Get cash for your clutter – Experts reveal the most lucrative unwanted items to sell around the home

• Second-hand furniture the most sought-after household item to sell over the last 12 months
• Experts provide insight on the best things to sell, and how to store items you want to keep, to create more space in the home

The ongoing lockdown has been challenging for many but has provided a good opportunity for Brits to re-organise their homes for the better.

With many people looking to spring clean their house and declutter ahead of easing restrictions, and the average house containing £4,000 of unwanted items1, self-storage experts at Space Station have looked at the most popular second-hand household items to sell, as well as what to do with the things you’d like to keep. 

1. 
   Furniture – 33,100 monthly searches

Second-hand furniture was the most popular second-hand item people were looking to buy, with an average of 33,100 monthly Google searches in the last 12 months2. Sofas have proved to be the most sought-after piece of furniture, commanding just under 10,000 (9,900) monthly searches alone on average. The summer of 2020 was a particularly profitable time to sell your old sofa, with over 12,000 (12,100) looking to get their hands on one each month between June and August last year. 

Selling your furniture is a great way to free up space around the home, with items such as old beds, sofas and tables occupying a lot of room by their bulky nature. eBay is a terrific way to sell off furniture and you won’t be short of buyers, with second-hand furniture searches ranking higher than any other household item with 22,700 monthly searches in the last year on the popular selling platform. Not only that, but you stand to gain more than just a couple of quid for flogging your old sofa, which sell for an average of £244 online.

1. 
   Books – 27,100 monthly searches

If reading is your passion, you’re likely to amass a significant collection of literature over the years, which will end up taking up plenty of room at home. Whether it‘s fact, fiction or old textbooks you no longer have use for, selling them online should be fairly straight forward, with 27,100 people searching for second-hand books every month in the last year. The average book goes for £4.40 on eBay so, depending on how big your collection of old books is, selling in mass could accumulate a nice sum of money whilst freeing up plenty of space too. 

1. 
   Games consoles – 25,300 monthly searches

Video games are a pastime growing continuously in popularity, with demand to buy second-hand consoles sky high, with 25,300 monthly searches, an increase of 50% compared to the previous year. If in good condition, you can usually command a good price for consoles, with the average PlayStation 4 selling for £162 on eBay even if they aren’t brand new. You may also want to consider digging out one of your old retro consoles from yesteryear, with a second-hand Nintendo 64 still fetching a price of £64 on average.

1. 
   Smartphones – 19,800 monthly searches

It’s no surprise that in an age with such advanced technology, and with people being limited to spending most of their time at home, demand to grab a smartphone is high. In the last year, 19,800 people per month were looking to buy second-hand smartphones, which could help you get some quick cash for your old iPhone or Samsung Galaxy gathering dust in a draw. Second-hand iPhones still command a good price on eBay, with the average one selling for £182.

1. 
   Golf clubs – 9,900 monthly searches

If you once fancied yourself as the next Rory McIlroy but have lost interest in practicing your swing even when lockdown ends, a set of clubs would be in high demand online, with just under 10,000 (9,900) people a month looking to get hold of some second-hand. If your clubs are in good condition, you’ll get a fair price and, with them being so bulky, should free up plenty of space in the spare room or garage too. A full set of clubs in good condition sell for £128 on average online, which is a nice little cash boost whilst freeing up space at the same time.

Vlatka Lake, marketing manager at Space Station, commented: “Selling some of your unwanted items from around the home can be a great way to make a bit of extra cash. However, sometimes there are things you just can’t bear to part with and hanging on to belongings with a particular emotional or sentimental value is understandable. 

“If you’re keen to keep hold of precious family heirlooms but realistically don’t have room at home, you may want to consider investing in some external storage nearby. You’ll find a lot of localised options which certainly won’t break the bank and will save you a lot of space in the long run.“

For more tips on how to free up room in small living space, visit: https://www.space-station.co.uk/blog/creating-ample-storage-space-in-a-small-apartment