Having a 4 and 5 year old in the house has caused our battery consumption to grow exponentially because of all the toys and gadgets. Where out family used to remove, replace and toss old batteries, we've adjusted to a remove, replace and evaluate approach.
It seems that some devices require a battery that puts out a very high level of wattage where other devices require less wattage. Here's a rough list I've built, with the most demanding devices at the top and the most forgiving at the bottom
Electronics devices with no motors or lights
Devices with motors or lights
Remote controls
Mechanical clocks
Flash lights
So, when we pull the AA batteries from the Wii remotes, they don't go into the garbage. Instead they go into a "second chance" bin. When we have a remote control, clock, or flash light that needs new batteries, we always get them from the second chance pile.
We're gradually switching to rechargeable batteries now, so this problem will eventually become moot.
One last note. Don't combine fresh and old batteries in a device. It can lead to battery acid being released and we know that leads to extra work. And who wants to do extra work?
