Home Money Pockets

You might think it's impossible that you have any source of untapped funds, given how broke you may feel, but there are lots of spots in your home that can be unsuspected pockets of money. Here are a few of them, and with a little creativity and maybe some help from your family, you can probably find a whole lot more.

Your garage. What a wonderful source of money it can be. Cleaning out the garage can bring you a nice return on your work. Take your time to go through everything that's in your garage, and salvage anything that might sell. Then, hold a garage sale. Be sure to post lots of signs around the neighborhood well in advance and list the location, time, and date.

To ensure good sales, clean and repair anything that you're trying to sell. Arrange things so they can be easily seen, and group like items together. Be sure to label prices, but post signs that say all prices are negotiable-then negotiate. If you can get your neighbors to join in and have a garage sale, too, that will bring more buyers and make the afternoon a great success. Make cookies and lemonade and let the kids sell them to make a few bucks, too.

Your kitchen. There are so many wonderful gadgets that we buy and tuck away into the back of our cupboards never to see the light of day again. How about that cast-iron taco shell maker? Clean out those cupboards, and get rid of anything you have not used in the past 12 months. Add them to the garage sale, and cha-ching! a clean kitchen and a pocket of cash.

Your closets. Whether it's the clothes you buy and never wear, or the toys your kids have outgrown, closets can be great money pockets. Clean those right out-and take your clothes to a consignment shop. Sell the toys in your garage sale. Again, the trick is to make clothes and toys clean and presentable so you'll get the best price possible.

Hobbies. If you have a hobby-woodworking or sewing, or a favorite sport-baseball, hockey, or the like, go through your stuff and sell off the things you don't use any more. Again, use the 12-month rule: if you haven't used it in the past year, out it goes. Be ruthless. You'll feel much better with cash in your pocket, and a cleaned out basement or closets.

There are lots of money pockets in your home-and you and your family can have a lot of fun thinking about where your next one is that you can cash in on.