When I was little, we learned how the coconut tree can be used from top to bottom with not one bit of waste. For example, the leaves can be made into mats, the coconut shell into ladles, the trunk into a bridge, the husk into brushes (for cleaning), the coconut flesh and water for drinking or pressed into oil. This made me a huge fan of re-purposing and re-using material even though I’m not a particularly ‘green’ person.

These days, electronic waste is a huge problem. They can be toxic so you can’t just throw them away. Making matters worse, electronics go obsolete so quickly. So how else can one use these older but still good gadgets? Here are 10 Ways I can think of.

1. Turn old handhelds into portable ebook readers for everyone in the family. We covered this before.
2. Re-format old computer hard drives, pop them into external cases to use as storage drives.
3. Purchase older model phones for a low price then purchase a plan for the phone. This way, you don’t have to commit to a 2 year contract or pay hefty amounts for dropping that contract.
4. Turn an old laptop into a kitchen command center. This idea is kinda sketchy still, but I believe if you re-format and re-install Windows afresh (or go Linux!), install something like Google Desktop or Yahoo Widgets. Then add Widgets and Gadgets like Sticky Notes, Weather, Lists, Calendars and what nots – whatever you need. Make a space for the laptop where it can be seen and accessed easily. Start adding notes for each family member on it. You might want to lay a soft plastic over the keyboard so you can use it to quickly enter information even when you get your hands a little dirty. Hmmm. I wonder if clingwrap will work. If you try it, let us know how that turns out.
5. Put your old computer speakers in the bathroom. We did this one since my husband and I love to listen to something (webinars, music etc) in the bathroom, we put a set of un-used computer speakers there, plugged one end of the cord into the speakers and the other into the mp3 player/phone/etc.
6. Turn an old radio into iPod or MP3 speakers.
7. Turn an old Nokia cell phone into an awesome multi-use gadget the kids will love.
8. Make your own DVR from an old computer (or laptop). You might want to try going Linux and installing MythTV.
9. Control iRobot with an old PalmPilot.
10. Use an old PalmPilot as a remote control.

Finally, you could always gut the insides and turn them into a flower box Do you have any ideas? How are you repurposing your old gadgets?