You finally dug out all of your cassettes. It was fun going over them, revisiting those times in your life, and recalling all the memories attached to them. But what should you do with your old cassette collection now?
While keeping them seems nice, it isn’t really practical. When was the last time you saw a cassette player? Cassette tapes are mostly obsolete although the memories are not. So, what do you do with old cassette tapes?
Well, you could check out Legacybox’s options to help you digitize your cassettes. We can handle a variety of cassettes, including audio, compact, microcassettes, and VHS tapes. We will convert your cassettes into a digital format so that they will never break or degrade and they will always be in the same condition that they were when you sent them to us.
Once Legacybox gets the cassettes and does our digitizing magic on them, we will send them back. And that’s where the fun starts.
We have a few ideas for you if you’re interested in doing something after digitizing your cassette tapes.
6 Things You Can Do with Your Old Cassettes
1. Donate or Recycle
If you don’t want to throw them out, but trying to figure out what to do with old cassette tapes, sending them to the recycling center or donating them is bound to come up. After all, it’s better than sending them to the landfill.
Recycling cassettes is tricky though. Not all recycling centers accept them so call your local one to ask. Even if they don’t recycle cassettes, they may be able to direct you to a place that does.
Donating your cassettes may be a little easier. Depending on the contents of your cassettes, you might find that libraries, schools, or thrift stores may be interested in them. Your local historical society may also be interested.
Call or email these places and describe what you have. Include a photo if you can. See if they would be interested in having your cassettes. They may agree and then display the cassettes in an exhibit or digitally record the contents so that they can share them with others.
This type of early technology is a little piece of history that many people have forgotten. There is an entire generation of young people out there who don’t even know what a cassette tape is, much less how to access the content it contains. Donating your cassettes to your library or school can help them preserve a tiny corner of times past.
2. Sell Them
In your quest to figure out what to do with old audio cassette tapes, you might try selling them. Believe it or not, there’s actually an audience for that sort of thing. You can get a little bit of cash for them and surprisingly enough, there’s a pretty impressive demand for old cassettes.
Blank cassettes are useful for personal and business use. Many people use them for DIY projects that reuse cassettes in creative, useful ways. Rare cassettes in good condition may be worth something. Do a little research and see if the media is still being mass-produced. If not, you may have a hit on your hands. Popular music from yesteryear can fetch a nice price if you find the right buyer – and that may not be too difficult.
Some people are nostalgic or are collectors and there are more of them than you might think. If you want to find buyers for your cassettes, try sites like ebay or craigslist as well as your local thrift stores and local music shops that specialize in old vinyl records, reel-to-reel, old VHS tapes, old audio cassette tapes, and other vintage music and video products. If you can walk into a shop and find those items, that might be a good place to try to sell your own old cassettes.
3. Create Wall Art
Once you convert your old cassettes to digital media, there are plenty of creative ways to upcycle them. Turning them into wall art keeps them out of the landfill or recycle bin in a fun, eye-catching way.
Decorate your home with your old collection for some upcycled nostalgia. They give a great retro vibe and are great conversation starters. Turn your cassettes into a fun collage, picture frames, abstract art, music themed mural, or even a living wall succulent planter. The possibilities are truly endless.
4. Craft Clever Portable Storage
Cassette tapes are very portable and your crafts can be good ways to carry small items with you. Remove the tape part of your cassette to cleverly repurpose it as a business card holder or credit card wallet. Secure several cassettes together to make a very sassy, retro purse.
You can also use old cassettes as a case to hold your memory cards and USB keys to protect them as opposed to having them loose in your briefcase, pocket, or bag. Even the cassette cases can be repurposed into holders for small items or a handy phone stand.
You are only limited by your imagination – and even then, there are so many websites and videos online that are sure to get your creative juices flowing.
5. Turn Them Into Mini Planters
Mini planters made from cassette tapes have a fun, retro feel that works well in completely retro décor, contemporary style, industrial, or eclectic. They make fun focal points and add a pop of pop culture in unexpected places.
Succulents are all the rage right now because they are pretty hardy little plants that are low maintenance but are very pretty plants to have in your home. However, you can also use air ferns or other types of indoor greenery if you prefer.
There are so many options:
- Create a hanging planter
- A planter to sit on a table
- Make a stand from cassettes.
Carefully select your cassettes for optimal impact. How cool would it be to make a succulent planter from vintage Led Zeppelin tapes? Or how about some old Rolling Stones as a hanging planter?
What makes this idea really fun is that you get the initial impact when someone realizes you used cassette tapes to make a planter. Then when they get a little closer they see it’s some great artist from way back – sort of like a double whammy.
And a great conversation is born.
Music cassette planters also make great gifts. If you have a music lover on your gift-giving list, or someone who is a big fan of a certain artist, you could make their day with a thoughtful gift like this.
6. Make Fun Desktop Storage
Bring your love of music to work with you and add some personality to your office with some fun storage you can put on your desk. There are plenty of fun, creative projects you can do with your old cassettes that work for your work life.
Secure several cassettes together to make a pencil holder or a holder for your paper clips and binder clips. You can also make a phone holder. If you run your charger through the bottom you can create a funky charging station for your devices. Find a tutorial online that will show you how to do it. There are plenty out there.
A business card stand made from old cassettes can be a great icebreaker that you can sit on your desk. It sparks interest and can help to put people at ease.
Consider Legacybox for Your Digitizing Needs
As you try to figure out what to do with cassette tapes does not have to be as daunting as you might think. First, check out Legacybox’s digitizing services so you can have a high-quality digitized copy of the content on your cassettes. Then start exploring.
