Working and making money from home can look like a dream, but it can also be a reality. You can be skeptical of the real ways of earning money by working at home, but they do exist. Here are some of them :

You might have heard listening to just two or three songs in the shower can help you save water. And it’s true; hearing a few of your favorite songs start and end, one after another, can remind you how long you’ve been in the bathroom and shorten your wash time. Why bring this up? Because the same general principle can help you stay on task when working from home. But instead of three songs off your music playlist, run your laundry instead. Doing your laundry is a built-in timer for your home. So, use the time to start and finish something from your to-do list before changing the load. Committing to one assignment during the wash cycle and another during the dry cycle can train you to work smarter on tasks that you might technically have all day to tinker with.

Cyber Crafter: If you’re a crafter, the internet is your showcase — and not only at auction sites like eBay. DeWitt Young of ObviousFront.etsy.com has had success turning her crafts into cash online. She has a booth at Etsy.com’s Craft Mall, an amazing place where thousands of artisans and crafters offer their goods for sale. DeWitt turns salvaged parts from old TVs and VCRs into artsy necklaces, earrings, and figures. Colleen Jordan of wearableplanter uses 3D printing to create her necklaces called wearable planters. If you need a little help kicking off your projects, Shapeways is a 3D printing company with simple apps to help you customize your own designs, anything from a wedding band in rose gold, a vase in ceramic, or your own bobble head printed in full color. All for the purpose of generating sales.

Don’t let friends stop by. Dana Marlowe, principal partner of the Silver Spring, Maryland-based IT accessibility consulting firm Accessibility Partners, uses lunch as a time to meet with friends and if they show up at her house she politely tells them she’s working. “Boundaries are only as effective as they are enforced,” she says. Catherine Simms, co-founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based pet accessories company Whiner & Diner, also avoids drop-in visitors. “I just tell them that it is not a good time [and] over the weekend would be better,” she says. She also instructs them to call first to see if she’s home. Then when they do she doesn’t pick up, at least during work hours. Read extra details on Looking For Work-from-home Opportunities.

Upwork is one of the largest all-in-one freelance platforms. It’s free to join and you can bid on up to 30 projects each month plus receive invitations to interview for other job proposals. You can connect with clients for nearly any online task including freelance writing, graphic design, data entry, customer service, computer coding, translation, and legal services. There is a 10-day holding period from the time the client approves your work (milestone) to when you can collect payment. Once your available balance is at least $100, you can request payment via direct deposit or PayPal.