It happens to the best of us. When we have an old appliance or a vehicle that no longer runs, it's easy to put these items away in a storage shed, garage, porch or a yard to deal with at a later time and then forget about them by accident. Or you have to deal with the estate of a relative and clean up the house and property, which is home to old appliances and/or broken down cars. Sometimes we don't forget about these items, we're just not entirely sure what to do with them after they no longer work. If your property is host to old vehicles, broken washing machines, old farm equipment and the like, there is a way to clean up without paying to have these items hauled away. Most of these items can be recycled or sold for scrap metal. How do you know if your items are eligible? Check out this handy guide to get you started.

Broken down cars. Scrap metal places will come tow your hunk of junk for you. If you are selling to a buyer that just deals in scrap metal and not car parts, you may want to remove all of the parts that could be repaired to sell to a junkyard or used car dealer. If your car and the parts inside are rusty, it may not be worth the effort to remove the interior car parts. Each scrap metal facility has its own rules and specifications about what must be removed from the vehicle prior to pickup. This can range from having the window glass removed to stripping off any plastic parts prior to the sale. Be sure to have your title on hand to prove that the car was obtained legally. If you can't obtain a copy of the title it will be extremely difficult to sell the vehicle. Call around to find the scrap metal place that offers the highest payout. Some places will even take care of all the DMV paperwork for you.

Old appliances. It may surprise you to find out that scrap metal facilities will also buy your old refrigerators, air conditioners, washers, and dryers. Any old appliance that is made of metal can be sold. Locate a facility in your area like Metalex Recycling Ltd.You won't be able to sell appliances that are made out of plastic, like microwaves or box fans, but you can donate these items to larger thrift store chains that will then ship these items to the proper recycling facilities. You can even get a break on your taxes by donating to a nonprofit thrift store.