Help Me Declutter/Organize Tapes

[MamaBearTeacher]

I am doing some major decluttering and everything is going well. One thing that stumps me is that we have a whole bunch of entertainment stuff - VHS tapes, DVDs, Cds, Vinyl records and ugh!, a ton of tapes.

 

1. The VHS tapes are mostly children's movies which we watch a lot and I have them in a stack of flat boxes in the middle of the basement. It is not ideal but I can't think of what else to do with them. We don't have a lot of DVDs and they are either with these in the same boxes or a few are upstairs near the TV.

 

2. We have a ton of CDs (maybe over 400). Most are DHs collection from before kids that really only he likes and spent a lot on. He downsized a bit a few years ago and says he will try to downsize again but I don't expect it will be a lot. These are currently housed at a far corner of the basement in a glass-doored cabinet along with some paperback books. This is also not ideal. The cabinet is overflowing and CDs fall every time you open it. I am hoping that if DH downsizes and I move some of the paperbacks upstairs and into boxes it will make the cabinet manageable. The paperbacks are really all ones that we want to keep. We already downsized a few times. Still, they are not books that we are currently reading or will read in the near future so I don't want to bring them up.

 

We also have many classical music CDs which we have for the children and listen to occasionally. And we have a sizeable collection of children's music CDs which we really like. They are housed upstairs in the bottom of our TV cabinet behind a door that is broken and has to be tied up so that we can't open it often. I have taken a bunch of these out of their cases and have them in a little case so I can have easy access to them and then I rotate every six months or so. I don't like the idea of getting rid of the cases and doing this to all the CDs.

 

3. The vinyl records are all from DHs teens and early twenties. Some of them are nice like The Beatles, others I have never heard. We don't listen to them. They are all in one chest. I hate to tell DH to get rid of them. He says he would get rid of them, except the ones that he thinks might be collector's items. I don't know if that would help because then we would still need to store them in the chest and we could not use the chest for something else. The chest is big and could be used well for something if it were empty. This is 2012. Should we be keeping vinyl records?

 

4. The tapes - We have decluttered these in the past but still have many!

We have 30-40? children's tapes with good music and stories. We listen to them regularly. I don't know what to do so that I have easy access to them and they are neat and organized. They are currently all over the house. I could collect them but I don't know what to do with them.

 

We have a bunch of tapes of music DH and I like a lot. We have decluttered in the past and I can't see us throwing much more out but .... they are very cluttering. They are currently stacked in cardboard boxes in the basement.

 

DH has a bunch of homemade tapes (maybe 150) that he will probably never throw out. They were stored in cardboard boxes and plastic trays but he uses them regularly and can be found all over the place like the floor and the kitchen cabinets. What to do? What to do?

 

Other Challenges:

 

1. Our two oldest boys have severe special needs and behavior problems. Nothing can be stored within their grasp without being completely destroyed. Lower cabinet space has either been broken or is full with something else. Upper cabinet space is very limited given that we have to use it to store everything we need on a daily basis. They don't have access to the basement and that is why we use it for storage so much. They love music and we like to expose them to a lot so that is partly why we are keeping so much.

 

2. Our basement is unfinished though we might finish it in a year or so.

 

3. DH and I are very busy taking care of the children's special needs and behavior problems. As a result we are very behind the times. We have heard of iPods but don't have one and the process of buying one, figuring out how it works with the computer and how to download the music and then play it and solve any problems that happen along the way .... I can put it on my 'To Do' List but it won't happen for a while. We still have a couple of tape players but it's true they might break sometime soon.

 

Any advice or ideas? Sorry this was so long.

[MamaBearTeacher]

Anybody, any ideas? :bigear:

[A.Balaban]

I have some ideas.

 

With the vinyl records, does your DH have a record player in good working condition? If yes, tell him to go through and inspect the records, and listen to them. A quick Google check will tell him if they are worth anything. Remember, an item is only worth what someone will pay for. You see a lot of vinyl records at Good Will selling for $0.97 because most simply aren't worth anything. We use a couple vinyl records as 'wall decor' - if DH finds one that he really likes you can get him a frame for it.

 

But to be honest, DH's vinyl records have been in storage for nearly 3 years now. He has over 400 of them. When we go through the storage unit, we will be getting rid of most of them. If your DH/you does not listen to them, then do not keep them. You said yourself that the chest could be used for something else, so that sounds like it is time to bite the bullet and say good-bye to the vinyl records.

