Clear out your clutter with a green spring clean

With the longest, coldest, most horrible winter since the dawn of time almost behind us, a spring clear out is well and truly on the cards. While chuck-it-in-the-green-bin recycling is a good place to start, you might just find that your trash is just what someone else is looking for and that it can live a much more useful second life.

For any household goods you're ditching, Emmaus is the perfect place. The charity employs ex-homeless people who undertake a range of tasks, including restoring donated furniture and using profits to live self-sufficiently.

If the thought of a spring cleanout on your own seems daunting, roping in friends should make things more bearable, and if the word 'party' is involved it's almost quite appealing. Swishing parties are a top trend in eco-friendly fashion at the moment, letting you revamp your wardrobe without buying anything new.

While your old underwear might not be warmly welcomed at a swishing party, there are lots of charities that do take specific items. BreastTalk collect old bras to raise money for breast cancer research, and there are plenty more.

Freecycle works on 'changing the world one gift at a time'. Advertise your old goods to be collected for free by whoever takes a shine to it. And if you want something in exchange for your clear out, then try trading online. Simply register what you have and what you want for it; you can find just about anything from old office furniture to err...'a friendly grey cat'. You could also think about recycling your old mobile phones. As annoying as those adverts are, they do serve a good purpose. Look here to find the best offers.

Christmas probably isn't something on your mind at the moment, but Operation Christmas Child gives you a good reason to think about it. Fill a shoe-box with your unwanted child friendly finds to be donated to a disadvantaged child at Christmas time. See the video below.

The lesson to learn is that any second use for your cleared-out clutter is a good one. Save rubbish from landfills and help to prevent unnecessary consumerism, and for your trouble you can have a karma filled, clutter-free summer.