Being a gadget freak, I usually upgrade before things become defunct, so I pass the old gadgets to my daughter who never throws anything away. Therefore I sometimes, in a pinch will borrow an old device from her if my newer one dies. If they truly die, I often "tinker" with them to see what I can learn. Usually I learn that I shouldn't tinker.
My wife never prunes my gadgets, just makes fun of them until one solves a problem for her. If I die before she does, she'll have a huge garage sale. If she goes first, I'll have a horse sale. Luckily I know several of her horse buddies.