Ah, the smell of trampled grass and bacon butties in the morning. Boot-sale season is upon us again and half of York is up early and bagging bargains on Knavesmire, including the husband, who snuck out before I even woke up on Saturday.

Why he bothers, I don't know. Apart from the occasional CD of some obscure Seventies rock band he usually comes home empty handed. I suspect he goes mainly for the pig-out breakfasts, though he claims to enjoy the fresh air. Next time, I want him to come for a walk, I'm going to bribe him with rare footage of Gong in concert; with any luck we'll get all the way to Bishopthorpe.

Our neighbours, Yvonne and Bernie, rose at 5.30am last Saturday to be sure they got a good pitch, which shows true dedication. They generously donated the stuff they didn't sell to the daughter's yard sale, which she and a friend, inspired by children's programme Clutter Nutters, had decided to hold on our front lawn at a more civilised hour after lunch.

Two of the older girls sold smoothies and sweets, I put on a CD of Kool And The Gang that I found in Yvonne's box and soon there was a party vibe going on. We shifted quite a few toys, games and DVDs - strangely enough, no-one snapped up Jade's workout video - and made £20 for Comic Relief into the bargain.

Most of the remaining books and toys were donated to a Romanian children's charity, I blagged a jar of paper clips and my three-year-old nephew, Nathan, has just gone home clutching the last remaining Action Man, so everyone's happy. Well, almost.

We could not help the passers-by who asked us for fish tanks and forks. (Now there's a Larkinesque line for you. I have measured out my life in Harry Potter spoons. Those went to Nathan, too.) This is the kind of recycling I like: profitable, philanthropic and fun to boot, as it were. I'm not saying my trips to Hazel Court lack entertainment value - my attempts to reverse into the angled recycling bays are quite amusing, at least for the guys in fluorescent jackets - but holding a yard sale is a lot more sociable, plus it makes the kids take responsibility for their junk.

In an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint further, I am also making an effort to stop buying new clothes, which was going quite well until I saw the Buy two get one free' T-shirt offer in M&S yesterday.

I'm not terribly keen on charity shops (funny smell, unfashionable clobber) but I've undergone a conversion recently. A couple of my friends, who are both charity-shop pros, had been threatening to drag me round and buy me a complete outfit, but I've trumped them by scooping a gorgeous Debut frock - this season's I believe - from the Sue Ryder shop in Goodramgate, which was a snip at £14.50 (price in Debenhams about £70).

I thought I was going great guns but my friend, Karen, and my sister, Claire, cracked up when I told them. Apparently, I still haven't got the hang of it: proper charity-shop shopping means scoring a bargain off the 50p rail.

While being a thrifty shopper isn't too taxing for most people, knowing how to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle can be confusing, particularly if you don't know where to start. For that reason, I went along to the first meeting of York's Carbon Rationing Action Group, aka CRAG, part of a national network of people who want to lead by example and actively reduce their carbon emissions.

"It's like Weight Watchers for carbon," explained Alex, one of the organisers, an analogy that was working well until Compost John produced a stack of out-of-date organic chocolate bars for us to recycle by scoffing them.

Many of the people there had started to make changes, but they represented typical dilemmas: how do I balance flying to New Zealand to see my family with a low-carbon lifestyle? What can I do about home insulation if I'm in a rented property?

Hopefully, we'll come up with some answers as the group progresses. I returned home to find the thermostat in the hall turned up to 20C.

"How did you get on?" asked the husband.

"Switch the heating off!" I shrieked, mindful of my new commitment.

We've switched to the summertime setting now, so it shouldn't come on at all. I'm off to the St Leonard's charity shop in case the weather turns cold; apparently they're selling winter coats for a pound.

  • For more information go to www.carbonrationing.org.uk or email yorkcrag@yahoo.co.uk