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I have a box on the bottom shelf of my desk, filled with old electronics. There are old cell phones, chargers, a ton of wires that maybe go to nothing, and at least one old mp3 player.
They just live in that box now.
Sometimes I pull out my old iPhone to grab photos off of it, so at least it gets used as a huge SD card. The other electronics are just paperweights. But yet, I keep them.
Don’t be like me. Purge yourself of your old electronics. As the saying goes: Do as I say, not as I do. I put together a list of things you can do with your old electronics. Hopefully it helps you.
What To Do With Your Old Electronics
Gift them.
A few months ago, Pete’s cell phone screen cracked. It was just awful. The more he tried to use it, the more the liquid crystals started leaking out of the LCD screen. It was horrible and the phone became completely unusable. We had 2.5 months left on his loan agreement for that phone. In theory, we could have just paid it off in bulk, but for the principle of it, we didn’t want that.
Luckily, he had been gifted an old cell phone from his dad once upon a time.
That cell phone was old, really old, but he was still able to use it to text and make phone calls. If you have an old phone, gift it to a friend. You never know who might need it.
Use old phones for music.
A long time ago, I got a phone for review on the blog. We had service on it for a month before canceling it.
Instead of just adding it to our box of old electronics, Pete added a ton of music to it. He will connect it to a Bluetooth speaking while we are out and he can play music without draining the battery on his actual phone.
So, instead of going out and purchasing a new mp3 player, you can use an old phone as one. And, if you can grab WiFi, you can use it to stream music online as well.
Donate them.
If you have an old tablet, laptop, or phone, you can donate them. Be sure to clean all of your personal information from the electronics, then donate them.
You can call your local schools or senior centers to see if they will take any electronic donations. If you can’t donate locally, you can Google and look for national companies that will accept donations.
Use them for parts.
My brother built his last few computers using parts from older computers. And Pete actually took the hard drive out of one of his old laptops and used it as an external hard drive.
Personally, I don’t know how to do any of that. It’s all way beyond my understanding. But if you know more about computers than I do, or if you have an IT friend who knows a few things, you can salvage any working parts.
Recycle them.
You aren’t supposed to throw away any electronics. Instead, you need to recycle them.
As easy as it would be to just throw it in a dumpster and be done with it, that’s not how it works. Garbage pickup — even bulk pickup — won’t haul those away for you.
Locally, there should be nonprofit organizations in your area where you can recycle old electronics, including televisions.
Sell them.
Sites like Gazelle.com will offer you cash back for your electronics. It also has a ton of deals that happen offer.
For example, through August 26, you can get a $25 Bonus on MacBooks valued at $250+.
You can also get deals when shopping for certified pre-owned items on Gazelle. Right now, you can get $50 Off iPad Pros and 10% Off Samsung Galaxy Devices.