Cash in on your spring clear-out

Make some money from clothes and other unwanted items in your home

Spring is here and what better time to have a clear-out – and make some extra cash.

There are a number of ways to make money from clothes, books, old mobile phone handsets and other things you no longer need. Plus, you’ll also be making space in your home – so it’s a win-win.

Here are the best websites to look into to help your cash in on your clear-out.

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Make money from unwanted clothes

If you’re looking to make some space in your wardrobe, you could consider selling your old clothes on websites such as eBay, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and Depop.

They all work slightly differently from each other and have their pros and cons.

We’ve compared selling on Vinted with eBay, to show you the difference, but if you’re organised you could list your items on several sites, to try and attract as much interest as you can – but make sure you’re keeping on top of the offers and removing the items as soon as they’re sold elsewhere. 

We love Vinted because it’s really straight-forward to use – you simply list your item on the app, upload photos and a description, set your price and you’re away. People can then make offers and it’s up to you to negotiate. 

However, it can take ages to sell some items (which could happen on other platforms too) and you might end up taking your clothes to the charity shop anyway. But here are our top tips for selling on Vinted to help you get started. 

Plus, it’s worth noting that you’re unlikely to make massive amounts on these websites. 

Another option is to swap your old clothes for a retail voucher. A number of shops, including H&M, M&S and River Island, run recycling schemes where you get a £5 voucher in exchange for a bag of your old clothes and shoes. 

These schemes make it quicker and easier to cash in on old clothes compared to listing all your items online individually and still stops clothes going to landfill, but you’ll earn less and there are a few terms and conditions to be aware of. For example, you often have to use the voucher within the month and there’s usually a minimum spend.

Flog CDs, DVDs and books

As technology has advanced so much in the past 10 years, you might find you’ve got old CDs and DVDs at home that you can’t even play anymore.

You can sell your old CDs, DVDs and books on trade-in websites like Music Magpie and World of Books. You scan the barcode of your items with your phone and you’ll be given a price there and then. 

It can be a very low amount – I’ve been offered 50p for a book before and even 10p (you’ll get more for rarer books like text books or special editions) or the site might refuse to buy it off you (usually because they’ve got enough copies already).

The benefit of these sites is that you can scan a bunch of items and once you meet the minimum pay out you can send them to the company in bulk. However, if you want to try and get more for your money you could try and sell the books individually on sites like eBay.

Sell old tech

It’s not unusual to end up with a drawer full of old mobile phones that will probably never see the light of day again.

But instead of letting them take up space, you can sell them to a mobile recycling company or sticking it on eBay. We’ve got a whole guide on selling your old mobile phone handsets that explains exactly how to do it.

Cash in on cosmetic pots

Before you throw out your old skincare and hair product bottles, see if you can make some money from them. 

Lots of shops, like Boots and John Lewis, run recycling schemes where customers are rewarded for bringing in old cosmetic pots. For example, Boots offers 500 points (worth £5 in store) and John Lewis gives you £5 off £50 spend with any of its B Corp brands. 

If you’re a fan of Lush, you can take back five empty containers of old Lush products and either get a free face mask or 50p off your next spend for each container returned.

We’ve got the full list of beauty recycling schemes here.