I’ve moved jobs a few times in the last few years, and have accumulated quite a bit of tech…junk

We’re talking too many water bottles, socks that dont fit, luggage tag holders, etc

I’m sure I’m not the only one with the “box of unused tech swag” and throwing it all away feels like a waste.

Has anyone found a good way to put all this to use?

I usually just give it to someone who needs it. It's amazing how even a “useless” item can become useful in the right hands.

No. They are by definition useless.

When I start at a company, I ask if there's a swag opt-out, and if they don't offer one I lobby for it. When I get swag I didn't request or want, I refuse the package or ship it back.

I'm happy to accept shirts or hats when I'm in a visibly customer-facing role or for an event, but the rest of the swag is pure and instant waste, and it makes me like the company less. I get why much of it is done the way it's done (minimum order sizes, quantity discounts, contract reqs, as comp bonuses thrown in with customer/event swag orders) but I don't want that shit in my house.

Before I learned my lesson and stopped accepting swag (except t-shirts which are always useful), I had a similar accumulation. Eventually, I just donated it all to the local equivalent of Goodwill.

I was given a bunch of swag when I started my current job, and just left it in the corner of my cube. When I move on, I'll leave it behind right where it is.

I am selective in what I grab. When I see something, I run through a list of end destinations: My desk, my home, my wife, my kids, neighbor kids. Otherwise pass. Well unless its a bottle of water. But I do like toys I can use to relax my brain at work.

If I'm not using it, I usually give it away. The only things I've kept from conferences/events that I've attended are a couple of metal water bottles, a flash drive or three, and a bottle opener.

> throwing it all away feels like a waste.

Swag is waste anyway. If you give it away, the only difference is that somebody else will throw it away (and you may feel better).

I usually give them to my kids.

For clothing, hats, etc I dedicate them to painting/yard work/etc throwaway clothes. They're usually made of the cheapest fabrics anyway.

Most of my tech swag is backpacks and coffee mugs. I have a closet with a stack of unused backpacks I am not willing to give away. I am still using an Orbitz branded backpack from a decade ago.

I’ve given some of the water bottles to my nephews. I was never going to use them, and now it looks they get a lot of use. They seem to be their go-to water bottles now.

Surely the era of plastic water bottles should come to an end?

If it's a great swag item from a unicorn that you were at early enough to feel special about, you could frame it and put it up on the wall to look back fondly on.

Throw it away, and don't collect free things in the future. Pay for things you want or need.

Buy nothing groups, curb alerts, thrift stores.

what is the point of swag anyway, why do companies waste money on these useless items?

Try to sell it on craigslist?