It starts innocently enough. You buy a new smartphone or tablet, and your older model ends up in a drawer. Fast forward a few years, and the drawer is filled with gadgets that no longer seem relevant.

Instead of adding them to the landfill, here are some ideas to reuse your old tech.

智能手机

Clear out all the storage and use it for one purpose. There are apps that will transform your smartphone into a universal remote for your TV, 闹钟, 一个手电筒, 安全摄像头, 为你的汽车安装行车记录仪, or even a webcam for virtual meetings.

平板电脑或笔记本电脑

Even if they are slow, you can still squeeze some life out of them. 例如, prop up a tablet or laptop in your kitchen with your favorite recipes or create a slide show with pictures of staging ideas for your clients. Other ideas are to convert them into a digital weather station, 家庭日历, 或者专门的电子阅读器.

电脑

Use an older computer as a digital filing cabinet to keep all your business 合同 and paperwork. You can also utilize it for a retro gaming station for classic games or as a media server to store your music, 照片, 视频放在一个地方.

然而, if you have more devices than you have uses, you can always donate them to nearby schools or nonprofits. If your tech is past its prime and can no longer hold a charge, check with the tech companies to see if they have a program set up to recycle old gadgets.