What could you do with $7,000? Pay off some debt? Family vacation? Save it for a rainy day?

While I can think of many things we could probably do with that amount of money, I’m not exactly sure what I’d do with $7,000. I do know that I’d be grateful to come across such an amount of cash! Who wouldn’t, right?

Well, apparently, you and I may have $7,000 worth of stuff just laying around the house. eBay recently sent me this interesting piece of information: “According to a 2011 study from research firm NPD, the average American family has about $7,000 worth of unused stuff.” Who knew?

Reading that statistic makes me want to dig around the house to see what sorts of items I have that could earn me some extra cash. I could take those spare things in the home, and sell them on eBay. I definitely don’t want to let a potential $7,000 slip by! Without even looking, I can think of a couple of things I have that we’re not using and I could sell on eBay:

• There’s that extra business suit my husband never wore and is sitting in his closet with the tags still on it.
• I believe I have a couple of blouses that are also brand-new with tags still on them that I haven’t worn – and apparently won’t any time soon.
• My kids have many toys they’ve outgrown that I’m sure other families will enjoy.
• I acquired some Disney items that I’m sure a Disney collector will enjoy adding to their collection.
• There’s an extra digital camera that is sitting on our office shelf and has never been used.

It’s amazing how many things we save thinking we’ll one day use them and they end up sitting around for months, maybe even years, never even opened. Why do we do this? Isn’t it better to make room for things we’ll actually use or even just make some extra space in our house, and in turn, our lives?

Take a look around your house and see how many unused, unopened, or brand-new items you have that you could list and sell on eBay. Maybe you don’t have $7,000 worth of stuff, but I’m sure you have a couple of hundred, at the very least. If you decide to sell your items on eBay, take a look over some of these past posts I’ve shared to help you get started:

• 7 Simple Ways to Get Your eBay Items Sold!
• Ideas for Finding Items to Sell on eBay, Straight from eBay Sellers!
• Tips for Selling on eBay from an eBay PowerSeller
• Finding Inspiration to Sell on eBay

If you find yourself with an extra $7,000 on-hand after selling on eBay, share the wealth, won’t you? {ahem} Seriously, though, feel free to share links to your listed items on eBay in the comments below!

Disclosure: ModernMami.com is a member of the eBay Parent Panel, a compensated program.

Photo: Joe Shlabotnik/Flickr