4 Great Ways To Turn Your Clutter To Cash

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There's something about spring that somehow makes most of us want to clean out the clutter in our homes.

So, if you've been spring cleaning and now you're left with all kinds of stuff you don't know what to do with, here are four great ways you can turn your clutter into cash.

Anyone with little kids, like Kelly Robie in Wexford, knows kids' stuff accumulates to the point you can't walk through the room without tripping.

Now, she's sorting through those old toys and clothes to sell them at the Just Between Friends consignment sale May 18 and 19.

"I love sales and bargains and I thought it would be something fun to try," said Robie. "I've been hooked."

Robie's made a lot of money, more than $2,200 at four sales events.

Event organizers, Kristin Krause and Michelle Hall, say they have about 300 consignors selling all things related to kids, baby and maternity at their sales every fall and spring.

"Consignors earn 60 percent of sales if they participate in the event," says Hall. "If they volunteer for four hours at the event, they can earn 70 percent of sales."

Consignors price and tag their own items and bring it all to the Robert Morris University Dome on Neville Island.

"With very minimal time and effort, you can make quite a bit of money, especially for stay-at-home moms," said Krause.

If you want even less effort, a website called thredUP acts like a consignment store, but you never have to leave your house.

Mount Lebanon mom, Stephanie Belcher, first tried the website a couple years ago after her third boy turned one.

"The youngest one is going through clothing quickly," said Belcher. "I don't want to throw away or donate; I want to get my money's worth."

The newly-revamped site sends you a bag, and you stuff it with clothing and send it back. They pay the shipping.

Then, Tred-Up sells the clothes on their website.

You earn 20 to 40 percent of the sale, which is less than traditional consignment stores. You can take that as cash or use it to buy other inexpensive clothes on Thred-Up's website.

If you're looking to get rid of things that aren't kid-related, a new website called Keepio can help.

"Keepio is a place to show off, discuss, discover and exchange," said Dave Durand, the founder of Keepio.

You just photograph your stuff and post it on the site. You can group your items so you find other people around the country who like the same things.

"We've created a simple mechanism, you just say yes this item is for sale, then can post it to the marketplace," he said, "and then because we are tied to Facebook and Twitter, you can instantly push that to your wall and showcase that item as being for sale to your friends and family."

That's a lot safer than Craigslist because you can keep it to friends or "friends of friends."

Another new website also allows you to use social media to sell things. It's called Tiny-Pay.

They say it takes just 60 seconds to post your items, both physical products like furniture and digital things like eBooks and MP3s.

It's described as a free, streamlined version of eBay, but instead sells through your Facebook and other social media connections.

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