Reduce Your Family Room Electronics

2 comments

You know that gaggle of cords found under a quarter inch of dust behind the TV stand?  I don’t like to brag…but I don’t have that.  I mean, I have the blanket of dust, but not the cords.  And that’s because we cut our TV appliances in half.

That first picture, by the way, was my feeble attempt to potty train my eldest at, what ended up being, a year and a half before actual success.  And no, I don’t think my youngest is wearing pants in the second pic either.

In one afternoon, we decided to kill our cable and got rid of:

  • the cable box
  • the audio/video switch box
  • the stereo and speakers
  • any thoughts of getting a gaming system.  We’ve got two girls… so… fingers crossed on that one.

Included in the exodus were all the remotes and batteries required to operate them.  Less energy used, less waste to dispose off.  Not to mention all the time saved not watching House Hunters.  Sigh…I do miss House Hunters.  Now when I visit my parents, I binge-watch cable.

So now we still have the big tv and remote.  We may or may not replace them when they die.  We replaced the cable box with our laptops.  We still have the modem/wireless router combo that ties us to Comcast though.  Can’t wait for that relationship to end too.
If anyone is actually thinking about downsizing their entertainment center, you might be able to recycle your old electronics.  Well, first, I’d go to Craigslist with that stuff.  I’m not a communist after all.  But if you think they need “end-of-life asset management” (actual term!) then Google around your town to see if you have something like these guys we have in Albuquerque.

October 2, 2014

About Me

About Me

I’ve been passionate about combatting blind consumerism since 2008 and joined the Zero Waste movement by starting this blog in 2013, soon after my second child was born. I think it might have been trying to unwrap a toy or someone’s attempt to sell me a butt-wipe warmer that put me over the edge… read more

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2 Comments

  1. IronMike
    IronMike on October 4, 2014 at 12:55 pm

    We've sent old electronics and laptop batteries to BestBuy.

    As far as binge-watching cable, you could ask your parents or Dave's to let you Slingbox.

    I'm seriously considering not going back to sat TV or cable when we get back, as long as I can get the main channels via internet, along with House Hunters and crappy B movies on SciFi (I refuse to call them by their new "name").

    Reply
  2. zerowastemommy
    zerowastemommy on October 4, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    Oh Best Buy! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm still looking into their practices but surely that'll help a lot of folks that don't have access to a specialty recycler.

    Reply

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