As the Tech Guru and CEO of Senior Savvy, I educate thousands weekly on the tech skills they need to thrive in today’s digital world. I want to share my best upcycling tips with your viewers so they can make the most of what they’ve got! Below are some great ways to repurpose unused tech:

Use an old laptop as a second monitor – Old monitors can help you double up your viewing area. Depending on the model and software availability, old tablets and laptops can act as second monitors for your main PC. This can be a great way to increase your productivity, make multitasking easier, and come in handy when you need to reference documents or web pages while working on something else.

Transform an old tablet into a dynamic picture frame – Old tablets are perfectly suited to serve as digital picture frames. All you need to do is load up old pictures into the tablet’s native photo app, then simply set it to slideshow mode and make sure the screen sleep function is disabled. 

Refresh your older computer with Chrome OS Flex – With a modern operating system and extend their lifespan to reduce e-waste. Chrome OS Flex is a new cloud-first, fast, easy-to-manage, and secure Chrome OS for PCs and Macs. The OS is in early access mode, and you only need a USB drive to try it.

Repurpose an old phone as a security cam – Now that most smartphones have pretty solid cameras, it’s easier and more effective than ever to turn your old phone into a security camera or a baby monitor. Depending on the app you use, a phone cam can provide live remote streaming to your primary device, and in some cases, you can even have your footage saved to the cloud.

And if all else fails, donate the device to CellPhonesForSoldiers.com or use an online buy-back site such as BuyBackWorld.com and Gazelle.com. They give you a quote, and when you accept the offer, you ship your devices to them using a prepaid shipping label.