If yours is like many households, loose change accumulates in the couch cushions, in the laundry, on top of dressers and desks and in random crevices of car consoles. There are many ways to collect the loose change that floats about the house and car so that it might be used for something besides collecting dust.

Try assigning a container for loose change in the bedroom. It can be anything from a decorative coffee can to a coin sorter. The key to collecting loose change is to designate a place for it rather than having it strewn about the dresser top when pockets are emptied. If you like to carry the loose change with you each day, provide yourself with a small, shallow dish from which the change can be easily retrieved.

In the laundry room, keep a large container such as an empty water jug or a large empty fish bowl. Store it within reach on a shelf beside or just above the washer and dryer. As you fish out loose change from laundry, simply toss it in the container. The kitchen is another area where an easily accessed container that can accommodate loose change can come in handy.

The house isn’t the only place loose change accumulates. Many people have built-in coin holders in their car’s console, but they aren’t designed to hold a great deal of loose change. If you have an extra cup holder in your car, place an empty cup just for change in it. When it fills up, carry it inside and dump into one of your larger loose coin vessels.

Collecting loose change in one or two locations makes it easier to put it to use. Over time, loose change can add up to a surprising sum. You can designate loose change to whatever you like. You can sort it after it has been collected and roll it for deposit into the bank, or you can cash the rolls in at the bank and spend the money on something frivolous. It may help to get the entire household on board by designating the collection to go towards a movie and ice cream, or the money can be donated to charity. The choice is yours.

Collecting loose change is also a great way to teach young children the value of saving money. By providing a child with a piggy bank, you can make learning to save fun. Each time you find loose change, give it to your child as “piggy food”. Every time your child feeds the piggy, he or she has more money. You can allow your child to count the money when the bank is full and help him or her roll it.

If you do not have a coin sorter and do not want to roll loose change, many mass retailers and grocery store chains have machines that will sort and count your change. These machines are a convenient way to dispose of loose change, but they have drawbacks. The machines do not give you cash back, but rather a printed cash credit for the store where the machine is located. You will also be charged a small fee of a few cents for each dollar. Expect to pay for the convenience of disposing of large quantities of loose change without the need to roll or count it.