How many people have an old laptop hanging about with nowhere to go? Phones yes, but laptops? A few years ago, I went through my electronics and cables and was able to get rid of a lot, but I found things like laptops harder to pass on quickly. You have to log on and remove the data; after all, it has to be at factory setting before someone else gets it. Well, finally, I got to tackle it along with a few hard drives. Oh, that was a happy day when they all went!

In past blogs, I have chronicled my university hardships including the time when my laptop was stolen and I subsequently was gifted a laptop from a friend. This laptop was old, I was told, first it belonged to a student who then gave it to my friend’s mum before coming to me. I was grateful for the kindness and used it to my full advantage at the time, as I was busy running an event plus studying a certificate and a post graduate degree. It was slow, past its prime, but it did the job. I remember before I put it in my storage unit when I relocated back overseas, balancing it on a fully-laden storage trolley to back it up last minute.

Cut to present day. I can’t find that back up. Of course. I want to get rid of a computer that is now 11 years old. But it has a password to enter the system. I don’t remember the password – I’m sure it’s written somewhere in my stuff but where? This is proving a major hurdle. I take it to a laptop repair centre, one I visited years ago. Conveniently they specialise in Toshiba and this is a Toshiba. They tell me this laptop is so old there is no restoration or useful purpose for it anymore. But what of the data on it, I ask. I can’t get around the password issue. I’m perplexed.

The guy flips the laptop over and removes the hard drive manually. Huh. He puts it in a case for me to buy and use to plug it in to any computer USB port. He says the computer is officially scrap now. Hmm, ok. Good. But could it be sent to some form of e-waste, I ask. I don’t want to just send it to landfill.

His response is just what I hope for. He donates all his hardware to a men’s shed for them to play with and dismantle for parts. Whoop whoop! Hooray! Responsible decluttering once again!