🛒 Little-known shipping secret: Did you know if you turn an Amazon shipping bag inside out, there’s a strip you can pull to reseal it for returns? Now stop being lazy and send back that itchy sweater.
Ask Kim: What do I do with old tech?
We moved and have a box filled with old flip phones and non-working calculators. I would rather not just dump them in the local landfill. Do you know anyone who recycles or uses the material in the devices?
— Harvey in Tucson
Glad you’re not just tossing them in the trash! Earth911 is a great site to find recycling centers for different types of products. Type in what you’ve got (do one search for calculators and one for phones) and your ZIP code to find a nearby drop-off.
Options generally include city or town programs, retailers and private recycling companies. I even found a place in Phoenix called Treasures 4 Teachers, Inc. that takes a ton of old stuff to use in classrooms. Neat!
Weekend project: 5 simple ways to make your home safer
When building a home security system, every little bit helps. You can make significant changes, like setting up outdoor cameras with facial recognition. This helps you spot familiar faces crossing your street every day.
It's illegal to throw this everyday item away
Did you know that certain devices can’t be thrown in the regular trash or recycling bin? Here’s what you can’t toss away, in just one minute.
What percent of e-waste — old computers, phones and other tech — gets recycled? Is it … A.) 50%, B.) 90%, C.) 20% or D.) 10%?
$3 million in prizes
For ideas to help astronauts recycle on the moon. It costs almost $100,000 to send just one pound to the moon, so NASA is looking for new ways to turn waste into fabrics and building materials. I’m challenging all my engineer lunar-tics to put on your thinking caps and enter the LunaRecycle Challenge.
10 things that are illegal to throw away — How to safely dispose of them instead
We’ve long been conditioned to separate our recyclables from regular trash and sort plastics, paper and more. But some items don’t belong in your recycle bin or your trashcan.
Many items you use every day have their own methods of safe disposal. Here are some everyday things and their proper way of disposal.
7 things you should never throw away (or you could be in legal trouble)
By now, we all know how to separate trash from recyclables.
But what about the other things we no longer need? The answer is no if you’re holding an old bottle of medication. Tap or click here to check if any of your meds have been recalled.
♻️ Manage the recycling: It’s up to you how long files stick around in your PC’s Recycle Bin before being wiped forever. Click System > Storage > Storage Sense to choose to delete them after one day, 60 days or never.
How to declutter and earn some extra cash this January
A brand-new year means one thing around here: a hard reset on everything in our lives. This includes our closet full of things we no longer use. New Year, new us.
Most of your used electronics and other gear shouldn’t just be thrown into the trash. After all, one person’s trash might make another person’s day. Tap or click here for a list of old tech worth big bucks.
9 brilliant things to do with that old cellphone you have lying around
Do you remember the days of mobile carriers upgrading your phone for free, or at least at a greatly reduced price? It typically happened every two years when you signed a new contract.
Unfortunately, those days are over and it couldn’t be worse timing. That’s because the latest and greatest smartphones can easily cost you over $1,000. Shelling out that kind of dough seems outrageous, especially if you only keep the gadget a short while before upgrading yet again. Which, believe me, happens a lot.