This story has been updated. It was originally published on January 3, 2019.
You’re hemmed in with physical clutter, piles of stuff you don’t really need. This doesn’t just get in your way, but also takes up room you could be using for new purchases. But figuring out what to toss and what to keep, and then following through, is incredibly stressful. These apps can help you organize, digitize, and generally get rid of junk—and maybe make some money while you do so.
1. Shpock
Try Shpock, the self-described “second hand marketplace to buy and sell,” if you want to unload your unwanted stuff on your neighbors—and make a little cash along the way. We like this app because it’s so easy to use: You type up a few words, set a price, and upload a picture. Then the app makes it simple to share your listing to social media. When you have a potential buyer, it lets them make secure payments with PayPal.
On top of that, Shpock charges no fees for listings or transactions. However, to boost the visibility of your for-sale listing, you can opt to pay for a range of promotions. These start at $2, depending on how you choose to advertise, and you can also buy a Premium membership for $9.50 a month.
Shpock is free for Android and iOS, with optional in-app payments and a $9.50 monthly Premium subscription.
2. eBay
To reach huge numbers of potential buyers, you can’t beat the classic eBay. The app lets you create a listing right from your phone, complete with a text description and a photo. Then decide whether you want to sell that unwanted item via an auction process or with a set price. In some cases, you can even offload damaged goods, although you should make the dents clear in your listing.
Once you make a sale, you’ll have to ship your old item to your buyer, so eBay might take more time and effort than some of the other apps on this list. It also charges 10 percent of the final price for its services. On the other hand, you’ll probably reach more people, which means you can often charge higher prices.
eBay is free for Android and iOS, except for sales fees.
3. CamScanner
Some of the mess in your living room comes not from items you can sell, but from a hodgepodge of documents and files. Save those pages digitally, and you can empty your filing cabinets (and then sell them with another app). CamScanner is one of the best tools for this job: It lets you scan papers at high resolution using only the camera on your smartphone. Then, the app can convert your documents to PDFs and help you store them on your local drive or in the cloud. It’ll even straighten out skewed pages for you and make the text searchable.
The basic version of CamScanner comes free. But if you pay $5 a month or $50 a year for the Premium subscription, you’ll get 10GB of cloud storage space for your files. You’ll also receive the option to edit the text of your documents after you’ve scanned them.
CamScanner is free for Android and iOS, with a $5 monthly Premium option.
4. Decluttr
Depending on just how much junk you’re dealing with, you might not have the energy to create separate listings for each one. If you don’t mind a slightly lower price, Decluttr makes it even easier to sell your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, video games, books, and tech gadgets. Rather than hawking your items to other users, you sell directly to the company behind the app. To do so, either scan the barcodes of your items or enter their details manually. Decluttr will offer you a price, and if you’re happy with it, you’ll receive packaging that lets you ship your junk for free.
Although it requires less work, Decluttr also tends to yield less money than selling directly to buyers. On the other hand, it’s fast, easy, and safe, and payments arrive within days.
Decluttr is free for Android and iOS.
5. Evernote
Clearing house within a reasonable time period is a task that requires high levels of organization. Evernote can help. Put it to work tracking your schedule, managing your to-do lists, scanning documents, pinging you with reminders, and saving information from the web (like a link to this article). Essentially, you should treat this note-taking app like an organizational tool for your entire life.
You can access all of the aforementioned Evernote abilities for free. But if you want advanced features like offline access and improved search, you’ll have to pay $8 a month.
Evernote is free for Android and iOS, with an $8-a-month premium Personal option.
6. Sortly
Speaking of organization, you’ll need to start the decluttering process by assessing what’s filling up your home, and then tracking these items as you get rid of some and keep others. Sortly lets you photograph, list, categorize, and search through everything you own. Even if you end up keeping everything you enter into the app, the process will help you organize these items and keep them out of the way.
The free version of the app lets you count up to 100 items. Premium subscribers can go past this limit, plus they’ll get to sync their inventory across three or more devices.
Sortly is free for Android and iOS, with premium versions available starting at $25 per month.
7. Handy
Sometimes, putting your home in order takes more than one person, so don’t be afraid to get help. Handy makes it easy to hire a professional cleaner or housekeeper who can give you some assistance with tidying up. One of its benefits is its flexibility: You choose the time and date for a person to drop by, select the level of service you need, and then check availability.
Although you use the app itself for free, you will have to pay once you hire someone. Prices can vary depending on the task you need help with, and Handy might not be able to find contractors in certain geographic regions, so make sure to check all the in-app details before you select your service.
Handy is free for Android and iOS, but service costs vary.
8. EpicWin
If you want to make clearing out the attic or tidying the fridge a family event, give EpicWin a try. It takes the basic concept of a shared to-do list and adds some gamification to keep everyone motivated. Through the $2 app, you and your family or roommates can earn points for performing assigned tasks. This makes decluttering more fun, and at the same time, lets your household track the chores you’ve completed and those that remain outstanding.
9. Google Keep
At first glance, Google Keep looks like a fairly standard free note-taking app. However, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll see how useful it can be when you’re trying to organize your decluttering process. Add tags and color coding so you can see at a glance what type of task or item each note lets you track. Then share them with friends so you can collaborate—say on a to-do list. To make sure you don’t forget to complete a chore, set a reminder on certain notes. You can even photograph a receipt or form, turn it into a note, and then search the text within these images.
