I live in New Orleans and I was so glad that I had digitized many of my important documents before Katrina hit. So many people lost their valuable photos, vital records, and mortgage information. Emergency preparedness should be an incentive for everyone to digitize important documents and photos, and store them somewhere safe, where they can be accessed no matter where you are. Great video, Melissa and Chad! Thank you!
***** the best place to store digitized receipts for the items in your home is at Know Your Stuff. It's free and helps you not only keep your receipts safe but it will also help you determine how much stuff and what it's worth for insurance purposes so you can ensure you are properly insured and is easily accessible from anywhere to help speed up insurance claims in the event of a disaster ( but hopefully that won't happen). www.knowyourstuff.org/iii/login.html?brand=iii .
***** Thanks Melissa. I love organization and went to Neat Receipts 5 years ago for all of my documents and receipts so no more file cabinet. I scan all my receipts and put them into categories so I can easily find them with a back up on their cloud and on my external hard drive. I also did the same thing with my CD's and all of that is on my iTunes account. I rarely buy a CD anymore. All of my photography is digital with a backup copy on an external hard drive. I am a scrapbooker and have been since 1993 and was happy when the scrapbook industry embraced digital scrapbooking. I use a program called My Memories to make my albums. I also have scanned in all instructions manuals to my computer this way I know that is the right book for my equipment. I have found that sometimes if you are looking up old equipment on the intranet, it is not quite the one that you bought, so before I trash these items, take the time to scan your manual and then you are good to go. It also helps when you go to sell it on eBay, you can give the person the correct instruction book. I love the digital life. Once you get the projects going and see the finish line, it is a breeze to maintain.
I haven't watched the video yet, but this seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of reliable backups. The definition of a backup is a separate copy of the digital data located somewhere other than the place of its origin. For example, if you take all your photos on a digital camera and copy them to your computer, you now have one copy of the photos on the camera's memory card and a second copy on your computer. If you safely store the memory card in the closet, you may consider that a "backup". If you erase and re-use the memory card, then you only have one copy on your computer. If (heaven forbid) your house burns down, you have no copies at all. If you spend a little money for an online backup solution for your computer, then your photos are safe from the house fire. Just a friendly reminder from someone who has lost too many gigabytes of digital memories to accidents, human error, and machine failure.
Love it! When I started doing this a couple of years ago it has released so much mental clutter. Plus, moving was so much easier without all of the extras! No packing and finding another place for it in the new home! I appreciate you so much! Have a great week!
Thank you! Fotos are my go-to with most things. After having a brain tumor removed I lost all of my memory for anything that happened about 4 months or earlier. (Wedding? Gone! Son's birth? Gone!) Since then I've had a really hard time letting ANYthing go. Memories are not forever and this video takes that into account! Thank you!
Super neat! I have digitized all my calculus notes that I will be needing in the future, all my mementos that I just can't find space for, and all my legal documents. I literally have only a small box I keep for my "I can't let these go just yet," items. I'll be looking into some nice digital albums for my parent's old Polaroid photos. Thanks Melissa for another awesome awesome video~! xoxo
@cleanmyspace Hi there, I am so thrilled to have come across this video! I have 25 years x 4 kids and a business worth of...STUFF. We are moving and I am going to digitize but am not feeling overly confident. Having said that, your video has helped tremendously. I am wondering though, given the speed of technology advancement and the date of the making of your video if you have any updated suggestions or if the process suggested with attached apps and storage ideas still stand?
Hi Melissa! I love you videos! I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with my partner and I need a storage solution for camping/outdoor gear. I currently have a cooler and bike pump just sitting in my bedroom as well as a tent and sleeping bag in my bedroom closet. Any ideas? Another thing I'm not sure what to do with is old textbooks from university. They're so heavy and I never use them, but they were so pricey so I'm hesitant to get rid of them.
My biggest challenge is the kids' artwork. They both are so proud of everything they do, and while I do discretely toss all of the one-scribble pieces or the multiples of "I just learned to write so-and-so's name so I'm going to write it on fifty pieces of paper" pieces, but I do love the pieces they make that are thoughtful and that they put time and effort into creating.
I caught that MUCH logo on the cd! Great advice. I love watching your videos before i start a cleaning project or decluttering task. Definitely motivates. Cleaning/ organizing is honestly a stress reliever for me, and people find it odd when i say its relaxing! People walk into my dorm or room not expecting it haha.
I watch your videos or listen to them while I am at work. they have become a big help to me however I am curious if you have all of these things in your schedule I would love to see you make a schedule for cleaning that maybe the rest of us can also follow and once again a Wave Kitchen cleaning video please and thank you
I recommend Fujitsu's sheetfed scanners. They're really good for scanning in stacks of documents and/or photos without having to do it one at a time. It saves a lot of time and effort.
Receipts! Always take a few pictures of your receipts with your smart phone if you think you might have to return the item. Most stores use “thermal paper” as receipt paper, and the ink fades fast, so there’s a chance when you go to return the item the physical receipt might not be useable. Just ask the cashier ahead of time to make sure that the original copy isn’t required to return the item or use your warranty :)
Man, I need to clear out my DVD collection. I have this little half-size book shelf that's cute as anything full of DVDs that I don't watch (some of which are probably available on Netflix or Amazon Prime, which I have) and books I won't ever read again, if I'm honest, and even if I wanted to, I have a great public library that I actually work at! So. That's my decluttering goal for today, I think. Melissa, you are so great :) I love the work you and Chad do.
I need (really truly and yes I've thought about this A LOT, for many years) to digitize my old uni notes. I have several boxes full of them and they are double-sided so scanning doesn't work.
