Get rid of old electronics, clear space on your phone and computer, manage your passwords and email inbox, and much more.
By Melanie Pinola
Here’s what to do with old portable devices, mobile phones and cables you no longer need. And how to organize what you do use, including your email inbox.
Get rid of old electronics
Follow this step-by-step guide to save what you need, delete the rest, and recycle your equipment.
Gather and order electronic devices
The first step to taking control of the devices you don’t want is to gather them in a comfortable but out-of-sight place, where you can work on the project little by little.
Next, divide them into two categories.
Devices that do not contain personal data, such as keyboards, headphones, and monitors, can go in boxes ready to sell, donate, or recycle.
The second group is for objects that may contain important files, such as laptops, phones, and CDs. In most cases, you’ll want to copy and then delete those files. (Read the following instructions). But if you don’t mind recovering the data and just want to make sure sensitive data is wiped, you can try a free service that will take care of the devices and wipe the data, in which case, skip to “Sell, donate or recycle.” below.
Backup and empty old phones
Photos, contacts, and messages from your old phone may already be copied to your new one. But you can do it again to be sure.
– Android phones: Go into Settings, press the search icon and type “backup”. Follow the instructions and wait 24 hours to make sure everything has been copied. If your phone has an SD card for additional storage, insert it into your computer’s built-in SD card reader, or an external reader, which costs about $10 from brands like Kingston and SanDisk.
– iPhones: One option is to back up to iCloud, but you may have to pay a monthly fee to get enough storage space. (Go into Settings, tap your name> iCloud Backup.) Or connect the phone to the computer with a cable. On a Mac, open Finder and click iPhone. Then click General> “Back up all iPhone data to this Mac”. On a Windows computer, open iTunes, then click the iPhone button> Summary> Back Up Now.
Next, erase the data on the phone. If you have a SIM card, take it out and destroy it (a pair of scissors should work). Look for “reset” in Settings.
Clean the memory of a laptop or desktop computer
This process may take a while. If you’re having trouble – for example, the device won’t turn on – or you’d rather get help, contact an electronics repair shop. For example, Best Buy’s Geek Squad data backup service starts at $100.
Are you ready to do it yourself? A quick and easy backup method is to copy the files to an external hard drive. A 2 terabyte drive should be more than enough, and then you can use it as extra storage with your current computer. Well-known brands like Seagate and Western Digital offer them for about $60. Connect the drive to your old computer with a USB cable, then use File Explorer in Windows or Finder on your Mac to copy the files you want to the drive.
It then permanently erases all personal data from the laptop. This requires a series of steps, which vary depending on the type and age of the computer. Learn how to erase personal data from a computer.
Shreds old CDs, DVDs and floppy disks
Still have a stack of 3.5-inch floppy disks in your desk drawer? You can buy a cheap reader to copy the files to your computer or just see what’s inside. A floppy drive on Amazon costs about $20; one of DVDs, about $25.
Once you have the files on your computer, make outdated discs unreadable: scratch a CD or DVD, and cut the disc into a floppy disk. Then add the scraps to your electronics recycling pile.
Sell, donate or recycle
The time has finally come to get your old and dusty gadgets out of the house.
Sell. Redemption programs will give you a quote for items like PCs and phones, a free shipping label, and cash or a gift card upon receipt. Options include Amazon, Apple and Best Buy. BuyBackWorld and Gazelle promise to erase all your personal data.
Mrs. Check with a local charity or visit WorldComputerExchange.org, which distributes technology to schools and programs around the world. Dell Reconnect works with Goodwill; accept items in any state and promise to delete your data.
Recycle. Do not throw electronic devices in the trash. Recycling helps conserve resources and keep toxic chemicals out of the environment. Your local recycling center may accept e-waste. Or visit Earth911.com to find other options near where you live.
Create more space on your devices
Over time, your phone and laptop may start to tell you that they’re running out of space, especially if you’ve saved a lot of photos and videos. Here’s how to free up space on your devices.
Free up space on your computer
Delete apps you don’t use. The first step is to remove old applications, which can take up a lot of hard drive space. Maybe you’re not even using the most space-hogging ones.
– Mac: Open Finder and go to the Applications folder. Select the app, drag it to the Trash, or right-click (or Control-click) and choose File> Move to Trash. Next, right-click on the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.
–Windows: Go to Settings. Then select Apps> Apps & features. Find the app you want to remove and select More> Uninstall.
Remove duplicates. Identical copies of files are not only a waste of space, but also confusing when you don’t know which file to open. Here’s an easy way to find and remove those duplicates.
