A: Whatever sandal- fearing cynics might say, my advice is to get sprouting. Nothing to do with the unpopular Brussels variety, this is a genius way of growing a superfood stuffed full of health-giving enzymes. You need neither a garden nor a windowsill, just a tiny patch of worktop in the kitchen.

Sprouting trays allow you to germinate almost any seeds, from lentils and chickpeas to alfalfa, mustard cress and aduki beans. Use your home-grown harvest to spruce up salads and stir-fries. I know it sounds disgustingly healthy and a little too Gillian McKeith for some tastes, but don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.

My friend Nicole is at the forefront of wholesome snacking. Just the other day she introduced me to soya lattes and I spotted a stash of root ginseng in her handbag. As the first of my acquaintances to own a sprouter, a multi-layered Biosnacky germinator (£17.99 from www.bioforceshop.co.uk), to be precise, it confirms my suspicions that they’re a sure thing.

Hers, mind you, is the de luxe model sprouter. Others are cheaper (Being Fare sprouter, £5.95; www.ethicaljuicers.co.uk).

Or you can rustle up a makeshift version with a jam jar and an old pair of (clean) tights. Soak a handful of dry beans overnight in tepid water in the jam jar and fix a patch of tights material over the jar with an elastic band. In the morning, drain the water and leave the seeds to germinate, rinsing them twice daily to prevent them going mouldy.

The advantage of this method, is that your flatmates/family will be put off by the display of your old undies, so every last enzyme is yours for gobbling.

Q: What can I do with unwanted furniture?

A: One rotting childhood beanbag aside — voted out by my housemates recently — this is not something of which I have much experience. I’m a hoarder so my initial reaction is to say: send it my way. The official method of doing this is by using a website such as www.gumtree.com. Set up as a London community site, it now operates internationally. You log on, click on your closest city, then go to the freebies section, where you can post an ad and leave your e-mail. Lo and behold, scroungers like me can get in touch.

Like eBay, I’ve heard that Gum Tree is so compelling that there are addicts who can’t resist collecting peculiar items. Last time I logged on, along with sofas and computers galore, I found pet lizards and wedding consultations (posted by a jilted lover who had paid for an appointment with a wedding planner, poor blighter). This is also the territory of freecycle.org, a site devoted to exchanging stuff free of charge.

Then there’s the Furniture Re-use Network (www.frn.org.uk), a web of 400 re-use organisations, most of which will pick up from you free of charge. Furniture goes to charities and low-income communities, diverting 85,000 tonnes of waste from landfill in the UK every year. Far better than turning to your council, which probably has a collection charge.

The high street retailer Habitat is getting into the swing of things by launching a recycling service for unwanted mattresses (0870 4115502). The catch is that it will pick them up only when delivering new furniture. It will also charge £20 for relieving you of a double mattress. Yes, better than abandoning it in your garden until it becomes an unwelcome part of the ecosystem, but still not as thrifty as tapping into the online community.

Anna's Eco-Blog is at www.timesonline.co.uk/ecoworrier