I was thinking about maybe digitizing my old uni notes too... Did you digitize yours yet? Why would double-sided not work? You scan first 1 side, then the other, more time-consuming or expensive if someone does it, but still.. or did you write with a pen that bleeded through? My printer/scanner/photocopier has a setting to remove background from photocopies, I wonder if for scanning also.. or a program could remove 'noise' (more time-consuming, that) Some of my uni notes I wrote with pen, not sure if that would scan well..
There are also external hard drives that can be used as cloud drives as well. I love them \more private and you have the information and its not out there in the web
Digitalising photos was a pain! We have so many family photo books with some photos even before 1900! There's just so many (i want to save it all) and what's hard is that the kind of book the photos are put in prevents it from being removed because the photos were glued down so I have to hold the entire album while scanning. It's painful. So I go through 1 book every few months. Great video!
In that case, I would think it would be easier to take a pic of the pics, one by one. Assuming you have a good camera on your phone or good separate digital camera.
Great video melissa! Although, I thought I could do it but I'm struggling with the sentimental stuff. I've moved around so much that every piece of my childhood is really important. I can't get this idea out of my head that the physical thing is better than looking at a picture or scanned image of it. It's a really heavy box and I can't think of anywhere sensible to store it. Have you got any advice on how to sort this thinking out? Feel like I can't rid of any of it. With everything else I would be considered the opposite of a "hoarder"
Then you hold on to what you feel is important - no one can tell you what that is. The things that you feel tepid about are the ones that you can part ways with. I mean, what you found important a year ago may not be important to you now. I kept old letters from boyfriends for years...but when I recently looked at them I decided I could throw them away. Time will tell!
LOL Asking MM to "sort" this "thinking" out! Its a pun! The whole crux of the clutter matter! But the sentimental stuff is a special category! It touches deeply. I really liked M's reply - so compassionate which is what u needed! I ve seen it suggested that this is the stuff to highlight into your current space, to start with just a few pieces. Then also by seeing/touching these more often (instead of hiding them "out of sight out of mind") will let you "process" the attachment messages they have for you, then you will "know" it's time to move them on without regret. (I wonder if you still have that really heavy box?!)
I need to digitize old notebooks, or some pages or them. I have a few notebooks from acting classes or seminars I have taken over the years, and some notes within them are really useful to look at from time to time. But they take so much space! I have been putting it off for so long...
It's true - digitizing can help, or rendering the most important points from those notes and creating a Word document with them is something you could do, too...
WHOA on the instruction manuals - definitely download a copy from the 'net and save to your digital storage FIRST before assuming you can find that manual online! You'd be surprised by how many older manuals are lost to the web due to defunct tech support sites. Be safe instead of sorry!
Been doing this over the past few years, finally did it all this Christmas just gone. 300 DVD and blu-rays digitised on 2 external drives connected to my home theatre (I haven't time to maintain a home media server).
***** Thanks very much. It's incredibly convenient, and it means I can pack away the original disks and put them in storage. I did the same with my CD collection a few years ago.
This is very helpful! My April project is to minimize my photos. I could also take another round at my music, but I've already done a bit with that. Thanks for providing links to some of the items mentioned.
I just digitized some very old musical cds and found it to not be as hard parting ways with it as I thought! Now it's time to tackle those photos and negatives (yes, I've still got plenty of those)...
That was supposed to say photo books, not phonebooks... I don't store them online, I have them printed into coffee table books. They still take up less space than a regular old school photo album.
Hey Melissa! I recently moved into my own apartment with my bf and we've used your videos to make sure we did everything according to the books, and we are much more confident in our cleaning skills now! :) So thanks! But I have a question, how can I get the smell out of sneakers? It's my boyfriends, and we are talking serious stinkies, like only a man can make them stink, tmi I'm sorry! but do you have any tips? Thank you so much
I just started deep cleaning and de-cluttering my kitchen, I remove everything clean and toss what I don't need or give it away. I do it once a year, in the bedrooms I do it every season.
I didn't even think about digitizing!! I should digitize notes from old math classes and science class so then when I go on through the semesters I don't have piles of notebooks everywhere and trying to figure out what section or topic I'm looking for! I'm a Chem major wanting to be a dermatologist, so I have to take many math and science classes. So all my notes come in handy. I have a question about organizing a small closet. It is literally the size of a door with a little bit of depth. How do you get more space in there without using bins? All the closet organizing systems are way too big, and I live in a colonial home so my closet is very small. Plus I don't have an actual dresser, I use a few bins from my 9 cube book shelf too put extra stuff in. Also thank you for these videos! They have been really working to help me declutter my room and organize it. I have been feel lighter already! I have more to go, but I am going strong!
Kelsey Cate - you could do that - I kept all my high school notes for years, and after realizing I never looked at them, I tossed them all one day in one fell swoop. There's a good chance that as you progress in your studies, the formulas and theories you learned already will be basic enough that you won't need to review them again. That's at least what I found! Only keep the things you REALLY need! I wonder if you could look for a custom closet solution, like bringing someone in from California Closets, to see what they could do. Those closet storage systems that you buy at the store sometimes aren't made for such small spaces. Might be more than something you could buy in-store, but might be worth it given what space it would free up for you.
We recently had a death in our family, and one thing that was in great supply was photos! Literally hundreds. And the hardest part was trying to decide who got what! So instead of splitting, copying them one at a time, and going through a lengthy and possibly heartbreaking process, we opted for a photo scanning service. We researched a few online and for a reasonable fee we filled an entire box with: photos, home movies, negatives, old reel movies, etc. The company then digitized and created dvds for as many people as needed. It saved a lot of time and effort, and the best part is everyone got a copy!
