Nowadays it’s normal for a household member to own several electronic gadgets, including a smart phone, a tablet and a gaming device or laptop.
Considering that we’re upgrading to new tech every few years or so, in about ten years your house would have accumulated half a dozen items. When time comes to declutter, how can you get rid of your stuff?
Here’s a guide on how you can recycle, earn some money or give your old gadgets a new lease on life.
Dividing Your Tech – Step One Of Decluttering
Round up all your old tech by searching on drawers, boxes and rifling through your shed or garage. Divide them into two- a stack for what you think you’ll still need and one that you’re willing to let go. Include the cables, adapters and accessories that go with a particular item.
Here’s a way to break it down efficiently.
Video Game DVDs, PC Hardware and Music and Movie Disks
Track down the hardware for the installation CDs. Are they still working or in your possession? Keep collector DVDs and ones that contain precious memories. Store software and drivers on thumb drives and external hard drives.
Computers and Accessories
Group your old computers, laptops and accessories into working and non-working categories. They’ll go on separate destinations later.
Cables and Adapters
Do the same as with the CDs. Can the cable still be used, and is the device for it still working? Label them and put all the others in a box. If after 6 months you still haven’t used any in the box, it’s time to recycle and dispose of them properly.
Radios, Hearing Aids and Music Players
Gather all radios, hearing aids, mp3 players and take out the batteries (if applicable) and restore to factory settings. Keep what you’d like and consider donating to organizations that can still use them.
Step Two – Getting Rid Of Your Electronics Responsibly
You should always think about how you can recycle your old devices as you de-clutter your home. Simply throwing them away won’t help, as they’ll end up in landfills and pollute the environment.
Here are some great options for responsible decluttering.
Sell Your Gadgets On The Internet
You can recoup some of the costs that went into the purchase of your old item by selling it online. Good places to start includes eBay, Amazon or Facebook, as they’re popular and get millions of visits each day. Take a picture of your gadget and upload it, then come up with an accurate description. Wait for interested parties and meet up to exchange goods for money.
If you’re short on time and want to get a return immediately, consider selling your new gadgets on recycling sites such as Plunc. They offer reasonable quotes for top-of-the-line electronics, and you’ll receive cash as soon as they receive the item.
Give Back To The Community
Your old smartphone, laptop and game console may not be useful to you anymore, but to others it could be their best and most precious possession.
Give your old tech a new lease on life by giving it to someone who’ll cherish it. It could be your favorite niece, nephew or neighbor who’s helped you in the past. Find all the cables or accessories and box and bundle it up.
You can also hand your gadget to a local charity, hospital, school, shelter or church that can still use your laptop, mobile phone or tablet.
Make sure the device is still working and functional enough- a phone must be able to make and receive calls; a laptop must be able to browse the web or read emails, and a game console must be able to run games.
Recycle and Get Store Credits
Major electronics manufacturers have recycling programs where you can bring your gadgets to any of their locations in exchange for store credit or cash.
If you have old tech that’s made by HP, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo or Apple, chances are that you can still get some money or credits towards an upgrade. Call your local recycling company and see if you can have heavier items such as old TVs, monitors and printers picked up for free.
These are just some of the ways on how you can de-clutter your house of old tech. The key is to think responsibly and not just letting your stuff go to waste.