With Christmas and New Years out the way, now is the perfect time to clear out the clutter; but there's no need to through out stuff that new gifts have replaced or head down the mall for stall credit, as there are several, greener options for old items.

The Buffalo Exchange store, for instance, has outlets in over 25 US cities and will buy old clothes and accessories that you no longer want or can't fit in to, for cash or exchange, and these stores are a great place to find some designer gear at bargain prices. Buffalo Exchange stores also run a plastic bag token scheme, whereby if you choose not to take a plastic bag they give you a token instead. Simply pop the token in one of the charity boxes in the store and they'll donate five cents to whichever charity you choose.

For items such CDs, books and DVDs you no longer want the website swaptree.com will help you exchange it for something you do want.To use Swaptree, users simply list the items that they have to trade and the items that they want to receive, and Swaptree instantly shows the user all of the items that they can receive for the items that they have.

The service is completely free, and users only pay for the shipping of their item. Swaptree also simplifies the mailing process by allowing users to print a postage label on their regular printer, which means that users don't have to weigh items, worry about stamps or even go to the post office. And of course, in addition to saving money, users who are trying to be more environmentally conscious appreciate the fact that Swaptree reduces consumption by promoting sharing and recycling.

For bulky items that would be too costly to mail, however, the new website Vdumpsters.com may be a better option. In a similar concept to Freecycle, users place items they no longer want into a virtual dumpster, which makes them available for free to anyone who is prepared to pick up the items. The site is based on Vskips which launched successfully in the UK last April, and already has listing for items such as babywalkers, exercise bikes and kitchen tables.