I have year books from High school. Kinda want to get rid of. Not 100% there yet my kids want me to keep them. Any thoughts? Pics & videos too Tnx this was ver helpfull
For ANY goal where you see things being huge, dedicate a fraction to the project on a daily "morning schedule" basis. There's an old saying from my home town...in Africa...LOL..."How does a Pigmy eat an elephant? Bite by bite."
***** couldn't agree more - incremental changes to reach a goal is the way to go. AND there are many variations of that saying - I always heard 'How do you feed an elephant? One peanut at a time...'. I guess I heard the PG version!
For the past few weeks I've been digitizing our home movies which are on vhs tapes :) Last year, I digitized all of our family photos. Next up - anything on paper!
Walmart or other places that have machines that u can print and scan photos also have the option to digitalize if u dont have a flat bed scanner as well. ;) as always love the vids. So getting my clutter bug removal on a roll.
I need to digitize my art works... But it's so hard to part from it because of all the time and effort (and money spent on paint & canvas)! I also have too much books at home, maybe I'll digitize some of my favorite pages!
Just spotted a UK National Railcard at 06:34! :-) Thanks so much for your advice ***** and Melissa Maker - the sentimental items video has been a particularly hard one for me, but I really cannot wait until all my clutter has gone! :-) Greetings from your UK fan!
Hi, I liked this video and I must say I have quite some decluttering to do. I have university books and references that I would like to scan and degitalise but not certain which scanner is user friendly, not obnoxiously expensive and easy to store (small)
I like to upload DVD's and BD's on VUDU. A lot of modern movies come with a free digital version, either through VUDU or Ultraviolet. You can watch them on your smart tv, tablets, phones, or gaming devices and you can even download them to said devices to watch when you won't have internet access, like trips.
Hello Melissa and Chad, I love your videos :) I live in Germany and watch every video of you, because every topic you work on is prepared so well by you and is made so interesting....many times you make me think different (better) about things that need to be done, but can make more fun, as you always say.... Please continue with your work and - my personal wish- Melissa , please show more about your home and your daily routines and how you manage all the work in time... Thank you so much....I am telling every friend of mine tosubscribe to your channel :), Love and regards, Evi
I used to digitize my medical scan reports,prescriptions ... So that even if its gets damaged or spoiled...I still will have records of the medical history..for myself and my family.
We digitize all of our cds and dvds with Plex, but we store the original copies in a storage bin in the attic or get rid of the cases and keep them in a binder in storage
Leaving aside the morality of digitizing commercial entertainment products, I'd question the practicality. Anything which is stored in a cloud is vulnerable to anything which affects that cloud, be it a hacker attack or just a change in policy on the part of the service provider. If you store it on a local device then you still have storage issues, plus there is the risk of damage to the storage medium. Commercially-produced CDs and DVDs are massively more resilient than rewritable storage. My take is purge the ones you don't really watch and keep the ones you love. Totally agree with you on digitizing cassettes and family videos.
This is a great video Melissa. I want to try to do this for my family. I have so much paper and want to clear out the clutter. Space to store all this stuff is getting smaller and smaller. What about that Neat Receipt machine? I want to get rid of all my receipts. Is this a good machine to use and can I print out a receipt from there to use to return things?
Absolutely agree, at some point digitizing makes a lot of sense and gives you a LOT more space at home! I haven't tried it, but I am thinking it may be on my purchase list soon!
Aloha from Hawaii! I digitized all my favorite CD's & DVD's then donated them. I also did all my daughters baby shower, first birthday cards. Just keeping a few hard copy ones from beloved family members. I did all her artwork from pre-school till current. I also did her yearbooks as well as my husbands. I have 8mm films from small kid time that I am eventually gonna send in via Costco to have them transfer to a DVD or memory card. Now all I need to do is organize all my files on my Mac.
Organizing my digital music after finding myself at the gym with my phone but no iPod. Some songs won't convert to an Android-readable format. Any suggestions?
As much as I agree for documents we don't care about and that we don't legally need anymore, I think it is awfully sad for CDs or mementos. What about the texture/touch feeling? I am so glad that I still have my vinyl records from my childhood. They are collectors now. Everything can't be virtual... Soon, we will scan our husband, it will take less space :-) Just joking. I don't like to count on a Cloud or a computer to watch my memories. Since I've been doing digital photos, I don't have a true photo album anymore, and I find that pretty sad...
LOL - listen, I don't think it makes sense to do away with everything and that's not what I am proposing. I have kept several items which have meaning and the tangible aspect of them is really important to me. But to help reduce the clutter of some of the less important things, digitizing is a god way to go! Photo albums should exist, but for the special photos...not every photo ever taken. See the difference?
I perfectly understood what you meant in your video, and I hate clutter as you do. Though, I really need to work on that (lack of time to do so). I really do appreciate a lot your videos, they are very useful. I think it is a question of generation. I am older than you, and I can tell you that my sons, who are grown-ups now, especially love the "not so good" photos, those where we look slightly ridiculous. I am not saying that we must keep everything, I just think that what we consider "good" photos are not necessarily the ones which have the most success. You will see once you have grown-up kids. It is also very difficult to get rid of anything related to our children when they were small. But maybe it's just me, maybe I read too much in the things, it's possible. Anyway, thank you for your videos and for your answer.
I took my "valuable" LP's to music store to sell and they told me they were worth NOTHING anymore. I got $1 for a Wayne Newton LP that belonged to my husband from years ago. (We are old. lol) Janis Joplin was worth nothing. I was pretty stunned, but I let them go. I don't even own a record player anymore, anyway.
