In the wake of the holidays and with New Year's resolve (temporarily) strong, I'm thinking it's time to get rid of some stuff. Clothes? I'm not a good enough sewer to make new stuff, so I just donate 'em. Posters from middle school? Depending on my level of shame, I look around for the biggest sources of angst and hand them down, or toss 'em in the recycle bin while Tech Deck's and those stretchy animal wristbands wonder if they're next. Now, what about electronics? Phones, tablets, computers, even CDs. They take up space that I absolutely cannot afford when I'm living in this shoebox. I could recycle them, but I paid good money. I don't want to just throw them out. So here's everything I know about repurposing electronics.
1. Sell them.
Admittedly this is not that creative, but it is probably the most practical option for college students. However, unless you're selling something you bought very recently, do not expect to get any more than a quarter of what you spent. Even recently bought items depreciate a fair amount just because someone (me or you) bought them.
eBay has always been a popular option, and it's not a bad one. You can even send your stuff to eBay and let them sell it for you, then collect the money. Be warned, eBay takes a large cut, and selling anything but the latest gadgets is so hard that it may not be worth it in the end. "I got $2 for my whole CD collection!" just sounds sad. There's good stuff in there. Everyone else has no taste.
Another option offered by places like Best Buy and Gamestop is trading in old electronics for some money or store credit. This is by far the easiest method since all you have to do is bring your stuff and they tell you what they'll give you for it. However, there are some limitations. These places only buy certain things from you, and if you're trying to sell something they don't want, there's nothing you can do to convince them. The biggest limitation is the money you get. Recently, I myself went into Gamestop and traded in about $800 worth of old equipment and games. I got $84.50 for all that, and honestly I was surprised it was that much. Retail stores have no motivation to give you a cent more than the minimum your stuff is worth. Personally, I didn't mind because I just wanted it gone, but that kind of price might be saddening for some people. So there's one more thing you can do.
Craigslist is probably the best option for college towns. It is free, and Craigslist doesn't take a cut for most things. The downside is that, unlike eBay or a retail store, you do everything yourself. There's taking pictures, listing the item, haggling about price, and actually exchanging it for money. However, I know if I would have listed that same equipment on Craigslist, I could have gotten rid of all of it and gotten more money for it.
2. Make a smart mirror.
This is a really cool one. I'm working on this project myself. The idea is to use a kind of two-way mirror with an old screen on one side, and your face on the other. The mirror functions just like any other, but the screen can display information for you, like weather, time, upcoming events, etc. You can see all this while you brush your teeth! There are lots of different levels of complexity you can do with a smart mirror. The simplest is using an old or cheap tablet, while the most extreme option is making the mirror voice or touch activated. I especially like this project because of how hard old monitors and tablets are to sell off. Everyone wants the latest and greatest, not old stuff.
3. Make all sorts of cool art with CDs.
After my Gamestop adventure, I was left with a few items that the store wouldn't buy. Without a console, the leftover games are even more useless to me than before, so I started looking for fun options. Turns out, making things out of old CDs is a pretty big thing. Most of the art revolves around cutting the CDs up and making mosaic patterns. These patterns can go on anything, from birdbaths to backsplashes.
One option that doesn't involve cutting the CD's is to make a funky lamp. It may not fit in with everyone's style, but it's definitely striking.
4. Turn an old computer into a server.
This is one that some people think is obvious, but a large majority have no idea what this is or how easy it can be. Do you like watching things like movies, shows, or Netflix? How about listening to great music? A media server may streamline all that for you. Here is a great guide on how to set up a server. It is long, but trust me, it is not hard at all. A server is actually a great option for anyone living communally, the bigger the better. Frat and Sorority houses can do a lot with servers like making important documents accessible to the whole house or getting a movie ready for a movie right.
5. Play the most expensive game of Jenga you can imagine.
Want to talk about high-stakes? If you can gather some friends (already doing well) and you all happen so have some old phones, stack 'em up! They're really not useful anymore, and there's a certain satisfaction playing with hundred dollar pieces. After the game, you can take a hammer to them for a little extra catharsis before the new semester.
