3 Simple Steps to Get Rid of Electronics

published 1 December 2014

Step 1

After the holidays is a good time to clear your home of unwanted smartphones, computers, video game consoles and other tech products. You can sell them on sites such as Gazelle.com, uSell.com and BuyMyTronics.com. Shipping is free. You will receive a check, gift card or deposit to your PayPal account. Best Buy offers gift cards in exchange for usable electronics. It also recycles unusable devices (including TVs) free. With Nextworth.com, you can take your devices to one of its partner stores, including Target, and get store credit.

Declutter Your Life

Step 2

If you’d rather donate your old tech gadgets, you can give your cell phone to a victim of domestic violence through Verizon’s HopeLine program or support troops overseas at CellPhonesforSoldiers.com. The National Cristina Foundation will connect you with local nonprofits that will take your computer and tech accessories. And through Dell‘s Reconnect program you can take computer equipment to a Goodwill location.

Step 3

Before you get rid of your tech gear, erase any personal data. “Deauthorize” computers that use digital rights management software (for example, products connected to iTunes, which limits some files to five devices). You should also “disassociate” your Apple ID from any device in iTunes. To delete personal data from a smartphone, reset to the factory settings and erase the SD card. For a computer, you’ll need software that erases data, such as the free Active@ KillDisk.

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The payoff

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Mark was the editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine from July 2017 to June 2023. Prior to becoming editor, he was the Money and Living sections editor and, before that, the automotive writer. He has also been editor of Kiplinger.com as well as the magazine's managing editor, assistant managing editor and chief copy editor. Mark has also served as president of the Washington Automotive Press Association. In 1990 he was nominated for a National Magazine Award. Mark earned a B.A. from University of Virginia and an M.A. in Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Mark lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, and they spend as much time as possible in their Glen Arbor, Mich., vacation home.