That's called a kitty who wanted attention...despite the fact that I was busy writing something....and I hadn't cut her nails in a long time, so when we were interacting, her claw caught my hand. She apologized.
Shoutout to whoever one of you bought that Smash cd from Offspring ages ago!! I have a few CDs, but they're all in cases (and I only have 1 big and 2 small ones), so I've only digitized part of my music collection. Movie wise, I only have Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and I'm holding on to those. Everything is is digitized, as someone who is still young and doesn't have documents, or pictures, so whenever I start having them, I know what to do with them :)
I actually made the decision last year to not but physical copies of movies or music anymore. I save a lot of space not buying them. Plus it's a lot quicker to find what I want to watch or listen to.
As sad as it may be, I think the time has come to downsize my CDs. I have a million but don't listen to anymore because of my iPod. But I'm not ready! hahaha Maybe I can start with a downsizing to a binder and ridding some of them.
Corey, maybe sometime when your family is together, you can take a family photo with your phone. Especially if you are dressed up or out somewhere where someone can take a pic of your whole family. My mom passed away very suddenly and young and we have no family photo together. It just takes a minute and will be worth it.
Cleanmyspace: i have video caseette movies very old movies and also music cassettes. How can I unclutter them ? Can I unload old movies and old music cassette?
If the law were TRULY concerned about copyright protection, where digitizing people’s works is concerned, Scribd wouldn’t exist and they wouldn’t be outright LYING about paying authors. So, now that my rant is complete, yep, I’m digitizing. I’m digitizing my books and disposing of them to free up w bookcase to store folded clothes on. I have 2 scanners with document feeders (one A3 size) and a shredder I’ve had for years that would make one wonder who even lives here, if they snooped my trash. This is a tiresome and long-winded project, which will take me months, however, I won’t have to do this again, at least as far as my books are concerned. I am digitizing manuals for equipment I still use - where there is no online digital version of also. One thing I might try, which might be motivating, is to digitize personal papers FIRST and organize them after they’ve been digitized, clearing up paper more quickly. Don’t know that will work though as, one can also create a digital mess that they have “0” interest in ever digging through, same as in real life. I will also have to begin reconsidering if I need to keep all of my 3 filing cabinets although, I could certainly convert them to clothing storage, along with the bookcase, storing items in the file drawers, in bins, Marie Kondo style.
Be very careful that you backup those digital files that are pictures of precious items. We made the mistake of not backing ours up and my husband lost pictures of items we donated to Goodwill that were precious to him :(
I want to digitize everything my mom doesn't want to throw away, and then throw it all away!! My mom hates to throw away anything... fortunately, her garage is nice and roomy. Unfortunately, no car will ever park there with all of her stuff!
I live in New Orleans and I was so glad that I had digitized many of my important documents before Katrina hit. So many people lost their valuable photos, vital records, and mortgage information. Emergency preparedness should be an incentive for everyone to digitize important documents and photos, and store them somewhere safe, where they can be accessed no matter where you are. Great video, Melissa and Chad! Thank you!
This video is all about digitizing! What do you need to digitize to help with your decluttering efforts?
***** the best place to store digitized receipts for the items in your home is at Know Your Stuff. It's free and helps you not only keep your receipts safe but it will also help you determine how much stuff and what it's worth for insurance purposes so you can ensure you are properly insured and is easily accessible from anywhere to help speed up insurance claims in the event of a disaster ( but hopefully that won't happen). www.knowyourstuff.org/iii/login.html?brand=iii .
***** Thanks Melissa. I love organization and went to Neat Receipts 5 years ago for all of my documents and receipts so no more file cabinet. I scan all my receipts and put them into categories so I can easily find them with a back up on their cloud and on my external hard drive. I also did the same thing with my CD's and all of that is on my iTunes account. I rarely buy a CD anymore. All of my photography is digital with a backup copy on an external hard drive. I am a scrapbooker and have been since 1993 and was happy when the scrapbook industry embraced digital scrapbooking. I use a program called My Memories to make my albums. I also have scanned in all instructions manuals to my computer this way I know that is the right book for my equipment. I have found that sometimes if you are looking up old equipment on the intranet, it is not quite the one that you bought, so before I trash these items, take the time to scan your manual and then you are good to go. It also helps when you go to sell it on eBay, you can give the person the correct instruction book. I love the digital life. Once you get the projects going and see the finish line, it is a breeze to maintain.
Cheryl Phillips that's helpful. Thanks! Adriane Davis Taylor I've been thinking about Neat Receipts. Good to know!
I haven't watched the video yet, but this seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of reliable backups. The definition of a backup is a separate copy of the digital data located somewhere other than the place of its origin. For example, if you take all your photos on a digital camera and copy them to your computer, you now have one copy of the photos on the camera's memory card and a second copy on your computer. If you safely store the memory card in the closet, you may consider that a "backup". If you erase and re-use the memory card, then you only have one copy on your computer. If (heaven forbid) your house burns down, you have no copies at all. If you spend a little money for an online backup solution for your computer, then your photos are safe from the house fire. Just a friendly reminder from someone who has lost too many gigabytes of digital memories to accidents, human error, and machine failure.
books I have too much
Love it! When I started doing this a couple of years ago it has released so much mental clutter. Plus, moving was so much easier without all of the extras! No packing and finding another place for it in the new home! I appreciate you so much! Have a great week!
Yes, it's a HUGE help with moving!
I spent the day yesterday sifting through old photos, it's amazing how many blurry/under exposed pictures I kept!
