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Another consequence of these longer loans is that I can sometimes get left with some kit which is never recalled. I don’t have the gall to sell it on, so it gets given away to friends or passed on to charities who do sell it, but for a good cause.

Now clearly people reading this aren’t going to be in the position of having review kit laying around but the principle of doing something useful with surplus gadgets – and other stuff – is just as relevant.

I am sure you’ve all got at least one piece of old kit hanging around that you’ve replaced with something newer, better, shinier, or more appropriate to your changing needs. If the old kit is sitting in a cupboard doing nothing, then consider giving it away. As a Christmas gift, or as a supplement to the Christmas giving, or just as a gift not tied to any particular time.

You’d be surprised how something you might think of as past its best and not especially suitable for anything, could actually make a big difference to somebody else. Three examples – all of things I’ve bought for my own use and passed on to others after upgrading.

My old TV. When the new one came along (brighter, bigger, better of course) there was no real need for the old one so it sat under a blanket in the spare room for a while doing nothing at all apart from gathering dust and doubling up as a makeshift coffee table. My neighbour’s TV broke, and now she is, er, caretaker, of my old one. I doubt it will ever live in my house again, and I’m fine with that.

An old personal CD player. It is a top-notch brand and it still plays very well but has been in the cupboard for quite a few years since I moved to ripping every piece of music I buy and shoving it onto a portable player. In a couple of weeks this device, redundant technology as far as I am concerned, it is going to find a new lease of life with someone who doesn’t know what ripping is, but has a fair few CDs and no personal player.

A hard drive based music player. It was the first one I bought, and at the time 20GB seemed like plenty of storage, but it is not enough for my current music collection. I’ve upgraded, and no longer need the 20GB player. It has already gone to somebody who can get a lot of pleasure from it.

I’m sure you can find similar bits of kit that could be used rather than just sitting gathering dust in a cupboard. Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you have outgrown something someone else won’t find it useful.

And if you really can’t think of anyone who would like your kit, look for a Freecycle website that covers your local area and dispose of it that way. I am sure someone will take what you have on offer and put it to good use.

Of course there are some things I just can’t let go. I have not used my Sony MiniDisc player all year (and indeed didn’t use it in 2005 either), but can’t seem to bear to part with it. That day may come, but it’s not here yet. Well, we are all allowed our little foibles.

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