Spring cleaning time is upon us again. It’s when we open the windows to air the house out, shake out the winter dust, and get rid of all that clutter. Spring cleaning typically means throwing away junk or putting some not-so-often used items into boxes to be brought to a charitable organization.
You might want to look into the value of some of these items before you simply discard them. Vintage is in, and people are willing to pay a pretty penny a piece of the past. Here is just a sampling of items you may have in your home right now that you don’t even know are worth anything.
Themed Glasses. Peanuts, Flintstones, and other cartoon favorites were printed on glasses mainly as giveaways for many years. If you have some of these fun drinking glasses shoved in the back of a cabinet taking up space, you may want to put them up for sale. Here’s an example of what a lucky seller scored for their McDonald’s glasses.
Vinyl Records. Believe it or not, people are going back to spinning records to listen to music. The sound is warm and reminiscent of simpler times. Vinyl records have become a huge commodity, and depending on the condition of not only the record but also the sleeve, you can probably make some money on them. If you are lucky enough to own an early pressing or limited edition album, it could be worth thousands.
Costume Jewelry. Do you have some of your mother’s or grandmother’s old costume jewelry lying around? Don’t just throw it away. Some of these pieces are very collectible and have even become a fashion trend again. Check out these recent costume jewelry sales.
Vintage Tupperware. In the age of grab-and-go containers and throwaways, Tupperware is not as popular as it used to be. It’s pricey and takes up a lot of room. Nowadays however, vintage Tupperware is all the rage. People have come to realize that the quality these products offer cannot be found in today’s disposable plasticware.
Discontinued Beauty Products. It happens all the time. You find a product you love and the company discontinues it. Have a bottle of shampoo you bought a while back that didn’t work with your hair type? There might be somebody out there looking for it. Recently a bar of face soap that was discontinued years ago was sold for big bucks.
Cell Phones. If they work, there are plenty of people willing to pay for them. If you have an old “brick phone” like you’d see in movies from the 80’s and 90’s, or the very first iPhone, they can be worth a bundle in the right market.
Halloween Costumes. If you purchase new costumes for Halloween every year and then stick them away somewhere to gather dust, consider selling them. We all know that many times dressing up for that one day out of the year isn’t cheap. Why not recoup some of your money and giving someone else a deal at the same time?
Fine China. Nowadays most people don’t break out the china for dinner parties or special family dinners. It’s likely taking up space in a box in the attic or basement. Depending on the manufacturer, certain sets of china can be worth some money. If you have a collection, take it to an appraiser who specializes in antiques.
Old Cookbooks. In today’s digital society we get our recipes off the internet and save them on a Pinterest board or something similar. If you have old cookbooks lying around,d check a couple ‘for sale’ sites and see what they bring. As an example, if you have a copy of Julia Child’s original cookbook published by Knopf in 1961 Mastering the Art of French Cooking, it’s worth hundreds of dollars.
VHS Tapes. Before Blu-rays and streaming, VHS tape is how we watched movies at home. Did you know that some of them are worth a lot of money? Take a look at your collection and do some research before just throwing them in a landfill.
What are you waiting for? Start digging through those boxes and bins that you stuffed away years ago. Extra money is fun and can buy you lots of new pajamas! Good luck with your treasure hunt and happy selling