Thank you! Fotos are my go-to with most things. After having a brain tumor removed I lost all of my memory for anything that happened about 4 months or earlier. (Wedding? Gone! Son's birth? Gone!) Since then I've had a really hard time letting ANYthing go. Memories are not forever and this video takes that into account! Thank you!
Great tips, Melissa! You've been rocking the clutter-clearing videos. P.S. Love your shirt!
Whenever I hear someone mention photo books, I often think if you and the beautiful books you make for Carson.
Aww, thanks DoItOnaDime - looks like you've been doing some good work, too! Thanks so much!
It's the year 2020 and I'm just trying to conceive digitizing all of my stuff!
Wow, this video blew me away. Can't wait to get started on decluttering while maintaining the memories. Thanks!
Great - glad it helped!
can you do a new version of this video? and maybe tackle digital clutter too. :)
Super neat! I have digitized all my calculus notes that I will be needing in the future, all my mementos that I just can't find space for, and all my legal documents. I literally have only a small box I keep for my "I can't let these go just yet," items.
I'll be looking into some nice digital albums for my parent's old Polaroid photos.
Thanks Melissa for another awesome awesome video~!
xoxo
@cleanmyspace
Hi there, I am so thrilled to have come across this video! I have 25 years x 4 kids and a business worth of...STUFF. We are moving and I am going to digitize but am not feeling overly confident. Having said that, your video has helped tremendously. I am wondering though, given the speed of technology advancement and the date of the making of your video if you have any updated suggestions or if the process suggested with attached apps and storage ideas still stand?
You can scan in ur pics with ur scanner to ur computer/external hard drive
Hi Melissa! I love you videos! I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with my partner and I need a storage solution for camping/outdoor gear. I currently have a cooler and bike pump just sitting in my bedroom as well as a tent and sleeping bag in my bedroom closet. Any ideas?
Another thing I'm not sure what to do with is old textbooks from university. They're so heavy and I never use them, but they were so pricey so I'm hesitant to get rid of them.
My biggest challenge is the kids' artwork. They both are so proud of everything they do, and while I do discretely toss all of the one-scribble pieces or the multiples of "I just learned to write so-and-so's name so I'm going to write it on fifty pieces of paper" pieces, but I do love the pieces they make that are thoughtful and that they put time and effort into creating.
And those are the ones you should keep! Sounds like you are doing the right thing!
I caught that MUCH logo on the cd! Great advice. I love watching your videos before i start a cleaning project or decluttering task. Definitely motivates. Cleaning/ organizing is honestly a stress reliever for me, and people find it odd when i say its relaxing! People walk into my dorm or room not expecting it haha.
I watch your videos or listen to them while I am at work. they have become a big help to me however I am curious if you have all of these things in your schedule I would love to see you make a schedule for cleaning that maybe the rest of us can also follow and once again a Wave Kitchen cleaning video please and thank you
Needed this since I'm moving, I plan on doing it at my new destination. What about books? Boxed up so many. Any suggestions?
I recommend Fujitsu's sheetfed scanners. They're really good for scanning in stacks of documents and/or photos without having to do it one at a time. It saves a lot of time and effort.
Good to hear the recco! Thanks!
Receipts! Always take a few pictures of your receipts with your smart phone if you think you might have to return the item. Most stores use “thermal paper” as receipt paper, and the ink fades fast, so there’s a chance when you go to return the item the physical receipt might not be useable. Just ask the cashier ahead of time to make sure that the original copy isn’t required to return the item or use your warranty :)
Man, I need to clear out my DVD collection. I have this little half-size book shelf that's cute as anything full of DVDs that I don't watch (some of which are probably available on Netflix or Amazon Prime, which I have) and books I won't ever read again, if I'm honest, and even if I wanted to, I have a great public library that I actually work at! So. That's my decluttering goal for today, I think.
Melissa, you are so great :) I love the work you and Chad do.
Thanks Chris F. !!! And that's really what it comes down to, you just get honest about the stuff you have and whether or not you NEED it.
I need (really truly and yes I've thought about this A LOT, for many years) to digitize my old uni notes. I have several boxes full of them and they are double-sided so scanning doesn't work.
I was thinking about maybe digitizing my old uni notes too... Did you digitize yours yet? Why would double-sided not work? You scan first 1 side, then the other, more time-consuming or expensive if someone does it, but still.. or did you write with a pen that bleeded through? My printer/scanner/photocopier has a setting to remove background from photocopies, I wonder if for scanning also.. or a program could remove 'noise' (more time-consuming, that) Some of my uni notes I wrote with pen, not sure if that would scan well..
There are also external hard drives that can be used as cloud drives as well. I love them \more private and you have the information and its not out there in the web
Digitalising photos was a pain! We have so many family photo books with some photos even before 1900! There's just so many (i want to save it all) and what's hard is that the kind of book the photos are put in prevents it from being removed because the photos were glued down so I have to hold the entire album while scanning. It's painful. So I go through 1 book every few months. Great video!
OH my goodness! You must have some really incredible family history!
In that case, I would think it would be easier to take a pic of the pics, one by one. Assuming you have a good camera on your phone or good separate digital camera.
Great video melissa! Although, I thought I could do it but I'm struggling with the sentimental stuff. I've moved around so much that every piece of my childhood is really important. I can't get this idea out of my head that the physical thing is better than looking at a picture or scanned image of it. It's a really heavy box and I can't think of anywhere sensible to store it. Have you got any advice on how to sort this thinking out? Feel like I can't rid of any of it. With everything else I would be considered the opposite of a "hoarder"
Then you hold on to what you feel is important - no one can tell you what that is. The things that you feel tepid about are the ones that you can part ways with. I mean, what you found important a year ago may not be important to you now. I kept old letters from boyfriends for years...but when I recently looked at them I decided I could throw them away. Time will tell!
