The £2,817 fortune in your attic

Can’t be bothered to clean out your attic? Perhaps the possibility of making £2,800 would motivate you.

The average UK homeowner has £2,813 of clutter going unused in their attic, according to research from the Co-operative Bank.

Common items stored away include books, children’s toys and Christmas decorations. Shockingly, 22% of people have as many as five TVs collecting dust in the loft.

However, few of us appreciate we could be sitting on a potential gold mine. When asked to estimate the value of the goods in their attic, people guessed an average of £559 – less than a fifth of the potential worth.

Surprisingly, some 30% of those surveyed wouldn’t consider parting with their clutter in order to make some cash.

James Hillon, Head of Home and Family at the Co-operative Bank said: ‘For many, just the thought of having a clear-out is a cause of worry, so much so that the term ‘hoarder disorder' has been coined to explain the scientific symptoms and medical reasons behind our hoarding habits.’

But just how would you go about making a little extra cash and break the hoarding habit?

Selling online

Although your first thought might be to opt for a well-known site such eBay or Amazon, there are plenty of alternatives so it could be worth doing your research.

Preloved is a site dedicated to selling second-hand goods and allows you to place a free ad without any listing or selling fees.

With musicMagpie, users can earn extra cash by trading in their old CDs, DVDs, games and technology.

Rather than selling your stuff in an auction, the site pays a set amount for each item – you can find out how much your goods are worth by entering the barcode or the name and model.

If you use online charity bookstore Green Metropolis, you’ll receive £3 for every book you sell – though you’ll need to cover the cost of postage yourself and this can range from 50p to £2.50.

Alternatively, you can become a charity seller and 50p or £1 of your profit for each book will be donated to a nominated charity.

Car boot sales

If you can brave the early start, you could dispose of your clutter by having a car boot sale.

Websites such as Yourbooty.co.uk and CarBootJunction contain listings of sales in your area or you could try checking the local paper to find a suitable venue.

Remember, if you want to bag a decent pitch, it could be worth turning up as early as possible to beat the competition.

Also, be prepared to haggle over price ­– many seasoned car booters will be in the market for a bargain and might try to put in a cheeky offer.

If your main goal is to spring clean, however, consider lowering your prices toward the end of the day if you need to get rid of excess stock.

Upcycling

This suggestion will perhaps work best for those with a creative bent or a talent for DIY.

Upcycling is the process of transforming items you no longer need into new, more useful objects.

Cutting up unwanted clothing and using it to cover stains or tears on other material is an obvious example. However, you can check out websites such as this for more tips.

For more articles like this, see Six top money-saving websites and Do you have a hidden fortune?

**This material is for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. We strongly encourage our readers not to rely solely on this content, but to seek independent advice when making financial decisions.**

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