Recycling computers and printers can be as easy as bringing them to major retailers such as Best Buy, Office Depot and ...

Those old computer rooms were absorbed into larger living spaces and turned into pantries, guest rooms, or (if the square footage allowed) home offices.

At the same time, dealing with an old, sluggish computer is a frustrating experience. If apps and websites are taking ages to load, it can seriously impact your productivity.

If you’d rather keep your old computer in service a little longer, you've got more options than you might think. These options vary in terms of the time and money needed.

If you're planning on getting rid of an old computer, make sure you remove the hard drive first and smash it up with a hammer, a British consumer group advised on Thursday.

Even when an old computer won’t start up anymore, the hard drive is still in there. From financial data to private photos, that drive could hold all sorts of private information.