Thanks melissa :) there is an old relationships book I can get rid of I suppose
Fairytaz I feel the same way, moved a lot, not of my choice!
LOL Asking MM to "sort" this "thinking" out! Its a pun! The whole crux of the clutter matter! But the sentimental stuff is a special category! It touches deeply. I really liked M's reply - so compassionate which is what u needed! I ve seen it suggested that this is the stuff to highlight into your current space, to start with just a few pieces. Then also by seeing/touching these more often (instead of hiding them "out of sight out of mind") will let you "process" the attachment messages they have for you, then you will "know" it's time to move them on without regret. (I wonder if you still have that really heavy box?!)
NOW the question is, how do you organize the files on your computer??
I need to digitize old notebooks, or some pages or them. I have a few notebooks from acting classes or seminars I have taken over the years, and some notes within them are really useful to look at from time to time. But they take so much space! I have been putting it off for so long...
It's true - digitizing can help, or rendering the most important points from those notes and creating a Word document with them is something you could do, too...
That is a good point. Creating a Word document would make them searchable too. Thanks Melissa!
Good tips. It is rewarding once it is done...making time to do it is the challenge.
WHOA on the instruction manuals - definitely download a copy from the 'net and save to your digital storage FIRST before assuming you can find that manual online! You'd be surprised by how many older manuals are lost to the web due to defunct tech support sites. Be safe instead of sorry!
Been doing this over the past few years, finally did it all this Christmas just gone. 300 DVD and blu-rays digitised on 2 external drives connected to my home theatre (I haven't time to maintain a home media server).
WOW - amazing work!
***** Thanks very much. It's incredibly convenient, and it means I can pack away the original disks and put them in storage. I did the same with my CD collection a few years ago.
This is very helpful! My April project is to minimize my photos. I could also take another round at my music, but I've already done a bit with that. Thanks for providing links to some of the items mentioned.
Fantastic! You are most welcome!
I just digitized some very old musical cds and found it to not be as hard parting ways with it as I thought! Now it's time to tackle those photos and negatives (yes, I've still got plenty of those)...
So did all the old photos and art work we saw in this video get decluttered?
We do the phonebooks too... it's so nice and smaller than having the hard copies.
Interesting! Do they have online versions where you live?
That was supposed to say photo books, not phonebooks... I don't store them online, I have them printed into coffee table books. They still take up less space than a regular old school photo album.
Hey Melissa!
I recently moved into my own apartment with my bf and we've used your videos to make sure we did everything according to the books, and we are much more confident in our cleaning skills now! :) So thanks! But I have a question, how can I get the smell out of sneakers? It's my boyfriends, and we are talking serious stinkies, like only a man can make them stink, tmi I'm sorry! but do you have any tips? Thank you so much
Do you have a cleaning routine video? Daily,weekly monthly routine?
I just started deep cleaning and de-cluttering my kitchen, I remove everything clean and toss what I don't need or give it away. I do it once a year, in the bedrooms I do it every season.
How do you save them as " searchable" pdf's?
This was so helpful. Thanks now I know how to start this process. Thanks
I didn't even think about digitizing!! I should digitize notes from old math classes and science class so then when I go on through the semesters I don't have piles of notebooks everywhere and trying to figure out what section or topic I'm looking for! I'm a Chem major wanting to be a dermatologist, so I have to take many math and science classes. So all my notes come in handy. I have a question about organizing a small closet. It is literally the size of a door with a little bit of depth. How do you get more space in there without using bins? All the closet organizing systems are way too big, and I live in a colonial home so my closet is very small. Plus I don't have an actual dresser, I use a few bins from my 9 cube book shelf too put extra stuff in. Also thank you for these videos! They have been really working to help me declutter my room and organize it. I have been feel lighter already! I have more to go, but I am going strong!
Kelsey Cate - you could do that - I kept all my high school notes for years, and after realizing I never looked at them, I tossed them all one day in one fell swoop. There's a good chance that as you progress in your studies, the formulas and theories you learned already will be basic enough that you won't need to review them again. That's at least what I found! Only keep the things you REALLY need! I wonder if you could look for a custom closet solution, like bringing someone in from California Closets, to see what they could do. Those closet storage systems that you buy at the store sometimes aren't made for such small spaces. Might be more than something you could buy in-store, but might be worth it given what space it would free up for you.
We recently had a death in our family, and one thing that was in great supply was photos! Literally hundreds. And the hardest part was trying to decide who got what! So instead of splitting, copying them one at a time, and going through a lengthy and possibly heartbreaking process, we opted for a photo scanning service. We researched a few online and for a reasonable fee we filled an entire box with: photos, home movies, negatives, old reel movies, etc. The company then digitized and created dvds for as many people as needed. It saved a lot of time and effort, and the best part is everyone got a copy!
That's absolutely fantastic advice Dorothy Gale ! WOW.
I have year books from High school. Kinda want to get rid of. Not 100% there yet my kids want me to keep them. Any thoughts? Pics & videos too Tnx this was ver helpfull
For photos and documents that are big piles, do 10 a day. Shove it in your schedule every morning.
For ANY goal where you see things being huge, dedicate a fraction to the project on a daily "morning schedule" basis. There's an old saying from my home town...in Africa...LOL..."How does a Pigmy eat an elephant? Bite by bite."
***** couldn't agree more - incremental changes to reach a goal is the way to go. AND there are many variations of that saying - I always heard 'How do you feed an elephant? One peanut at a time...'. I guess I heard the PG version!
