£342m in loose change rattling around homes

More than a third of a billion pounds in loose change is lying around in our homes.
Loose change found lying around our homes could add up to a tidy sum.Loose change found lying around our homes could add up to a tidy sum.
Loose change found lying around our homes could add up to a tidy sum.

A study has found that, on average, we each have £12.70 in small change lying around the house, the equivalent of more than £342 million across the country’s 27 million households.

Typically, we each find £3.27 a year in the sofa alone – more than £39 million nationwide.

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The study of 2000 people found Brits discover a small fortune in pennies, toys and lost possessions over a lifetime of cleaning.

However, discoveries while doing a tidy up can be odd – people were asked about their strangest finds and the answers included a jar of cat hair, a stuffed animal, and even a neighbour’s live pet snake. A prosthetic leg, stuffed cat and the landlord’s wisdom teeth have also provided shocks.

Losing the remote control is a familiar problem but one couple were relieved to finally find theirs while doing a deep clean – it had been missing for three years.

If you end up frantically looking for a lost item, check the sofa – statistically, it’s the most likely place to find it.

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A spokesman for Yale, which commissioned the study, said: “The research shows our homes are full of weird and wonderful items and that we’re not always sure what we actually have under our roofs.

“From valuable jewellery that’s been lost or misplaced, to the coins in the sofa, people may well find a few hidden treasures when approaching their spring cleaning this year.”

One in six has a very valuable item or treasured possession they’ve completely lost somewhere in their home, while the average person currently has four important things they can’t find at the moment.

But keeping a better track of the stuff we own is probably worthwhile – the average Brit estimates the value of all the goods in their home at more than £15,000. Perhaps that’s why more than a third will be reviewing the security of their home during their spring clean this year

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The Yale spokesman added: “Brits are taking risks when it comes to protecting the range of weird and wonderful items in the home, a third of those polled confess they haven’t thought about their home security in a long time. The annual spring clean is the perfect opportunity to undertake a quick and simple home security audit, just to ensure that your property is as secure as can be.”

The weirdest things found while cleaning:

• Prosthetic leg

• Mystery keys

• Stuffed cat

• Landlord’s wisdom teeth

Victorian coins

• A dead budgie

• A wasps’ nest

• TV remote control (after three years)

• Jar of cat hair

• Witch’s mask

• Pregnancy test kit

• Neighbour’s snake.

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