‘My spring clean mission made me thousands!’

Spring clean made thousands

by take-a-break |
Updated on

Maddy Alexander-Grout, 39, tells us how sorting out her kids' toys proved to be a gold mine...

spring clean selling second hand

Browsing online, I spotted a pair of brand new Ugg boots for sale on Facebook Marketplace for £100.

Bargain, I thought.

I liked a good deal, which is why I looked on Facebook first, rather than buying direct from a shop.

But to make it even more money-savvy, I decided to set myself a challenge of making £100 selling items on Facebook Marketplace myself. Then I'd use my earnings to buy the Ugg boots.

As a family of four, we had a lot of clutter in the house. I was certain I could find things to sell.

First, I headed upstairs to the bedrooms of my children, Ben, seven, and Harriet, four.

spring clear-out made me thousands

'I forgot we had all this,' I said as I rifled through their wardrobes.

There were seven years' worth of baby and kids' clothes - some items even still had their tags on!

I carefully laid out the clothes, took pictures, and uploaded them to sell. I set the prices from just a pound to £12 for branded bits with tags on.

And the buyers came flooding in.

spring clean made me thousands

In just four days, I'd reached my target of £100 - and I was hooked on selling!

After that, I went round the house to continue my decluttering mission.

The kids were keen to get involved too.

'I'm done playing with these. Can we sell them?' Ben said, pointing to a bunch of plastic dinosaurs.

'Of course!' I said.

We sold them for £8, and some of Harriet's Barbies for £12.

We also had a clear-out of lots of cuddly toys, and the money we raised went towards buying a Wii and 10 games, which we got for a bargains £75!

I soon realised having a good clear-out was great for my mental health, as well as my bank account.

Our old baby carrier went for £80. I even sold a half-used bottle of perfume for £15!

I discovered about £150 worth of stuff just in my desk and am going to sell out old pram, which should get a few hundred pounds.

Since I started selling things on Facebook in October last year, I've made thousands - who would've thought having a spring clean could be so lucrative?

Go to Maddy's website madaboutmoneyofficial.co.uk for more money-saving tricks.

Tips to sell online

  • Declutter an area of the house every day - even if it's just a drawer - then it's less overwhelming. If you haven't used an item in a year, it's time to get rid. With the cost-of-living crisis, everyone is looking to save money and your tat could be someone else's treasure.

  • Sometimes items sell quickly, and others take a lot longer. I learnt to set the price a bit higher than what I wanted, as people would always haggle. Is, if I want to sell an item for £10, I'd put it on for £15, so there was room for buyers to barter.

  • Set a target of how much you hope to earn, and have a plan on what to spend that extra money on to stay motivated.

  • Take good pictures and be specific. For example, rather than listing an item as a 'toy train', give the brand, colour and condition as well. When it comes to selling clothes, it may be better to sell in bundles. For example, a bundle of boys' shirts aged three to four, for £20 rather than trying to sell each item separately for a low price.

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