"When my car broke down, I needed $2000 fast. The answer was in my closet."

Early last year I found myself in a situation where I was desperate for cash. I was a stay-at-home-mum and student, my husband was working and studying full-time and we had one car.

One day this reliable car decided not to start. Very long story short, it needed $2000 worth of repairs. I had a grand total of $50 in my ‘savings’ account (that’s just the name of the account, I can’t recall the last time it actually had savings in it), a maxed-out credit card and I was totally screwed.

It was on this day that my best friend introduced me to Buy Swap Sell and since then it, along with eBay and Gumtree have come to my rescue on more than one occasion (like on a monthly occasion). In fact, to pay for hosting my blog on a website, I sold one limited edition pop vinyl, one comic book and one pair of converse.

Probably the easiest place to start with is, SELL EVERYTHING within reason. Everything that you have no emotional attachment to - unless you are really screwed then that stuff can go too, along with your soul. Just kidding, I haven’t found a site to sell that on yet.

Seriously though, what do you have to sell and how are you going to sell it? I have sold so many random items, on all different websites and have found that the best way to start is to go through your home from room to room.

Everything can be done on your phone as long as you have a steady hand and a reasonable camera, as clear photos that show the item in its true form are very important.

I am going to start sharing my top tips for selling your stuff - and the first thing that has to go is clothes!

Where do you sell your items?

Facebook Buy Swap Sell (BSS) groups exist for every kind of item you can imagine - clothes, make-up, shoes, kids items and more.

Do yourself a favour and ask your friends to add you to every BSS group that they are a part of and if you don’t have friends in thse groups, just find your local BSS and send them a request to join.  Just type in Buy Swap Sell and your city or country in the search bar on Facebook, and request to join any group where you can sell the items you have.

Another good place to see is the Facebook Marketplace. It's a new selling tool on Facebook that allows you to advertise your items to people in your area. At the end of your post there is also the option to add the post to any BSS pages that you are a part of so you don’t have to create the same post a million times. It’s okay to hedge your bets by putting items on more than one site, as long as you remember to remove them all once they have sold.

Then there are the classic options, like eBay and Gumtree. BBS groups and Marketplace are both a little faster and easier to use, however, and don't incur any fees. However different kinds of items do better on different websites.

How to begin.

Start with the clothing items that no longer fit you, the ones that don’t suit you and the one offs (Halloween costumes, bridesmaid/formal dresses, on-trend pieces). Be ruthless. If you haven’t worn it in 12 months are you ever going to wear it? Throw it all on the bed and start making some piles.

Pile 1: Designer clothes.

Let’s face it, labels are what the people want so these items are your best bet for a quick sale. Any well-known designer label in good to excellent condition has a chance on eBay.

Brands like Kookai, Zimmeman and Bec & Bridge all do really well on Facebook Buy Swap Sell (BSS) groups. I am a member of a BSS group in Brisbane that has something insane like 10,000 members and all the girls go crazy for labels.

Pile 2: Great condition but not designer.

Sort these pieces into size bundles, and put them up on Gumtree, BSS and the Facebook Marketplace.

Shoes.

There is generally always a market for cool kicks like, Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse or Vans on eBay. They sell even faster and for more money if they are in the original packaging.

Make sure you take photos of the brand name on the tongue, sole and box (this sounds like a different kind of hustle) to show that they are authentic.

Listen: The 5:2 diet...for your MONEY. Post continues below. 

Also make sure that you are honest in your advertisement, if your box looks old and tired but the shoes are in mint condition then include this information in the description.

It is far better to tell people before they buy it, rather than having someone complain about you, and that goes for everything you sell - be completely honest when you describe the condition of your item.

Alex Whittington is a 29-year-old stay-at-home mum, university student and writer from Brisbane. Find more top selling tips at her blog, How To Hustle.