As you can imagine, my house is pretty organized. There is a place for everything and everything fits somewhere. And I keep on top of the maintenance and regularly reevaluate and purge what no longer fits into my life. But a few months ago, I really started thinking about what I own and I decided I’m ready for change in my life, ready for something new and I’m done with so much of what I have. I’m done thinking about how it used to fit into my life or that maybe it will again someday. So as a challenge to myself, I decided to do this work and document it for you so you could see how even an organizer struggles with the same things you do!
Day One — DVDs and CDs: I needed to start with something easy so I picked these two items (or I thought they’d be easy).
My CD Collection — I have hundreds and hundreds of CDs! I love music! But guess what? I cannot remember the last time I listened to one!!! All of my music is uploaded onto my computer and that music is backed up on an external hard drive and in the cloud (I love Carbonite; ask me about it!). Why was I saving all of these, for so many years? They were in books so I had at least eliminated the bulk of the plastic cases, but they were still a lot to store. And they had no function anymore, no purpose to me. That said and all the valid reasons for getting rid of them…it wasn’t easy. But I did it!!! They are gone and have been donated!
The DVDs — How many of you watch your DVD’s? I don’t really watch mine often. With having cable, some premium channels, Netflix streaming, Amazon Prime and the occasional Netflix DVD plan, who has time for DVDs? But as I stared at them and started to sort and put them into my donate pile, I had so many second thoughts. Mainly, “I LOVE THIS MOVIE!” So I compromised. I got rid of a bag of them and I put the rest in a book like the CDs were in. I have save my absolute favorites and donated ones that were impulse buys or not the type of movie you’d watch over and over. Note, this photo already has movies removed from it….I get so excited and I forget to take pictures. Here is the after:
I also want to mention that I had three VHS tapes that were family videos and other keepsakes. Because the tape quality degrades over time, they take a lot more space and who wants to still keep a VHS player around? (I have one that is DVD and VHS combo and now I will be parting with it!), I sent them to Scan Digital to be digitized. For a local option in Santa Barbara, check out DAC Video. (I’ve worked with both, ask me about it!) Part of the organizing process is the purging and the reworking of your storage systems, but another big part is the follow-through of all the little projects and to-do list items that pop up along the way. All segments of the process produce positive benefits and feelings, but it’s completing those projects that really seal the deal!
Stay tuned and Happy Organizing!
Hi Keri
Love your tips and ideas on organizing, thank you! You’re right, understanding everyone struggles with making changes makes it easier to step up and tackle a project or two. Please tell me more about Carbonite. I have hundreds of CDs and would love to hear some options on either how to store them for use efficiently or upload them to a dependable storage option. I have some of my CD library on iTunes and am very disappointed with how difficult it is to access my music from my various devices.
Thanks again!
Mona
Hi Mona —
I’m so glad you found my post helpful and inspirational! If you’d like to email me or call me, I’d love to give you more detail about Carbonite and I think it would be easier to communicate. Go to my website and my info is on the “contact” page, http://www.kmdorganizing.com But to give you a brief description, Carbonite is a service to backup your computer. So everything is archived for me in case my computer crashes or I get a new one. It is for that and peace of mind, not a music sharing or playing service (which we can also talk about!). Thank you! Keri
You are brave…I have not listened to my CDʻs in years but not ready to get rid of. And they all arenʻt in carbonate yet. Then thereʻs the DVDs and all of my beautiful platters that I never use. I love them and canʻt part with them.
I had been thinking about it for soooo long! It took me some time to get there. And who knows, I may be sorry someday as they really didn’t take up that much physical space. But what was the point of keeping them (once all uploaded and backed up)?
You saw that I kept some DVDs and parted with some. It was fine for me, for now. And I reduced the space they took up.
When it comes to things you love, be sure they currently bring you joy. And if so, keep them. If there is a storage problem or you simply have too many, that you don’t use, then reconsider.
This is what is working for me and where I am currently at in my life, in my home, with my stuff. It’s okay that it’s not the same for you. But I encourage you to find what isn’t working for you and let that go!
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