 

CDs should go in a binder or in an organizer. It sounds like the current system is taking up too much space. Something like this sounds like it would work perfectly. You would need 2-3. TO label the binder, cut a piece of paper and write "classical CDs" and then cover in packing tape. Organize your CDs in alphabetical order inside the binder, and if you are really nifty, type up the list of artists/cds in that binder for quick reference. That one is 11" x 11.5" and 3" wide. It could easily be kept on a bookshelf.

 

When you talk about tapes... you mean the old audiocasette tapes?

 

I would consider getting these converted to CD as they would be easier to store on a CD, would take up less room, and easier to access.

 

One thing you could do is throw everything in a big box, and as people in your family use the tapes, convert them to CD, after a month whatever hasn't been taken out of the box gets donated or thrown away.

 

About your sons, I am sorry that sounds very challenging. I would consider adding shelving above their reach (if that is an option) or wall-mounting CD-racks to keep items out of their reach. Downsizing is hard on anyone, so take your time.

 

About the iPod, let me tell you it is a big "process" (which can also be used as an excuse!) my DH has a collection of CDs. When I first moved in, they were just in a pile on the floor "waiting to be put on computer". I bought a rack for them. Nearly two years later they are still "waiting to be put on computer" I would not focus on the iPod right now and focus on getting rid of or organizing what you do have so it is easier to put away and clean up.

 

Good luck!! :)

[MamaBearTeacher]

Thanks Ashley! This is extremely helpful. I did not even know that you could convert audio tapes to CD. Where could I get this done?

[Running the race]

I converted all my husband's LP's to digital format on our hard drive. I borrowed a USB turntable from a friend.

 

I converted all our VHS to digital format on a hard drive. I borrowed another inexpensive device from a friend. I think it was for a MAC, though.

 

We did this AFTER going through and deciding which ones to convert.

 

My dh is a classical musician. We have hundreds and hundreds of CDS. Even if he puts them on Itunes, he still insists on keeping them. I've given up on that battle.

 

I still have a small bag of cassettes to convert. I haven't researched how to do that yet.

[MamaBearTeacher]

Thanks! How long does this take to do?

[Running the race]

Thanks! How long does this take to do?

 

If you are talking to me, it was last summer's project. We had to convert them in real time. I would start one and then go do something while it was recording.

[A.Balaban]

Thanks Ashley! This is extremely helpful. I did not even know that you could convert audio tapes to CD. Where could I get this done?

 

I did a quick Google, and it appears you could do it at home for cheap, but as Running the Race said, it would have to be done real time.

 

For an audiocasette, my DH said you basically purchase an item that you put the tape in the device, and then the device plugs into the computer. You play the item and it records onto your computer. (probably in mp3 format) From there, you can burn it onto a CD. DH found an item real quick on Amazon here.

 

You can also convert vinyl to CD, VHS to DVD, etc. though it might be more trouble than you need. You would also need software on your computer to record, and to burn a CD.

 

I don't know where you could go to get this done- I would look in the yellow pages for a music, multimedia, video productions, or audio store. Look in yellow pages under video transfer services. I think it would be more cost-effective to do it yourself or find a friend who might be willing to help you out.

[MamaBearTeacher]

Thanks!

[LaxMom]

I did a quick Google, and it appears you could do it at home for cheap, but as Running the Race said, it would have to be done real time.

 

For an audiocasette, my DH said you basically purchase an item that you put the tape in the device, and then the device plugs into the computer. You play the item and it records onto your computer. (probably in mp3 format) From there, you can burn it onto a CD. DH found an item real quick on Amazon here.

 

You can also convert vinyl to CD, VHS to DVD, etc. though it might be more trouble than you need. You would also need software on your computer to record, and to burn a CD.

 

I don't know where you could go to get this done- I would look in the yellow pages for a music, multimedia, video productions, or audio store. Look in yellow pages under video transfer services. I think it would be more cost-effective to do it yourself or find a friend who might be willing to help you out.

 

:iagree: everything can be converted to digital. The cassette converters are cheap, iTunes and Windows Media Player are free. You can import all of your CDs to either of those.

 

The LP converter would be more expensive, but I'm sure there are places that ret them or will convert them for you.

[sbgrace]

We put all our CD's on the computer. Then we had a hard drive crash. Back up if you go that route!

 

I had no clue you could convert cassettes to digital. I'm thrilled to know that! We're swimming in story cassettes picked up when libraries purge them. They are too good to get rid of but I dislike having them cluttering the place.

[A.Balaban]

Back up if you go that route!

 

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

I have lost all my music several times due to hard drive failures. :glare: I gave up after DS was born and just listen to the radio. :P