Everyone’s looking for a little extra cash this summer and what better way to earn it than by making it off your home. We have compiled a list of four unique and creative ways to simply use your home and the resources within it to turn over a little extra money.

Rent It Out

Many people have gobs of unused space around their house. Whether it is an empty room that is just good for stacking boxes or a piece of land that is just growing weeds, these places can be turned into big money makers. If you are comfortable with having a complete stranger living in your house with you (I get that some people aren’t) then you should be seriously considering posting an add on either Craigslist, Facebook, or other rental sites such as Airbnb.com and turning that room into an income stream! Based on the space provided to the renter and other amenities included, you can count on being able to pocket anywhere from $400-$800 dollars a month of easy money.

If you don’t want that weirdo actually inside your home, rent out space for them to camp outside somewhere on your property. Certain areas of residency can be huge cash cows for simply letting someone pitch a tent on your property because of where you live. If the whole having a strange person living with you thing isn’t for you, then maybe just having their stuff live with you will suffice. Simply opening up your garage for someone to use as storage can be good cash flow for you every month and will be much less hassle for the renter by not having to deal with traditional storage woes.

Grow it and Sell It

All the rage lately seems to be eating homegrown and organic foods. For people with a decent piece of land that they can till and plant in, this new health trend can greatly benefit you. Do a little research about what foods are hot around your area and get to work! Start by establishing some street cred with your friends that you can grow some good grub and then begin to branch out.

Almost every town and city in the United States has a local farmers market of some sort that will give you the perfect inroad to start selling your fresh foods to your fellow residents. For those that live in an especially warm and or tropical climate, a long growing season can be your best friend when it comes to having consistent product to sell throughout the year. Plus, it can really make you feel good to have grown your own fresh vegetables.

Clean House

This next item may seem like old news to some, but simply taking the time to completely inventory your house and garage/barn/storage areas can be a huge money maker. People these days are notorious for accumulating stuff that they really don’t need or use once and never touch again.

Sit down with the family and devote two weekends (particularly during the summer) that you can input all your time and energy into having a yard sale. The first weekend will be the hardest because granted, it does take quite a bit of work to compile all the junk in your house and figure out what of it you want to sell. Once you have amassed all your former treasures, get yourself together logistically the following week and gear up for the yard sale of your life that following weekend. Check out these articles for tips: How to Throw a Successful Garage Sale and How to Actually Make Money with a Yard Sale.

People say, well what if we don’t sell everything do we just put it back in the garage and let it rot some more? No! Take advantage of being in the tech age and list what you didn’t sell online. ebay and Craigslist are two perfect online thrift stores where someone will undoubtedly be looking at some point for what you are selling.

Cook For Strangers

We all have a bit of a secret hidden chef inside of us waiting to pop out and share our wonderful culinary creations with the world. Why not take that weekend hobby of cooking and turn it into a weekend business of money. Through services like Feastly and Cookapp, you can take your home chef skills and make them a profitable business.

It’s simple, you decide what you want to make and list it through an online service such as the ones listed above, and adventurous foodies will pay big money to come dine at your table for an evening. Now obviously you won’t be pocketing all the cash that these people pay to eat with you because the online services do take a percentage of what you make, but even after that you could easily start to turn over a couple extra hundred bucks a weekend for just cooking. Now, when I say a couple hundred bucks, there are some stipulations that come with that. Obviously your food has to be worthy of charging $35-$50 dollars a head, and people also have to want to come eat it.

If you think you have what it takes to sell your delicious eatery to unassuming customers, a home restaurant business (as its being called) may be in your near future.

If you’re like most people, your house is most likely crawling with opportunities to make money.  These are just a few options that can possibly lead to some extra cash flow but know that there are many more opportunities out there to make money off of your home. While you have a little extra time this summer take a look around the house and see where the dollars could be hiding!

Do you have any tips to make money off your home? We’d love to hear them!