what is E-waste and technical clutter ?

11 Mar

For a variety of reasons it can be very hard to get rid of technological waste:

What if items still work? - I suggest you give it away to someone (or an organisation) that can use it.

What if it works but not with the most modern technology you have on your computer. - Please refer to the above solution.
What if it was an expensive and good machine seven years ago? - Unfortunately, today it is an outdated machine no one can do anything with.

In short, you are not gaining anything by holding onto digital clutter, it takes an enormous amount of space and effort to get rid of significant amounts of digital clutter. The easiest thing to do in regards to technology is the principle of one-in, one-out. This way you will stay up to date and will never have a massive cleanup to do.

However, one of the reasons we tend to procrastinate with disposing of e-waste is because of all the extra steps that we need to do before we can dispose of them.

There are a few small steps to keep in mind:

Make sure you get your hard drives wiped.
If you have big printers, make sure you wipe the hard drive in them as well as dispose of the ink accordingly.
Lastly bring the item, to the appropriate location. Councils across the globe are providing ways to dispose of electronic waste in a responsible manner.

Getting rid of e-Clutter is not the easiest step when Taking Charge and decluttering, it is however important if we want to get our space back. Maybe, have a look at your e-Clutter this week and give it away or dispose of it responsibly.