Squeaky clean and green

Far from being less effective and more expensive, as many people think, if it is done right it can provide a sparkling home, the odd chance to cash in and a bright, clean conscience.

The best place to start is by getting rid of anything you do not need.

Clearing out all that stuff which has been in the back of your cupboard since you moved in can be really liberating - but just shifting it to landfill is not the answer.

Your old clothes can go to charity shops and, although you may not imagine they are in a good enough state to be sold on, shops such as Oxfam and Traid will make sure the fabrics are recycled and turned into something new.

Even if you think your boxes of indeterminable junk are a lost cause, municipals tips are a goldmine of recycling opportunities these days - you would be lucky if the attendants let you get near the landfill pile, with facilities to send anything from sandwich toasters to sofas on to the next stage of their evolution.

If you are having a big clear-out then why not have a garage sale or take your wares to the nearest car boot sale? The one behind Brighton Station on Sunday mornings is massively popular, so get you and your loot down there.

Also do not forget eBay, where you can actually get money for old rope.

If your green ambitions are turning you away from capitalism, then www.freecycle.org is for you, the site where you can give away your own stuff and pick up other people's cast-offs completely free of charge.

Next - on to the cleaning.

You wouldn't think the humble bottle of kitchen surface cleaner could cause much damage to anything except, of course, that unidentified pile of sticky stuff next to the toaster.

Yet a quick check on the label of any leading cleaning brand will reveal a cocktail of nasty sounding chemicals - just think how many of your products warn you to wear gloves, not to inhale, to keep them away from children - and the scary thing is, the chemical industry has no obligation to test the chemicals they use for safety.

One common ingredient in carpet cleaner, for example, is perchlorethylene, which the US Environmental Protection Agency warns against, stating it can cause anaemia, kidney, liver and nervous system damage.

Once it has finished in your home, these often non-biodegradable chemicals make their way to our ecosystems, affecting wildlife and plants and upsetting the delicate balance of nutrients in rivers and streams, damaging aquatic life.

Going green with your spring clean is easy, though. Even though your cleaning products are crammed full of chemicals, the active ingredient in most of them is vinegar.

Various mixes of vinegar, lemon and bicarbonate of soda can be used for pretty much anything in your house - from descaling kettles to cleaning ovens. See the box for handy cleaning tips.

Do not forget all your cleaning products also come with masses of packaging, much of which is not recyclable, and have racked up a big carbon footprint during manufacture and transport.

If lemon and vinegar sounds a bit too retro for you, there are some great green cleaning products on the market.

Ecover sells a massive range, left, of planet-friendly washing-up liquids, powders and sprays. On top of that their packaging is made of plastics which can be recycled using a low-energy process and their offices and factories are subject to strict environmental checks.

Enjo is another company which looks set to raise the green bar.

Enjo cleaning mitts use microscopic fibre strands to dig deep into the bumps and crevasses on your surfaces that you cannot even see are there. They claim their product is so effective you only need to use water to get your house sparkling.

So now you have decided your old cleaning products are a no-no in your house, how do you dispose of them?

You must not tip them down the drain - and chucking them in landfill is not much better. While you are on an eco-friendly roll, send them back to the manufacturer and explain why you don't want to use them any more.