Where is money hiding in your home? Find it when you’re spring cleaning

When you finally get around to spring cleaning your home but then are tempted to quit before the job’s done because it just is too much, perhaps this thought will keep you going: there’s cash in that junk!

According to Kiplinger (as reported by Yahoo! Finance), people often throw away cash – or, at least, items that could bring them cash if they were handled properly.

Here’s some items you should snag if you come across them while in the midst of spring cleaning:

Receipts – More specifically, health care receipts. While most companies require all receipts eligible for Flexible Spending Account claims turned in by March 15, some give to as late as June 15. And while you’re going through those receipts, grab any you can use to claim tax donations such as those for charitable donations or job-hunting expenses, if you itemize.

Gift Cards – If you come across unused gift cards but won’t use them for yourself or give them to someone else, check out gift card exchange sites such as Gift Card Granny or Plastic Jungle, which purchase gift cards for a percent of their value.

Electronics – When the electronics you just bought become outdated in the next few weeks, don’t throw them away. Instead, you can sell them on Gazelle.com, which buys computers and accessories, game systems, MP3 players, digital cameras, satellite radios and GPS devices.

You may also consider exchanging them through companies that allow you to trade older items for credit, such as the Apple Recycling Program or Hewlett-Packard offers a similar trade-in program if you buy a new HP or Compaq product first.

Donating your electronics may not have immediate rewards, but you can reap the tax deduction if you itemize. The National Cristina Foundation will take your used computers, software and accessories and find them a new home, helping provide computer training to the less fortunate. Old cell phones can be donated through ReCellular.com.

Lastly, do your part to save the earth by recycling your electronics through programs like those offered by Best Buy, or try out your local freecycle.org to find them a new home.

For more information on donating and recycling electronic goods, including how to safely and completely wipe all your personal information from them, visit the EPA's eCycling home page.

Jewelry – With the price of gold topping $1,400 an ounce as of late March, silver nearing $40 an ounce and platinum reaching $1,750 an ounce, now is the time to part with jewelry you don’t wear often and lacks sentimental value. But before you ship them off to Cash4Gold.com or similar gold buyers, check out auction houses, estate buyers, and jewelers to find and compare offers. You can also find an appraiser via the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.

Clothing and accessories – Go shopping in your closet for items to sell at a secondhand store. Typically, clothing will resell for just a quarter or a third of the original retail price, but handbags may sell for up to half the original price tag. If you sell to a consignment shop, you'll have to wait until your item sells before collecting any money.

Call your choice secondhand store or check its Web site before you head in, as you may need to make an appointment to peddle your wares, and you’ll want to make sure your items are in season, in style and fit in with the shop's other offerings. Your items should be clean, stain-free and neatly folded. But if you can't profit from your apparel, consider donating it and claiming the tax benefit.

Books, music, movies and other miscellaneous items – Your first medium of choice for selling these items is the Internet, such as eBay, which will charge a fee but allow you to reap most of the profits. If you have enough items or they will bring in enough cash, you may enlist an online auction helper such as iSold It. Other sites to try: Amazon Marketplace, Overstock and Craigslist. If you're trying to sell furniture, use Craigslist or your social network to find local buyers who can swing by to pick stuff up themselves (just be safe). Of course, there’s the old-fashioned way of selling your used items: garage or yard sales.