6 Ways to Recycle Your Old Gadgets

Waste not, want not, that’s how the old saying goes. With technology getting better and better, we always succumb to the gorgeous advertisements that lull us into buying newer and faster tech. Soon there’s a pile of unused gadgets lying there in your back room gathering dust. So instead of selling them to your local raddiwala, here’s a bunch of things you can do with them.

1. Old Laptop

This is one of the most common things lying around either because you’ve bought a new laptop, or your old laptop got busted up because of a broken screen or bad hard drive. Busted screens are the best, because the rest of the laptop works fine, all you need to do is connect to your HDTV and you have an insta Home Theatre PC (HTPC).

In case of broken hard drives, busted batteries and bad RAM, you can just replace them, refurbish the laptop by either transforming it into a photoframe if the laptop is old, or using it as a HTPC. You can also mount it in the kitchen for easy browsing access or entertainment while you cook.

2. Old Smartphone

While we have a booming market for second hand smartphones in India, there are times where you may have a second smartphone lying around. This tip is especially for those with Android touchscreen phones. They can do several things like use it as a wireless music streamer or wireless touch mouse. Another option can be as a keyboard for their HTPC.

One can also use it as a night time HUD projector in car by just placing it on dashboard and installing an app to show speed and GPS reflected off your screen. It can also be used as a GPS if you have a holder.

3. Old Amplifier

Out of the box home theatre systems, speakers and sound bars have rendered the old Hi-Fi sound amplifiers obsolete. However, if you do happen to have one of these retro babies from your dad’s heydays, throwing them out will be criminal.

If in working condition, you can get it serviced, especially those amazing vacuum tube amplifiers. You can even put in an old laptop into the housing, while keeping the lights and dials intact.

4. Old PC

If you have a PC complete with cabinet lying around, you can strip it for parts and repurpose it. Another thing would be to fill all the cabinet HDD housings with hard drives, both small and big, and let the PC act as a storage NAS. With the processor doing all the streaming.

5. Old Monitor

If you have one of those chunky CRTs, then it’s best to get rid of them. LCD monitors are slim, take less space. You can tack on a TV tuner box, or if it has got an HDMI, you can connect it to your cable box and use it as a second small TV in your bedroom or for your kids.

Alternatively, you can put it in your kitchen and connect it to your tablet or smartphone. Lastly, the most popular use is as a second display.

6. Old Tablet

Like a smartphone, there are lots of things you can do with an old tablet. You can mount a 7-inch tablet on your fridge and install apps for timers, photo slideshows, recipes, to-do lists and drawing.

These will help you jot down things to buy, make lists and use timer apps to warn you once your baked dish is ready. You can also use an old tablet in your car, just mount it on the backseat rest to keep the kids busy. If the tablet is slow, you can also use it as a photoframe.

If you have any suggestions or ideas you want to share about repurposing your old stuff or any of the items mentioned above do share it in the comments below. All the best. (toi)

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