Best tech to declutter your life – Top 10

4. Get rid of your TV

Not an option for everyone, but there are alternatives. What you should replace it with depends on your exact needs. If you watch TV occasionally and have a small living room, you could buy an all-in-one PC – the latest models have Blu-ray players, TV tuners and active 3D – in short, everything you need to replace your TV and home entertainment system, but occupying far less space than the desktop PC we told you to ditch earlier.

If your viewing habits are even more modest, then all you’ll need is a laptop and a TV tuner dongle such as PC System’s PCTV NanoStick T2, which supports Freeview HD. You can alteratively watch online using services such as the BBC’s iPlayer, Sky Go and 4OD.

Unfortunately, although you can get rid of your TV, you can’t get rid of your TV licence – you’ll still need one to legally watch content from either a TV tuner or online services such as BBC iPlayer.

3. Switch to online billing & bank statements

They don’t seem to take up much space, but it’s hard to know what to do with bank statements and utility bills once they’ve arrived and been paid. Companies seem to take a perverse joy in posting us several rainforests worth of paper every year. You can minimise this by switching to online banking and utility payments. With that done, check to make sure your online account has a complete record of at least your last year’s payments and shred the paper copies. Please note that you should still retain copies of anything you’ll need for tax purposes, including utility bills for shared-use premises.

2. Make the most of your smartphone

We’ve already suggested ebook readers, MP3 players and digital media as ways of clearing the clutter. An Android, iOS or Windows Phone 7 smartphone can handle all those things and more. With a few well-chosen apps, you can use one device to listen to music, read books, play games, send email and even edit documents. It’s not always the best tool for the job, but a good smartphone can be one device to do it all, particularly if you combine it with apps such as Spotify, Kindle and BBC iPlayer. Our favourite phones include Apple’s iPhone 4S, Motorola’s Defy+ and Nokia’s Lumia 800.

1. Freecycle & Ebay

Once you’ve replaced all the computer hardware, books and discs that have been cluttering up your life, you’ll still need to get rid of them. This would also be an ideal to ditch any shoes you’ve not worn in over a year and that hateful sideboard left to you by Aunt Mildred.

If the items in question are desirable enough to get money for, then you can sell them on eBay or –if you have loads of CDs to get rid of – Music Magpie. If not, join your local Freecycle group to find someone who’ll take your unwanted tat off your hands for free.

Get rid of unwanted tat and make some cash while you’re at it by selling on Ebay