide to work in one room at a time.

This is likely to be a long process too. I’ve gone through the decluttering process several times. There are some items that I’ve found difficult to let go of but each time I do the exercise I’ve found it easier and easier to let go of stuff. If I haven’t used it in the last 10 years what makes me think I just may use it sometime in the future. And in most cases some things are quite cheap to buy at the time we need it rather than cluttering up our home.

Do some research online to find sites and apps that allow you to sell used stuff locally without having to pay a fee.

There is a market for almost anything.