Ever wished you could just stumble upon a pile of cash? Ever dreamt that you’ve discovered money hidden in your house? Well maybe you can. Most of us have plenty of unwanted junk lying around that when sold together could really add up. Here’s a look at how to make money out of what looks like rubbish:

Sell your old laptop – If you’ve upgraded your netbook and aren’t sure what to with the old one, selling your electronics online has never been easier. There are obviously sites like eBay, but what with having to write appealing copy and finding the right price, it can be a lot of hassle – plus they take fees. Try online cash4gold type sites, but instead cash for your computer! All you have to do is select your model of computer, wrap it, send it off and wait for the money to come in. I was able to sell my MacBook air online with minimum hassle.

Sell your old CDS/DVDS – Remember when you used to take your old VHS down the charity shop? Well those days are gone, now DVDs keep their quality which means there’s money to be made when you don’t want them anymore. There are a number of online cash for DVD/CD retailers and again you can send off your stuff and just wait for a cheque to come in. A really straight forward way to make cash out of discs that are sitting there unused.

Recycle old books – With online marketplaces like Amazon and Green Metropolis, you can now sell old books too. This will usually take a bit more effort than sending of DVDs, but when you’ve got half a library taking up valuable space you may as well give those paperbacks a good new home.

Recycle old clothes – If you can’t be bothered with the hullabalo of eBay listings, check your local high-street for ‘clothes for cash’ shops that will take bags of your old garments and give you cash in return.

Car boot it – Yes, car boot sales do still exist – and they’re a brilliant way to get rid of your junk and make some extra cash. The key to making money out of rubbish is to remember that every penny counts, if you can make the effort to sell your junk you can spend the cash on things you really want cluttering up your home, like new games consoles and video games. A tip for car booting is to price things up, cheap. You should encourage people to make offers on top of this however, and don’t get sentimental over things once they start selling. It’s easy to forget that when that lava lamp was sat in your cupboard taking up useful storage space, it wasn’t getting any use. Despite how retro and stylish it looks to you know it has a price tag, you weren’t planning on using it again!