***** "All peanuts eventually get to the Pigmy". Heh.
For the past few weeks I've been digitizing our home movies which are on vhs tapes :) Last year, I digitized all of our family photos. Next up - anything on paper!
What paper shredder do you use?
photos and my kids' art/class work. so on time, melissa and chad!
Good stuff curlykiki !!
Walmart or other places that have machines that u can print and scan photos also have the option to digitalize if u dont have a flat bed scanner as well. ;) as always love the vids. So getting my clutter bug removal on a roll.
I need to digitize my art works... But it's so hard to part from it because of all the time and effort (and money spent on paint & canvas)! I also have too much books at home, maybe I'll digitize some of my favorite pages!
Just spotted a UK National Railcard at 06:34! :-) Thanks so much for your advice ***** and Melissa Maker - the sentimental items video has been a particularly hard one for me, but I really cannot wait until all my clutter has gone! :-) Greetings from your UK fan!
:) I saw that Railcard too! Being a commuter into London it's hard to forget what that damn thing looks like!!
Hi, I liked this video and I must say I have quite some decluttering to do.
I have university books and references that I would like to scan and degitalise but not certain which scanner is user friendly, not obnoxiously expensive and easy to store (small)
+Secrets27284 I got rid of all of my uni stuff. I never referenced it after leaving school, so I figured why keep it?
Hmmm.... I refer to some...like forms and tools.... but wondering if you could suggest a scanner to scan these docs
I like to upload DVD's and BD's on VUDU. A lot of modern movies come with a free digital version, either through VUDU or Ultraviolet. You can watch them on your smart tv, tablets, phones, or gaming devices and you can even download them to said devices to watch when you won't have internet access, like trips.
Yes - true - I have seen that on some discs!
I need to digitze a lot of cds (more than 300) and some documents. Melissa I need to know how to get rid of an old Kindle and old cell phones.
Hello Melissa and Chad,
I love your videos :) I live in Germany and watch every video of you, because every topic you work on is prepared so well by you and is made so interesting....many times you make me think different (better) about things that need to be done, but can make more fun, as you always say....
Please continue with your work and - my personal wish- Melissa , please show more about your home and your daily routines and how you manage all the work in time...
Thank you so much....I am telling every friend of mine tosubscribe to your channel :), Love and regards, Evi
I used to digitize my medical scan reports,prescriptions ... So that even if its gets damaged or spoiled...I still will have records of the medical history..for myself and my family.
We digitize all of our cds and dvds with Plex, but we store the original copies in a storage bin in the attic or get rid of the cases and keep them in a binder in storage
thank you, think i will order a picture book. love your ideas.
Leaving aside the morality of digitizing commercial entertainment products, I'd question the practicality. Anything which is stored in a cloud is vulnerable to anything which affects that cloud, be it a hacker attack or just a change in policy on the part of the service provider. If you store it on a local device then you still have storage issues, plus there is the risk of damage to the storage medium. Commercially-produced CDs and DVDs are massively more resilient than rewritable storage. My take is purge the ones you don't really watch and keep the ones you love. Totally agree with you on digitizing cassettes and family videos.
This is a great video Melissa. I want to try to do this for my family. I have so much paper and want to clear out the clutter. Space to store all this stuff is getting smaller and smaller. What about that Neat Receipt machine? I want to get rid of all my receipts. Is this a good machine to use and can I print out a receipt from there to use to return things?
Absolutely agree, at some point digitizing makes a lot of sense and gives you a LOT more space at home! I haven't tried it, but I am thinking it may be on my purchase list soon!
This helped me so much. Thank You. Nice Video
Love your shirt! Where did you get it?
It's old school Aerie!
Just seen you on one of my favorite shows princess kinda made my day lol your awesome!! go girl !!
Aww, thanks!
Thanks for the reply
Always so helpful! Love a good decluttering. :)
:) thanks!
Aloha from Hawaii! I digitized all my favorite CD's & DVD's then donated them. I also did all my daughters baby shower, first birthday cards. Just keeping a few hard copy ones from beloved family members. I did all her artwork from pre-school till current. I also did her yearbooks as well as my husbands. I have 8mm films from small kid time that I am eventually gonna send in via Costco to have them transfer to a DVD or memory card. Now all I need to do is organize all my files on my Mac.
Aloha!!! Sounds like you're on the right track!
thanks melissa , much needed
You are most welcome!
I use iphone scan app for documents (also make pdf format)
Thumbs up for Nirvana, Primus, and Pearl Jam!
YESSS
Organizing my digital music after finding myself at the gym with my phone but no iPod. Some songs won't convert to an Android-readable format. Any suggestions?
None - I use Apple products :( sorry!!!
Thank you for another great video
You are MOST welcome!
Old artwork and stories, mostly. I might have to invest in a newer scanner, but I need to reduce my crap.
As much as I agree for documents we don't care about and that we don't legally need anymore, I think it is awfully sad for CDs or mementos. What about the texture/touch feeling? I am so glad that I still have my vinyl records from my childhood. They are collectors now. Everything can't be virtual... Soon, we will scan our husband, it will take less space :-) Just joking. I don't like to count on a Cloud or a computer to watch my memories. Since I've been doing digital photos, I don't have a true photo album anymore, and I find that pretty sad...
LOL - listen, I don't think it makes sense to do away with everything and that's not what I am proposing. I have kept several items which have meaning and the tangible aspect of them is really important to me. But to help reduce the clutter of some of the less important things, digitizing is a god way to go! Photo albums should exist, but for the special photos...not every photo ever taken. See the difference?
I perfectly understood what you meant in your video, and I hate clutter as you do. Though, I really need to work on that (lack of time to do so). I really do appreciate a lot your videos, they are very useful. I think it is a question of generation.
