Old toys and playthings
Most parents know that their children change their minds about what they like on an almost daily basis. This is especially true for toys.
It’s worth going through your children’s old or unwanted toys to see what might be valuable, and could be re-sold.
As an example, Lego can have a surprisingly high resale value. This is particularly true if it’s a complete set, and you still have the box in good condition, and it's a rare item.
Disney DVDs can also have a high value if they’re from the ‘Disney Vault’, in other words they’ve had a limited stock sold.
Take a look at your gadgets
For every new gadget that comes out, there’s an abundance of old gadgets lying around in nearly new condition.
Rather than letting them gather dust in your drawers, it's possible they could be worth some money
Mobile phones are a great example of this. You might think that it’s too old to have any value, but you could be surprised. Retro phones have a genuine market value, especially if they have a distinctive feature such as a flip top. Even really old ones that can sometimes be sold for a little extra money.
iPhones very rarely go out of fashion. Even an older version could net you up to £200 if it’s in reasonable condition. There are a number of companies that will give you money for recycling your phone.
Even broken items can be worth something. People often sell bundles of broken electronics to enthusiasts or engineers who need the parts. You could put them in a box and upload a picture to eBay with a description of the contents and see what you get.
Save by upcycling and mending
De-cluttering can uncover some hidden gems. With a little creativity you can also save by ‘upcycling’ items you already have. Pinterest and YouTube have thousands of ideas for altering, updating and mending things that could still be used with just a little repair work.
You can also get more life out of your clothes without too much effort. Boring white t-shirts and skirts can be dyed in the washing machine with Dylon and turned into a completely new outfit. Sometimes just a bit of glue or a few minutes with a needle and thread will give you new outfit options without having to spend money on new clothes.
Then there are throwaway things that could be painted and used in the home. Baked bean tins for example can be used for storage in sheds, garages, cellars or wherever else you could need them. All that's needed is to take the wrapper off and then spray them a new colour. Jam jars can also store countless things such as pens and pencils, buttons or clothes pegs.