6 cable, cords, and adapters that are still surprisingly useful - and I never throw away

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. There's a long-running joke that some of us who live and work with gadgets have accumulated too much tech detritus. We have boxes of old cables and adapters that should have been tossed many moons ago, but we hold on to these things like life preservers because "they'll be useful… one day." Sure, it's been a long time since anyone needed a VGA-to-HDMI adapter, but -- and hear me out on this one -- what if my Aunti

Seriously, though, I'm going through a phase of minimization in my life, and while I'm still a long way away from achieving Feng Shui enlightenment, I have been getting rid of a lot of stuff. And one collection under consideration is cables, adapters, and dongles. Also: This Bluetti power station with wheels has spoiled the way I charge my tools and devices But while I furiously load stuff into boxes to send off so the seagulls at my local recycling center can deal with them, I'm aware that there's a selection of cords and adapters that I need to keep. Not for that one-in-a-million request from a cat sitter, but because they continue to be useful despite being functionally obsolete. Of course, just because something is old doesn't mean it's useless. As I go through boxes and drawers of stuff, I'm holding onto some things. It's a small proportion of the overall bulk, but it's stuff that's still important, or at least still might be needed. The experts told us that USB-C connectivity would make everything better; one cable and charger for everything. But you'd be surprised how many gadgets with a USB-C port won't charge when a USB-C-to-USB-C cable is attached to a USB-C charger. That issue often occurs because the gadgets lack the circuitry to activate the charger. Also: These MagSafe wireless chargers are so much better than cords - and they're on sale The biggest clue to the problem is that the item ships with a USB-A-to-USB-C cable. Another indicator that something's wrong is that nothing happens when you connect the device to the charging cable for your smartphone.

Key points

• Seriously, though, I'm going through a phase of minimization in my life, and while I'm still a long way away from achieving Feng Shui enlightenment, I have been getting rid of a lot of stuff.
• And one collection under consideration is cables, adapters, and dongles.
• Also: This Bluetti power station with wheels has spoiled the way I charge my tools and devices But while I furiously load stuff into boxes to send off so the seagulls at my local recycling center c…
• Not for that one-in-a-million request from a cat sitter, but because they continue to be useful despite being functionally obsolete.
• Of course, just because something is old doesn't mean it's useless.