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Homeless Wires?

BladesP9 asks: "I'm in the process of moving. As such, I have stumbled upon no less than five boxes of wires and various parts. Everything from PS2, SCSI, FireWire, USB and God knows what. Having forgotten all about this stuff I know I will never be needing any of this again as long as I live. Not to mention the roughly 100 boxes of 10 pack 5.25 inch floppy discs. I could just throw all this stuff away, but I am feeling somewhat guilty about that. Is there anywhere I should look to donating this stuff? It doesn't seem like the kind of thing 'Goodwill' would really get use of, but I hate to throw away perfectly good hardware and media if someone could make use of it. I'm looking for suggestions. My wife has given me until the end of the week to find a home for it or I have to take it to the dump."

8 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Good Will Computer Works. by 486Hawk · · Score: 2, Informative

    Well if you are in the Austin area there is Good Will Computer Works

  2. At the risk of sounding like a broken record by conform · · Score: 4, Informative

    Free Geek has a list of links to organizations, which (like Free Geek itself) promote computer reuse and recycling. The stuff you've got really doesn't belong in a dump, even if it's reached the point of being of no use to anyone.

    If you're not near any of the places listed, please consider shipping your stuff to one of them. Most are nonprofits, which means you can compensate for some of your cost with a tax deduction, and you can feel good about knowing that your old crap is either being given to people who wouldn't otherwise have access to it, or is being taken apart and disposed of properly, rather than taking up space in a landfill and potentially leaching nasty chemicals (mmm, heavy metals).

  3. Freecycle... by Atlantis-Rising · · Score: 3, Informative

    is always a good bet.

    --
    "It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." -Peak Performance
  4. A few places by mopslik · · Score: 4, Informative
  5. Try Freecycle by nile_list · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://freecycle.org/

    Kind of like Ebay! Except you get a warm, fuzzy feeling instead of money =)

    --
    Gnash Gnash Gnash
  6. the dump may not be such a bad idea by wcb4 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not sure about the dump in your locality, but where I live, just before you enter the dump per se, there is a steel building. There you will usually find hundreds of items that people think are too valuable to throw away, but they have no need for... I dropped off a few old computer chasis and an older printer, monitor and some cables one Friday afternoon. Found something else Saturday morning, and by the time I got back there, the stuff I had dropped off Friday was gone to a good home. See if there is something simialr in your area. If not, talk to someone about starting something like it

    --
    I reject your reality ... and substitute my own.
  7. Re:Extra stuff? by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 4, Informative

    Join freecycle and offer to give it away.

  8. The Local Hamfest by N3Bruce · · Score: 2, Informative

    Check the ARRL for listings of Hamfests in your region. Offer the whole box or two up for a few bucks, or sell the stuff piecemeal for 25 or 50 cents a pop. Even if there isn't a hamfest in the area for a month or two, say you will sell your stuff there. You might be able to buy some time that way. The hamfest will also give you the opportunity to acquire new junk as well, so be prepared to defend any items that follow you home, or keep them in the trunk of your car until the coast is clear.