It’s amazing how much technology, gadgets, memory sticks, wires, and batteries we have these days. We accumulate more e-waste than we’re able to handle, so it’s good to get it under control.  Here are some strategies we can follow to help reduce the e-waste:

1. Organize what you have. If you don’t organize your gadgets, wires, connectors and DVDs, you”ll never really know what you have. The last thing you want is to buy something you think you need, only to find a duplicate buried in your cabinet.
2. Give away or donate your e-waste. If you don’t need a thing, donate it so someone else can use it. Donations are great for tax deductions; often the amount will be close to the value of the item if you tried to sell it. If something you have isn’t worth donating, maybe give your stuff away for free on sites like FreeCycle.
3. Reuse as often as possible. If you have parts and equipment that are still working, try repairing the electronic device before getting a new one. And if the device is beyond the point of being repaired, then recycle it.
4. Live in the cloud. There’s really no need to buy a large server or heavy-duty machines for either work or personal storage. Dropbox or Amazon’s AWS cloud are great for backing up and syncing your files across multiple devices, without having to invest in a server.
5. Educate yourself, and be a little afraid. Most electronic gadgets have toxic materials in them, so it is extremely important to dispose of them the right way. Educate yourself, your kids, and your friends. These toxins should push us to be more mindful of e-waste.