Don’t throw away your old TV before you read this

This story is part of 12 days of advicehelping you get the most out of your technology, home, and health during the holiday season.

Maybe you were lucky enough to get a new TV as a gift this holiday season. Or maybe you gave yourself the gift of a big screen TV. Either way, don’t throw away your old TV. Sure, it’s temporary to throw your old screen in the trash, but it’s not a great idea. I mean, you can if you want to, but there are better options.

For example, you prefer most cities Recycle your old electronics. Just hauling your old TV to a landfill is a waste. Depending on the age of the TV, it can contain toxic metals like mercury. What should you do instead? There are a lot of options, especially if it still works. The most obvious is to move it to another room, but I’m going to assume you’ve already thought about that room, especially if you have a file new tv to replace it.

Fortunately, many of the options for getting rid of an old TV cost you nothing, other than maybe a little bit of your time. Here’s what to do. For more, check if Your old phone can be repurposed into a wireless mouse or a security camera.

Before doing anything else, clear the data

No matter what you plan to do with your TV, make sure of it Sign out of all of your broadcast accounts. Then go one step forward and Do a factory reset, which you can find buried in the user menu. Someone is clearly there Download your Netflix for free It is only a problem if your old TV is a smart tv, But clearing passwords and personal information is a A good habit to deal with any of your old electronic devices.

Try selling on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace (if it’s worth anything)

While selling a TV may seem as straightforward as moving it to another room, the details are less obvious.

First of all, you need a local TV pickup. No matter how good your TV is, even if you have the original box, it probably won’t survive the trip. Modern TVs are very fragile. Now the seller has to deal with a broken TV and you have to give the buyer his money back.

Even if you sell them locally, the same problem applies. Inevitably the buyer will appear to get 65 inch TV In a 1990 Honda Civic and I’m asking you to help stuff it in the back. If you are getting rid of a large TV, be sure to specify its dimensions and weight in the advertisement.

Read more: 5 reasons why you should use Facebook Marketplace instead of Craigslist

And that’s if you can sell it. Used TVs are depreciating rapidly, in part because new TVs are getting cheaper and cheaper. That TV you spent $2,000 on? Maybe you can get 200 bucks. Check out “Is Your TV Worth Anything?” section at the bottom.

Instead, just list them for free if the person chooses them. This is a win for everyone.

Donate your TV to charity

The easiest option is to donate it to a local charity, and preferably have volunteers come pick it up.

There’s also a Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers, or other used retailer. You will need to bring the TV to one of their locations. Check their website to see if they will accept your TV type and size. For example, they probably won’t take an old thing rear projection tv Because most people don’t want them.

Also contact your local library or public schools. Donations are always needed by many, although a 20-year-old TV may not be what they are looking for.

Give your TV (back) to Best Buy

Best Buy will take Your used electronics. Not just TVs, but phones, tablets, old batteries, and even cables. Again, you’ll need to bring the TV to your nearest Best Buy, but since it doesn’t matter if it’s still working, the amount of care required drops off sharply. You’ll also get Best Buy points, which you can combine with $5 for $5 worth of candy at checkout.

Larger TVs will incur a $25 fee, which seems reasonable considering it takes such a bulky thing off your hands.

If you buy a new TV and install it for $40 He will pull out the old one. If you haven’t purchased a new TV from Best Buy, He will come to your house and take it for $200.

Have your TV professionally recycled

Some cities and local jurisdictions offer television recycling, either at a recycling center or as part of your regular curbside drive. Contact your local government for details.

There are a number of organizations that will help recycle your electronic devices, including televisions. scan the Environmental Protection Agency page for more information. MRM Recycling also has a page To help you select options in your area.

A number of manufacturers have their own programs, or partner with companies that do. scan the Electronics Recovery Alliance page for more information. Keep in mind that just because a manufacturer has software, it doesn’t mean there will be a delivery location near you. For example, LG’s closest drop-off point to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States, is more than 500 miles away.

If you’re now thinking of all the small electronics you have in your home that you can recycle, check this out A guide to free recycling of phones, laptops, batteries and cameras.

Sidewalk or garage sale

Depending on where you live, you can let your neighbors handle it. I hesitate even to mention this because if you live in an area where people will take things out on the sidewalk, you probably know this. And if you didn’t know, it’s not a great look if you leave your trash on the sidewalk for days or weeks. So your mileage may vary on this.

A yard or garage sale is another option. Again, easier than pulling it apart yourself.

Is your TV really worth anything?

Most people remember what they paid for the TV and assume it’s still worth something years after they bought it. this is not true. Televisions have become very inexpensive, and there isn’t much of a market for used televisions these days, especially if the television wasn’t very expensive to begin with.

While there are some exceptions, here are some general rules:

It might be worth something if:

• It’s high-end TV from the last five years or so
• It’s an OLED TV, except perhaps for the older models
• greater than 65 inches
• It’s a CRT (in very specific situations, see below)

It’s probably not worth much if:

• It was a budget, or even a mid-range LCD
• She is more than 10 years old
• it’s a plasma
• It’s an early smart TV (unless streaming apps work)
• It’s an old TV (CRT)

It is definitely not worth anything if:

• It is rear projection television
• It’s a CRT RPTV (heed this tip: lift with your knees, not your back)
• Does not contain HDMI

Now, there are exceptions to these rules. You may be able to find an assembler for your 500lb RCA console TV. Perhaps an archaeologist is doing a project on early flat screen televisions and finds your mint Fujitsu a prime candidate for his thesis.

early televisions HDMI versions such as 1.4 Not useless, but it has fewer uses. They may not play nice with the talk broadcast devices or gaming devices.

There is a specific situation where a CRT can be valuable. Retro gamers Prefer early video game consoles to be played on CRTs, and hard to find for obvious reasons. However, they don’t look just like any CRT, and if you have one of those bulky ones from any era, it might be more trouble than it’s worth to just get it out of your house. And forget about shipping.

If the CRT contains a component (Red, green and blue plus two for audio), or even S-Video input, that’s promising. If it does not contain at least a compound (Yellow, plus red and white for sound), it probably won’t sell as much.

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In addition to covering television and other showcasing techniques, Geoff does the photo tours in the Great museums and sites around the worldIncluding nuclear submarinesAnd the huge aircraft carriersAnd the Medieval castlesepic Road trips of 10,000 miles, and more. paying off technology trips For all his travels and adventures.

wrote a A bestselling science fiction novel about city-sized submarines, along with A.J sequel. You can follow his adventures Instagram so is it YouTube channel.