Trash Day Tuesday: Electronics

Yaye, Trash Day Tuesday is back! I love this series. I love getting rid of items that no longer serve my needs!

Ok, let's get this post rolling.

Let's start where we always start- reevaluating the electronics that you own. As many electronics/electrically operated items are plugged in and used, you are going to have to take an inventory of everything that you use. I mean it- go into every room and write down EVERYTHING you have, its frequency of use, and your plan for it. Dig all your electronics out. If you are brave enough tackle everything you store in your basement, garage, and attic. Here's my inventory:

This might seem crazy to you but being this thorough helps you be more honest
about your needs. I decided to omit the hallways (we have no electronics there)
and the kitchen (I want to tackle the kitchen another day). On a side note, isn't
it crazy how many electronics we have?! I know this is all for a family of four
but somehow it still seems ridiculous to me, especially if you keep in mind that
some of these items have many components. 

Once you have sorted out the things to remove from your house, the work gets MUCH easier. If you are feeling generous consider donating your working electronics to Goodwill, Oxfam, the Salvation Army, etc.  Whatever doesn't work or doesn't work well can be recycled responsibly through ANY electronic manufacturer or dealer. Seriously, free of cost to you, the company HAS to provide a way for you to recycle your electronics. I believe this is the case for most US states- I don't know if any similar laws exist internationally but I am sure there are some sort of organizations that deal with recycling e-waste. It gets better, most manufactures/dealers offer incentives to customers for taking part in such recycling programs. In my personal experience Apple, Verizon, and Best Buy all have trade-in-programs where you get monetary credit for items that they determine have value to them.** If they don't offer money for your products they will at least take the product off your hands and recycle it. If they don't accept your particular electronic, give 1800RECYCLING a call/Google search. In total, I recycled 11 items which is awesome even though mom and dad wouldn't let me toss everything that I wanted to toss. All about compromise I guess. :)

How many unused electronics did you have? Were you able to take advantage of the various trade-in-programs?

** Please note that the company determines the value of your product. Not everything you hand in will be worth money. Everything but the Canon camera was worth absolutely nothing, which I didn't mind- more important to me to get these unused/broken items out of my house and recycled responsibly. Make sure you delete all personal or sensitive information from your electronics- I had to smash my hark drives with a hammer because my computers were lemons and didn't turn on to be cleared.