Earning extra money is possible for anyone to accomplish. A simple job like mowing a lawn can be turned into a thriving business by using the concept of recycling.

Have one job feed another.

For example, say you mow neighboring lawns for extra money. What do you do with all the grass clippings, though? You throw them out.

Why not use the clippings to start a compost heap? Add dried leaves and non-meat and non-dairy leftovers to the heap.

You could sell the resulting rich compost to your mowing clients, or raise your mowing fee to include the compost and the work involved in applying the compost to the client's garden.

To take this idea even farther, you could raise earthworms in the compost heap. Sell the worms to your mowing clients, other local gardeners, and to fishermen.

Mowing lawns plus selling compost plus selling worms = A successful landscaping business that even a kid could start.

For another example, I have a pile of old clothes I need to get rid of. If I was handy with a sewing machine I could cut up those old clothes and sew them into quilted dog coats or dog blankets to sell at flea markets, local pet stores, and online. Dog owners go nuts over unique items such as quilted dog blankets or coats for their furry babies.

A pile of worn out clothes recycled into money in the bank.

For a third example, let's say you wash windows to earn extra money. What are the two most common things found around, on, and in the window frames? Mold and spiders!

Explain to your clients the mold can cause serious health problems, such as asthma.

Offer to scrub the stubborn mold off the window frames using bleach (not an easy job) and to suck the spiders out of the window corners and off the curtains using a vacuum cleaner.

To take this one more step, you could offer to scrub off the mold in your client's bathroom. Everyone has mold in the bathroom and no one likes to clean it. In fact, I have mold on my bathroom ceiling I need to attack.

Always wear a mask if you work around mold as mold can, as I said, cause serious health problems.

You could also offer to perform a 'spider-sweep' throughout the house, sucking the spiders off the ceiling, in basements, and from inside closets.

Recycle one job into another and another. Voila! You have a thriving business!

Visit Jenny Harker to read her other valuable fun writing exercises.