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If you are like us you buy a lot of gadgets. Which means that you, like us, have a lot of old gadgets you no longer use filling drawers and cluttering closets. Sure you’ll sell the higher value ones on eBay — or think about selling them on eBay, maybe, possibly, someday — but often it doesn’t seem worth the hassle. Problem is, throwing out your old electronics isn’t a good option either, not for your wallet and not for the planet. (Do you know how long it takes a toxic battery to decompose in a landfill?)

Into this digital dilemma comes Second Rotation, a company that will buy your old cameras, computers and MP3 players and recycle them in an environmentally friendly fashion. Select the item you are selling from their website and answer a few simple questions about its condition to get the trade-in value. And then comes the really cool part: If you agree to the trade-in price you can print a shipping label off the Second Rotation website and ship your item to them for free! Once Second Rotation receives your package they’ll mail you a check or deposit your funds via PayPal. Now, if only there were a website that would so easily buy all our mismatching socks . . .

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This is one of the coolest sites on the web and so, by definition, it is one of our favorites. Learn how to add Bluetooth to your iPod, construct an electricity-producing wind generator from an old scanner, turn a calculator into a metal detector, create a hologram, make a wallet from duct tape and much much more. On the community-run Instructables people give and receive how-to advice on all manner of things, from quirky to practical. What’s great about it is the (usually) easy to follow instructions, with photos and/or video of each step. Check it out.

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