But remember, the idea is to create some space and organise the area you are tackling, not get distracted or make more mess than when you started!

So grab yourself three large boxes or bin bags and organise your clutter into these three main categories.

- Rubbish
- Recycle – internet, charity shops, friends and family
- Sell – internet, Diss Express free ads or car boot sale

Imagine you are clearing out your under-stairs cupboard (a wonderful glory hole in most homes) – broken hangers, old plastic bags and squashed shoe boxes are not useful to anyone – they are rubbish, so throw them out.

But much of what you might unearth can and should stay out of landfill sites.

Don't forget that your old junk will often be someone else's treasure.
Charity shops are always looking for clothing, toys and household objects in reasonable condition to sell in their shops.

Just bag them up and take them along, but be aware that many charity shops are no longer able to take electrical items.

Even so, don't worry; the internet has many great sites which encourage the recycling of electrical items and larger goods – www.freecycle.org or www.recycle.co.uk for example.

These sites offer free listings so you can give away your broken radio or chair with a dodgy leg to someone keen to fix it.

And then there are always your friends and family you can give your old stuff to too.

Finally, you could always make a little money out of your old clutter by selling it – do a car boot sale one Sunday morning, or sell on an online auction such as eBay.

What could be more satisfying than creating space in your home and putting some cash in your pocket?

Brigitte Girling, of Style2Live, can be contacted on 01379 897248 or www.style2live.co.uk