11 Best Winter Side Hustles to Make Extra Money 2024

The colder months can be an expensive time of year as the holiday season approaches. These are the best winter side hustles to make extra money during the winter months. There are both indoor side hustle ideas and winter time side jobs for people that want to get fresh air while getting paid. Whether you want a little extra cash or a big cash injection to your bank account, check out these 11 winter side job ideas (#1 and 3 are really easy!)

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Best Winter Side Hustles

1. Winter Side Hustle Ideas for Animal Lovers: Pet Sit

Pet sitting is one of the easiest (and cutest) winter side hustles.

You get paid to stay cozy inside while it’s snowing out, cuddling and taking care of a cat or a dog.

Of course with dogs, you would also be taking them for walks. This is either a plus (you get exercise!) or a minus (the exercise is outside!), depending on your feelings about winter time.

Some pet sitting gigs have you take the animal to your home to look after, while others have you move into the owner’s home while they are away.

After my sweet geriatric cat (she is currently 90 years old in people years) dies, I want to either pet sit or foster or both. I love the idea of getting to take care of more animals, and in the case of pet sitting, you get paid too!

Find out more and sign up here to become a pet sitter.

2. Shovel Snow

There is a high demand for extra help with snow removal in states with winter weather.

This winter side hustle won’t be for everyone, but if you like being outside in the winter, you can make quick money shoveling snow.

Shoveling snow is very physical, so you essentially get paid to work out and get fresh air.

You can list your services on Facebook Marketplace, make your own simple website with your snow shoveling services, or post flyers in community centers and libraries.

3. Best Winter Side Hustles for Getting Paid to Chill Inside: House Sit

Lots of people like to get away to warmer climates during the winter.

If you are staying put, why not make money house sitting for people who are going away on the winter break?

This is one of the best side hustles for combining with other side hustles to make the most money over the winter months.

Many years ago I was a housesitter to make extra money. It was such an easy winter side hustle, you get paid for like, living.

And I got to live in much nicer houses than I could afford at the time.

The house sitting gigs I got lasted from 2 weeks to 5 months. Some people escape cold climates for the whole winter and are looking for house sitters for extended time periods.

This is one of the easiest winter side hustles, and you can also easily add on another winter side job while you are taking care of their home.

4. Offer Holiday Decorating Services

During the festive season, some people go all out with their outdoor Christmas decorations.

Not everyone is comfortable on a high ladder or wants to do the decorating themselves.

If you’re comfortable with ladders, this is an easy winter side hustle to make extra money fast.

Holiday decorating services would include both the decorating, and taking down holiday decorations at the end of the season.

You can offer extras such as design consultation and ongoing maintenance throughout the season, to make extra money with this winter side job.

5. Winter Side Jobs for People Who Love the Outdoors: Dog Walk

Some people hate walking in snow or wintery weather.

This includes pet owners with dogs who need to be walked year-round.

Or they are elderly or have mobility issues and aren’t comfortable in snowy or icy conditions.

A winter dog walking service could charge more than dog walking in nicer weather.

Dog walker is one of the winter side hustles that you can do right in your neighborhood, and make money fast.

Plus you get exercise while you get paid!

As you get comfortable walking more dogs at a time, how much money you can make will increase.

Sign up here to start dog walking.

6. Start a Dog Treat Bakery

For a couple months in the summer, I hardly turn on my oven.

But during the winter, I’m all about baking homemade bread, making muffins and scones, and my favorite banana bread.

Basically the oven is on all the time, and it makes the house feel extra cozy in the winter.

If you like baking at home too, you can turn this hobby or passion into a work-from-home business.

The best way to do this is to start a dog treat bakery from the comfort of your own home.

Many cities and towns require you to have a commercial kitchen if you’re making food to sell to people, but often you can bake from home if you are making dog treats. (Of course always make sure to check the rules in your town!)

Dog lovers love to spoil their pups, and that includes paying a premium for cute homemade treats made with great ingredients.

Read our guide on how to start a dog treat business here.

7. Sell Holiday Cards on Etsy

Start an Etsy shop and sell holiday cards.

You can make and sell digital products right from your computer.

The beauty of this work-from-home winter side hustle is you have no inventory, and don’t need to ship anything. (When I had my Amazon business, putting together boxes for shipment was my least favorite business activity.)

You don’t even have to be amazing at graphic design.

There are free programs that provide a ton of templates that you can switch up and customize, and sell in your own Etsy shop.

I recommend Canva to make holiday cards.

I started with the free version of Canva, but if you’re serious about your business, you’ll want to upgrade to the pro version. It’s not a lot per month and you get so much more functionality, photos, and fonts with it.

Canva is way easier to use than Photoshop, but if you already have Photoshop, you can definitely use that.

Here’s an awesome course on how to start an Etsy shop. You can take it in a weekend and be confident about starting your winter side job selling on Etsy.

8. Winter Time Side Hustles to Stay Cozy Inside: Become a Proofreader

My idea of the best winter side hustle is to curl up with a book and get paid to read.

If you don’t wanna go outside when it’s cold, you can make money in the winter by proofreading and editing. To be a good proofreader, you need to be a person who naturally has an eye for detail, and grammar and spelling errors jump off the page for you.

Freelance proofreaders can make up to $45+ an hour.

Check out this free workshop on how to get started as a proofreader at home.

9. Do Winter Deliveries

You can become a winter delivery driver if you are comfortable driving during the winter months.

Since a lot of people don’t like winter driving, more people take advantage of ordering online as the winter season approaches.

I definitely use DoorDash and Instacart a lot more in the winter time.

If you want to make quick and easy cash in the winter, sign up here for DoorDash. All you have to do is pick up food for people and deliver it to them.

A delivery service driver is one of the easiest winter side hustles, where you don’t need experience and can start making money basically right away.

For Instacart, you can either be an Instacart Shopper, which means you’d work as a personal shopper in a store. Or you can be an Instacart driver, doing deliveries of orders for people.

Read my Instacart review here to find out more about this winter side hustle idea.

Or if you know you want to apply (doesn’t hurt to apply!), sign up for Instacart today here.

10. Become a Winter Photographer

Photography is one of the best hobbies that you can turn into a money-making business (read what the rest of them are here.)

Winter time and snow provide some of the most naturally gorgeous backdrops you can get for outdoor photography.

You can offer winter family photography packages, Christmas photography services, New Year’s photography packages, and more.

Here is an amazing and comprehensive photography course to either brush up on your photography skills, or build them from the ground up.

It’s called Complete Photography Beginner to Expert. Having completed it, you’ll be able to tell potential clients you did as a way to show your authority before you have a big photography portfolio of gorgeous winter pics!

11. Start a Blog about Winter

It is usually much easier to make money blogging when you have a specific topic you write about, also referred to as a niche site.

This is the opposite of a lifestyle blog where you write about anything your heart desires. These blogs were more popular a decade ago, and are harder to grow quickly.

If there is something specific and winter-related you know well and would be able to write a bunch of blog posts about, this would be a fun, creative, and potentially lucrative winter side hustle.

You can monetize your blog with affiliate links right away, and when you get more traffic you can join an ad network and get paid monthly for traffic to your site.

Here is my easy tutorial on how to start a blog.

And here are ways to increase blog traffic fast.