Have a Spare Closet in Your Home? Here’s How You Can Make a Profit From It

From House Beautiful

For those seeking a useful way to spend their time during social distancing—or anyone simply interested in forging a deeper connection with their homes—HB has launched Home Love, a series of daily tips and ideas to make every minute indoors more productive (and gratifying!).

You know what they say: Chase that money! But what they don't always tell you is that you can chase it from inside your home. No, I'm not talking about randomly finding a $20 bill inside one of your pants pockets. Below are some quick and easy ways to help you earn a little extra cash without leaving the house, no fancy credentials required. While you probably won't be able to make a living off these tips and tricks, you'll at least have some "fun money" to blow during your next Target run, right?

Do online surveys

If you've got a lot of time on your hands (and a lot of opinions) filling out online surveys might be your groove. There are several sites and apps that will pay you in cash or gift cards in exchange for your feedback. Some top survey sites to checkout include Survey Junkie, SwagBucks and Toluna. Love print magazines? I've personally used Rewards Survey, which offers participants free magazine subscriptions in exchange for their opinions.

I also have the Google Opinions Rewards app on my phone. Every time a new survey is available for me, I'll get a notification and between one to 10 multiple choice questions. While payout is usually a few dimes or quarters, when you hit $2, you can transfer the money right to your PayPal account. Many online surveys will require you to accumulate up to $10 or $20 before transferring the cash over.

Sell or (rent) your clothes

Poshmark is one of the most popular online marketplaces to sell your old clothes. All you need to do is snap a few pictures of the pieces you're trying to sell, fill in some details, set a price, and hope for a buyer. It's like having your own little storefront of used clothes. The best part is, you don't have to pay to ship the item to the buyer.

Now, if you're not ready to part ways entirely with some items of clothing (particularly your high-end pieces) you can rent them instead of selling them. The StyleLend platform has to approve each item you submit for rental; its standards are high, but once you get an item approved, you'll earn 80 percent of the price if someone decides to rent it.

Track your health and physical activity

If you're trying to stick to a fitness routine and make some small but worthwhile financial gains, Achievement is a health and fitness app that rewards you in points for activities such as walking, meditating, logging in meals, and answering questions about yourself. Then, you can redeem those points for cash via PayPal (or donate it to charities!). All the info you contribute about yourself is used in medical research.

Scan your receipts to unlock savings

If a price goes down on an item you purchased recently, you're almost always entitled to a refund of the difference—as long as the receipt is still valid. But it can be tedious to keep checking prices to see if they've dropped. Luckily, this app will do if for you: Paribus from Capital One monitors price changes on items you purchased so you don't have to. All you have to do is scan your receipts to the app and if potential savings are detected, you'll be notified. While the app cannot give you back the money, it can file a claim for you with the retailer. Paribus works with big name retailers like Amazon, Target, Home Depot, Walmart, Gap, Best Buy, and more.

Transcribe interviews or help translate

If you're fluent in a foreign language, you can get paid to translate. Rev is a closed captioning, subtitles, and transcription service. However, in order to provide these services to users around the clock, they need folks who are willing to help transcribe interviews and/or and translate content in foreign language. You can apply to join their freelance community where you can pick up jobs on your own schedule. You can also checkout TranscribeMe!, another translating platform, that guarantees its translators $15 to $22 pay per audio hour.

Test out new websites

User Testing is a platform where you can test new web and/or mobile sites from top brands like Facebook, Wayfair, CBS, and more. You'll then be prompted to answer questions and provide quality feedback and recommendations to the brand. It helps brands gain insight on new projects, as well as rewarding you with a little extra cash.

Share your latest TV obsession with Nielsen

Nielsen, a global marketing firm that analyzes media and user interactions, is always interested in what is currently in folks' queue. You can join the Nielsen Digital Voice panel to offer up info on what you're watching. Each month, you'll be entered into a $10,000 sweepstakes. The more information you provide on what TV shows and movies you've been watching/streaming, the more entries you'll get. You can also get invited to exclusive member surveys that guarantee pay. You can became a Nielsen Digital Voice here.

Participate in an online jury trial

Calling all Law & Order fans... or those who actually enjoy jury duty! Head to eJury for an online trial experience where you can participate in mock juries and focus groups. It's a platform used to help attorneys gather the type of feedback typically associated with large focus group research, but at a low cost. For your efforts, you'll be rewarded a few bucks for each case you're involved in.

Rent out your bike

If you've got some wheels that aren't being used, rent them out. With Spinlister, you can make extra cash by sharing your bikes with travelers, racers, and enthusiasts. It's like the Airbnb for bikes, as users decide what days and times they want to book their ride. You can also rent out surfboards, snowboards, or skis.

Sell your photos

If you're a photographer and happen to have a collection of high-quality photos like "cat in the rain" or "leaves on the ground," you can try selling your snaps as stock photos on Shutterstock. But if most of your photos are taken on your phone, there's a marketplace for those, too. Foap is an app where professionals and amateurs alike can sell videos and photos straight from their phones. Think: photos from your last hike or an "artsy" coffee shop photo.

Earn cash back while you shop online

If you're a frequent online shopper, having a Rakuten account is a must. Rakuten is an affiliate marketing business, which means that companies pay Rakuten to send shoppers their way. To reel you in, Rakuten offers exclusive deals to its members from over 2,500 of your favorite retailers. When you go shopping at a store through Rakuten, the store pays them a referral fee. Rakuten then gives you part of their payout. For example, Rakuten may advertise 5% cash back if you buy online from a store on a certain day. If you go directly to the store's website, you won't be able to take advantage of the deal. But when using your free Rakuten account, you can.

Sell your old books

Have any old college textbooks just collecting dust? BookScouter helps you sell your unwanted textbooks and used books at the best price available. All you have to do is enter the book's ISBN number and BookScouter will search its database for the highest paying book buyback company for that particular title. Shipping is free and you'll usually be paid the day the book is received by the buyer.

Rent out your unused storage space

If you have a lot of empty space in your home, you can actually turn it into storage space— but for others to rent! Neighbor is a platform that allows anyone with extra space to list its availability online. Think: the Airbnb of storage. Once you list your vacant space (whether it be a garage, shed, empty closet, etc.), folks in your area can purchase it from you for a select number of months. It's that easy! You can also offer vehicle storage if you have parking spaces available.

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