– Mac: Open Finder and search for “(1)” in quotes.
–Windows: In Windows File Explorer, search by file name: “*(1)*”.
Use the built-in utilities. These tools will recommend other ways to save space.
– Mac: Click the Apple icon, then System Settings> General> Storage.
–Windows: Look for the app called Disk Cleanup, or a feature called Storage Sense in Start> Settings> System> Storage.
Tidy up your desktop and downloads folder
Having lots of files on your desk is like having papers all over the table: It can be hard to find what you need and stressful to look at. Your Downloads folder can also be just as messy.
Delete files on your desktop that you no longer need, like that PDF invitation for an event from a while ago, as well as shortcuts to applications that you don’t need.
Next, move the files you want to keep to the corresponding subfolder of the main Documents folder, or create a new subfolder if necessary.
Now open the Downloads folder and scroll through the list to identify any files you want to keep, such as downloaded bank statements. Move them to the appropriate folders in Documents.
Everything else, including the installation files (.dmg on Mac, .exe on Windows), can be thrown in the trash.
Illustration: Joseph Carrington
Free up storage space on your phone
Quickly clean an Android phone. You can remove unused apps, duplicate photos, junk files, and more with the Files by Google app. Download it from the Play Store if you don’t already have it installed. In the app, tap Clean at the bottom. You can then choose the types of files and apps you want to remove with just a few clicks.
Delete apps you don’t use on an iPhone. Go to Settings> General> iPhone Storage to see a color-coded bar graph showing your storage usage. Below, click the recommendations that iOS will present to you, such as turning on “Download Unused Apps,” which removes apps but retains user data in case you want to use them in the future. You will also see on this screen the apps that are installed on your phone and their size. Tap the ones you want to delete.
Optimize photos and videos. Photos and videos usually take up the most storage space. Photo optimization stores the full-resolution versions in the cloud and leaves the smaller versions on the phone.
– On an Android phone: Enter the Google Photos settings and select “Free up space”.
– On an iPhone: Go to Settings> Photos and activate “Optimize iPhone storage”. Now you will have more space… for more photos and videos.
Organize your digital accounts
Life online brings certain headaches, like ever-changing passwords and an overflowing inbox. Here are solutions for those annoyances.
Manage your passwords
Have you clicked on the link “Forgot your password?” in the last few months? Having to reset your password for not remembering it is not a good idea. For your security and to make logging into your accounts as easy as possible, we recommend that you use a password manager, which generates and saves long, unique passwords for all of your online accounts. (One thing you should never do is reuse the same password on multiple sites, which is a serious security risk.) In CR’s tests, 1Password (starting at $36/year) came out on top for its balance of privacy, security, and ease of use. Dashlane and Keeper offer free and paid options.
Once you start using a password manager, you will have to remember only one password: the one you use to access all your stored access keys. Create a long (at least 16 characters), unique and easy to remember. You can use a series of random words separated by hyphens or spaces. You can write it in a notebook that you have well kept at home.
close old accounts
Many of us have long-forgotten accounts on merchants, apps, media sites, and more. This increases the chances of your data being misused or stolen. To find old accounts to close, look for emails with phrases like “welcome to” and “confirm your email.” To avoid scams phishingPlease do not click on the links in these emails. Instead, visit the company’s website in a new browser tab.
Illustration: Joseph Carrington
Empty your inbox
An inbox ne of hundreds, if not thousands, of read and unread emails is distracting and can be a source of stress. You could archive everything, but the emails will take up space and could cost you money if you go over the account’s free storage limit. See how to delete emails in bulk, even hundreds at a time.
Stop receiving spam emails
Once you empty your marketing email inbox, you don’t want it to fill up again quickly.
Sellers offer you a way to stop receiving their messages. A convenient tactic for gathering many of them in one place is to search your inbox for common marketing phrases like “today only” (only today), “while supplies last” (while supplies last), “limited time” ( limited time), “coupon” (coupon) and even “privacy policy” (privacy policy) and “edit your preferences” (edit your preferences).
Then, in the search results, open each email and click the Unsubscribe link next to the email sender’s name, if available. Or scroll to the bottom of the email to find the Unsubscribe link and unsubscribe from the mailing list.
Repeat the process with each sender and enjoy deleting the messages as you go.
Editor’s note: This article was also published in the July 2023 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2023, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with the advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works with consumers to create a fair, safe, and healthy world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2023, Consumer Reports, Inc.