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4 In 10 Of Us Are Experiencing 'Extreme Gadget Obesity'

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My drawers are full of old gadgets. I have old MP3 players, mobile phones, digital cameras, plus a variety of old flash drives and charger cords. Mostly, I just can’t be bothered to dispose of them properly. I know I’m not supposed to just throw them away, and for some items, I know I need to strip them of files or photos before I try to sell or recycle them. And in the end, I just haven’t taken the time. So my digital clutter continues to grow.

I am not alone in this. Four out of 10 Americans will store unused electronic devices for at least two years, according to a survey by used electronics marketplace uSell.com. They have termed this “Extreme Gadget Obesity.” (This might be my favorite new term.) And while 93% of smartphone users say they'd like to sell their gadgets, only 39% of them follow through.

“I think there’s this huge fear factor,” says Darla DeMorrow, a professional organizer in Wayne, PA. “People are afraid that if they get rid of it, they’re going to need it next week for sure. Literally every week I have a little bag in my car of things I know I can easily recycle that people would otherwise hang on to.”

Interestingly, uSell’s data suggests that men and women who successfully shed their old electronic devices do so for different reasons. Men ditch old gadgets because they know they will lose value over time, while women have a strong desire to clean out home clutter.

No matter what your motivation, getting digital clutter out of the house can be a freeing (and profitable) enterprise. Here’s what you should know:

You can get cash. If you have items that are less than three years old, consider selling on a site like uSell, Gazelle or NextWorth. Today uSell, for instance, is offering $96.64 for a Verizon 32GB iPhone 5 in good condition. “Currently uSell accepts about 500 different phone models, both working and damaged,” says uSell COO Nik Ramen. “The average user can sell his device in less than two minutes.”

It’s not just about phones. Many of the buy-back or resell sites also accept old iPads, tablets, iPods, video games, and game consoles.

You can also recycle them. For older items with no value, your best bet is Best Buy. “They have a nationwide program where they will take in and recycle almost anything electronic,” DeMorrow says. Depending on your state, that could include old TVs and monitors, rechargeable batteries, cameras and camcorders, old car GPS systems, and computers, among other things. (Visit BestBuy.com for details.) Your local city or township might also have a drop-off spot for old electronics or periodic collection days.

You may be able to give to charity. Some groups take in old electronics and repair them for reuse or recycle them if they can’t be refurbished. “I know there’s one charity in my area called Team Children that takes in old computers and refurbishes them,” DeMorrow says.

Data inertia is your enemy. One of the biggest hurdles of selling or recycling electronics is the fear of leaving personal data or photos behind. DeMorrow recommends using a product like Picture Keeper to find all the photos on a hard drive before trashing it. “It’s a flash drive with specified software that is designed only to go and retrieve those pictures from a hard drive,” she says. “It literally collects them. It’s pretty slick.” For a computer, remove the hard drive before recycling it—and destroy it. (There is no reliable way to remove all the data from your old hard drive.)

Google is your friend. Not sure where to start? Google your product and the word “resell” or “recycle” and see what pops up. Medela, for instance, recently started recycling old Medela breast pumps. It’s also a helpful resource if you’re unsure of how to erase the data from your old smartphone before you sell or recycle it—a quick search will lead you to step-by-step directions.

It’s a sunk cost. Many people have trouble offloading an old gadget simply because they spent so much money on it originally. Digital cameras are a great example. “Nobody wants them because everyone has a better digital camera on their phone than the one you have in your hand,” DeMorrow says. “Keeping it longer doesn’t make it cheaper.” If you aren’t using it, and it doesn’t have any resell value, you’re just holding onto a big electronic paperweight. Out it goes.

 

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