I am older than you, and I can tell you that my sons, who are grown-ups now, especially love the "not so good" photos, those where we look slightly ridiculous. I am not saying that we must keep everything, I just think that what we consider "good" photos are not necessarily the ones which have the most success. You will see once you have grown-up kids.
It is also very difficult to get rid of anything related to our children when they were small. But maybe it's just me, maybe I read too much in the things, it's possible.
Anyway, thank you for your videos and for your answer.
No point in keeping any cd or dvd.
I took my "valuable" LP's to music store to sell and they told me they were worth NOTHING anymore. I got $1 for a Wayne Newton LP that belonged to my husband from years ago. (We are old. lol) Janis Joplin was worth nothing. I was pretty stunned, but I let them go. I don't even own a record player anymore, anyway.
Working on this now, and I need to digitize all of the above.
Oooo what happened to your right hand there's a big scar
That's called a kitty who wanted attention...despite the fact that I was busy writing something....and I hadn't cut her nails in a long time, so when we were interacting, her claw caught my hand. She apologized.
***** awwww bless :)
I put all my music onto my iPod but kept all the CDs in a binder I bought off eBay for £1.78. The plastic and paper I recycled :)
I have a ton of school papers which I definitely need to digitise, but got no time for that until summer :p
Perfect time to do it! And remember, only keep / digitize what you NEED...not every note you took :)
I've been looking toward this video yay!
Glad you liked it!
Shoutout to whoever one of you bought that Smash cd from Offspring ages ago!! I have a few CDs, but they're all in cases (and I only have 1 big and 2 small ones), so I've only digitized part of my music collection. Movie wise, I only have Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and I'm holding on to those. Everything is is digitized, as someone who is still young and doesn't have documents, or pictures, so whenever I start having them, I know what to do with them :)
Amazing!
Under the 301 view club. Great stuff Mel.
You're a super fan!! Thanks!
yo dawg this video is dope
Thanks dawg ;)
Oh! I need to get rid of my old music CDs. Thanks for the encouragement.
You got it!
I recommend Google Drive and Evernote.
Good reccos!
I actually made the decision last year to not but physical copies of movies or music anymore. I save a lot of space not buying them. Plus it's a lot quicker to find what I want to watch or listen to.
AMAZING idea. Just move everything into the digital space. We've been doing the same thing!
As sad as it may be, I think the time has come to downsize my CDs. I have a million but don't listen to anymore because of my iPod. But I'm not ready! hahaha Maybe I can start with a downsizing to a binder and ridding some of them.
That's a great starting point!
Good luck, new pc's don't come with disk drives :(
Organizing the computer files 2:12
What happens if the computer/hard drive you have stored your memories on breaks??
That's why many folks prefer cloud storage, or they create an extra backup on the cloud.
Good idea because I'm sure not organized..thanks
You can do it - bit by bit!
Its kind of depressing but my family doesn't take many pictures! And i'm too young to have a lot of CD's so.... I have nothing to digitize reallY!
Well good then - you're a step ahead!
Corey, maybe sometime when your family is together, you can take a family photo with your phone. Especially if you are dressed up or out somewhere where someone can take a pic of your whole family. My mom passed away very suddenly and young and we have no family photo together. It just takes a minute and will be worth it.
love the video
***** how did you scan the trophy? *runs and hides*
I must digitize my cassettes, photos, etc.; pretty much what you have been doing.
LOL - by the way, it was from Dollarama so I'm OK if I don't see it again...good work duncandy !
Cleanmyspace: i have video caseette movies very old movies and also music cassettes. How can I unclutter them ? Can I unload old movies and old music cassette?
If the law were TRULY concerned about copyright protection, where digitizing people’s works is concerned, Scribd wouldn’t exist and they wouldn’t be outright LYING about paying authors.
So, now that my rant is complete, yep, I’m digitizing. I’m digitizing my books and disposing of them to free up w bookcase to store folded clothes on. I have 2 scanners with document feeders (one A3 size) and a shredder I’ve had for years that would make one wonder who even lives here, if they snooped my trash.
This is a tiresome and long-winded project, which will take me months, however, I won’t have to do this again, at least as far as my books are concerned. I am digitizing manuals for equipment I still use - where there is no online digital version of also.
One thing I might try, which might be motivating, is to digitize personal papers FIRST and organize them after they’ve been digitized, clearing up paper more quickly. Don’t know that will work though as, one can also create a digital mess that they have “0” interest in ever digging through, same as in real life.
I will also have to begin reconsidering if I need to keep all of my 3 filing cabinets although, I could certainly convert them to clothing storage, along with the bookcase, storing items in the file drawers, in bins, Marie Kondo style.
I need to convert home vhs tapes to dvds!!!
Lucy S Me too!
Be very careful that you backup those digital files that are pictures of precious items. We made the mistake of not backing ours up and my husband lost pictures of items we donated to Goodwill that were precious to him :(
a cain upload to Drive or Google photos?
Bahaha....Trailer Park Boys. My favorite Canadians.
I want to digitize everything my mom doesn't want to throw away, and then throw it all away!! My mom hates to throw away anything... fortunately, her garage is nice and roomy. Unfortunately, no car will ever park there with all of her stuff!
LOL - no time like the present!
Pic and paper work !
You can do this!
need to digitize 25 year old movies on my daughter!
Oh wow!
So much paper. The think its time to go digital.
I have found Drop box absolutely unreliable
Everything
Cool shirt
Thanks - yeah a lot of people dug the shirt this week!
Always love your advice
pearljam❤❤
A LOOOOOT of documents