We’ve talked here before about the money to be made from memorabilia from old buildings and structures like the Berlin Wall or a defunct sports stadium. But even I was taken by surprise by the fuss that’s being created over the replacement of a carpet.

Portland airport are  replacing their ‘iconic’ carpet and this has led to a huge wave of interest. Go to “pdxcarpet.com” and you can buy T-Shirts, mugs and other items emblazoned with the carpet pattern. You can also register your interest to  buy a piece of the carpet when it’s finally taken up later this year.

At first I thought this interest in airport carpets was something peculiar to Portland, but I discovered there’s even a website “www.carpetsforairports.com” dedicated to people with a fascination with the floor covering in the worlds airports. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’d want to spend an evening in the company of people fascinated by this.

Joking aside, it shows that there is money to be made from memorabilia and nostalgia in the strangest of places. Is there a Portland Airport Carpet opportunity somewhere near you?

This is another idea that falls into the ‘you-won’t-make-a-fortune’ category, but is ideally suited to someone already working from home (or confined to home) and looking to make some extra money. It’s possible to build up a steady stream of money in the form of paypal payments and vouchers by filling out online surveys. Here are some examples:

www.globaltestmarket.com

www.mysurvey.com

www.swagbucks.com

www.valuedopinions.co.uk

There are plenty of  others. Just do a Google search. You won’t qualify for everything though, as the companies running the surveys need to be sure you fit the criteria they’re looking for.

I just read about a stay at home mum (or mom as they call them there) in the United States who gets paid $100 a time for creating unique Top Ten lists for www.listverse.com. She comes up with her own ideas for the lists and claims she’s never had a list rejected.

At first I thought this seemed a bit too good to be true, but having looked at the lists there I can see that a fair amount of thought and effort has to go into each one. It’s something that anyone could get involved in though, and I’d imagine the lists get easier to compile once you’ve done a few.

If this interests you, I’d strongly recommend you go to the site and get a feel for what’s required.

Both online and offline media just seems to grow and grow, and with that growth comes an increasing need for content. Whatever your knowledge, experience and expertise, it’s likely that someone somewhere will be willing to pay for you to commit some words to pixel or paper.

For example, I just read about an astronomer who makes a regular second income writing for various astronomy and science based magazines and websites, and a photographer who provides articles on cameras and photographic topics to media in that field. You don’t have to be a world expert to make money like this, but just need to be able to write clearly, interestingly and with a bit more knowledge than most.

If this interests you, try contacting the relevant media in your field of interest. You may be pleasantly surprised by the positive response.

We look at a lot of unusual or off-beat ideas here but sometimes it’s easy to overlook something run-of-the-mill but lucrative. There’s a seemingly endless market for cheap second hand cars, and a profit to be made by supplying them, particularly if you have some basic mechanical knowledge.

Often, the only difference between a car which can be bought for £500 and one that can be sold for £1,000 is a good clean/valet, and an improved advertisement and photographs. Sell just a couple of cars each month like this and you could very easily make an extra £12,000 a year.

Not everyone is interested in cars of course, but if you are, this is a great way to combine business with pleasure.