Trash to Treasure: 5 Ways to Cash in on Your Trash

Do you feel that little tinge of guilt whenever you toss something into the trash? Feeling like you might be wasting something of value is a terrible feeling, but you might be unsure of what is trash and what is treasure. If you have wondered what items in your trash might actually have some value, you have stumbled upon your answer! Below, you will find 5 ways to cash in on your trash. So many of the items you use to pitch are actually worth a little change in your pocket. Give these 5 ways a good look and think twice about what you keep and what you toss.

5 Ways to Cash in on Your Trash:

1. Wine corks.
Crafting with wine corks is really popular these days. Many crafty gals and guys are looking for wine corks to make peg boards, key chains, coasters, and more out of. Save your wine corks and you can get as much as 0.50 cents a piece each. Just gather yours up and head over to eBay or Etsy where you can sell your corks for cash. List them in one giant lot together instead of piece by piece. The more interesting the corks, the more money they will fetch you.

2. Aluminum.
The cost of scrap aluminum keeps fluctuating, but the fact is it is still worth cash. Keep your aluminum pop cans, food cans, food wrapping, house materials, and other aluminum scraps and redeem them at a local recycling center for cash. They pay per pound, so the more you have the better. Kids will love coming with you to watch how the scrap is weighed and fed to the conveyor belt, so take them with you to get in on the action.

3. Broken jewelry.
If you broke a piece of jewelry, are missing the match to an earring, or even just have some extra backings, check them for marks. If they are 10, 14, or 18 karat gold, or if they are sterling, they are worth cash! It does not matter what condition they are in, just head to a local jeweler’s and have them weigh and pay! If you find costume or other scrap jewelry pieces not gold or silver, no worries. Crafters on eBay and Etsy are looking for all sorts of scraps for their creative needs. List your pieces on there as one giant lot and see what you can make!

4. Old clothing.
If you have clothing that is torn or stained, don’t pitch it, cash in on it. Crafters use all sorts of scrap pieces of wool and denim, as well as vintage t-shirts for their creative needs. Offer your scrap clothing on eBay, Etsy, or the Craigslist Crafting Section and see what you can get for it. You may be surprised! Even if you just get a few bucks per piece, that is better than the nothing you would get by throwing it away.

5. Paper items.
Some paper items are highly collectible and valuable. If you are cleaning out a junk drawer and stumble across old restaurant menus, cookbooks, instruction manuals, owner’s manuals, save them. People are always looking for these items on eBay. You may just get a few bucks a piece each, but hey it’s something!

See how easy it is to get cash for items otherwise destined for your trash? Give these tips a try the next time you are cleaning out a drawer or room and see how easy it is to drum up a little extra dough!