With the new year well and truly underway, most of us want to remove all signs of the festive season. That’s easier said than done if you received gifts you didn’t want. Let’s be honest, we all receive a few things that we wouldn’t consider the best gifts in the world. These have a habit of cluttering our homes and stopping us moving forward. Solve the problem by getting rid of those unwanted pieces! The good news is, you can make use of them after all. There are plenty of ways you can make, or save money from those presents. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

REGIFT

There is some stigma about regifting the presents you don’t want, but it makes complete sense. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t! Look at each item and consider whether you know anyone who would appreciate them. You will need to make sure that the person who gave you the gift doesn’t find out what you’ve done. It’s crucial that you don’t send the gift back to them! Take note of who sent each gift, and make sure you give it to someone they don’t know! It’ll hurt their feelings if they find out you passed their gift along. The only trouble with the regifting option is that you can’t get rid of those presents as soon as you might like. If you’re going down this path, find a place to store the gifts until the time when you need them. The bottom drawer of a bed, or a space in the attic, should keep them out of sight. Don’t let them out of mind as well, though! If you’re keen to get rid, think of birthdays you have coming up soon. You don’t need to wait until next Christmas to pass them along!

REPURPOSE

If you can’t bring yourself to pass your gift’s along, you could always repurpose them into something you do need. That way, you save yourself having to buy the item in question. This option also means that the gift gets used after all! Again, be careful that the person who gave you the present doesn’t find out about this. Don’t cut up a jumper and hang it on your wall for the world to see! How useful the gifts can be depends on what they were. Can you use that jumper you would never wear to make something new? Why not repurpose it into a cushion cover? Could you somehow use that book you’ll never read? Why not use it to make a piece of new shelf? You can make anything work if you put your mind to it. Do a little research to give yourself some ideas!

SELL

If there’s nothing else for it, you could always sell the unwanted pieces. This is the best way to see a cash return on them. If you feel bad about it, make a vow that you’ll spend the money on something you wouldn’t typically buy. That way, it’s like your friend bought it for you! If you’ve never sold anything before, get to grips with sites like Ebay and take some pictures to get started! You could even turn to Social media and try to sell the items that way. Again, make sure the gift-giver doesn’t see your post! It may be worth private messaging if you want to go down this path. If you received gift cards that you don’t think you’ll use, learn about Cards2Cash and make a little money off of them as well!

RETURN OR TRADE

With a bit of luck, you’ll have a receipt for the gift. That would at least give you the option of returning or trading the item if you wanted. Even if you don’t have a receipt, it’s worth seeing if there’s anything the shop can do for you. You may not be able to return without proof of sale, but most companies will allow you to trade. Make sure that you know which shop the gift came from! If you’re unsure, you could try a few indirect methods to find out. Drop into a conversation that you were wondering where the gift came from. You could suggest that you want to get another one. While it’s never nice to lie to a friend, it’s kinder in this case than telling them the truth. If you feel bad, remind yourself that you’re doing it to save your friend’s feelings. If you don’t believe you can address the issue, try to get a hint of the store from the item. Often, store names will be on the item somewhere. Do a thorough search and see what you can find!

YARD SALE

You could take the chance to rid yourself of more than the unwanted presents. If you have a lot of junk to get rid of, why not use the excuse for a yard sale? Make sure no one who gave you the gifts attends! A yard sale can be a fantastic way to make money from your unwanted items. It can also be a lot of fun! Set your mind to organizing the event, and get started collecting items. If you don’t think you’ve got enough, ask around your friends to see if they have anything they want to get rid of too. We all have stuff in our homes that we don’t want, and they’ll probably be glad of the chance to unload! Once you’ve decided that you’re going ahead, make sure to get the word out. It may be tricky to do this without the people who gave you the gifts finding out. Even so, no one will come to a yard sale they don’t know about! You could always hope they don’t locate the gift among all the other items…

There you have it. A simple guide about how to make money from unwanted gifts. All it takes is a little thought. You’ll have the clutter gone in no time!