But here's the thing--I didn't get rid of all of the DVD cases. I recycled about 2/3 of them, but the rest I threw in a box in the basement. The DVD cases that I kept are those for our Disney movies and those that held collections of DVDs, like our Looney Toons sets. I guess my thinking in keeping those was that I might need them someday if I ever wanted to sell the movies. Now there's one more box in the basement to deal with, so I don't think I totally achieved my goal. Essentially, I only shifted my clutter to a different floor of the house.
So here's where I need your help--talk me out of keeping them! Help me let them go. Convince me that it's okay to get rid of the cases, that by the time my kids have outgrown the movies, it's likely that the discs will be so scratched up that selling them is out of the question anyhow. Or, convince me that I should keep them--have you ever gotten rid of a DVD case and regretted it later?
If I can move past my hangup with the DVD cases, my next mission will be to consolidate the CDs. I've thought about ditching the jewel cases in the past, but have never been able to bring myself to do it because I don't want to lose the album artwork. I would keep the little booklets that come with each CD and place them in the binder with the discs, but I'm still having a hard time convincing myself to make the break. I've read that some organizational gurus suggest getting rid of the CDs themselves, with the assumption that most people have all of their music loaded on their computers anyway, but I think that's a foolish idea--anyone who has ever had a hard drive die, taking with it all of their files & photos knows how devastating that could be.
Have any of you gotten rid of your CD jewel cases and just kept your discs in a binder? Have you ever regretted it?
We finally got rid of ours!! SO much more space in our closet now! We used something similar to these http://www.sleevetown.com/cd-storage.shtml but they are pretty and SMALL! Target had a great deal on them, but not online at all! It gave me 2 HUGE closet shelves back! It's really been a key step in getting everything organized! I bet you could GIVE them away too.. there are always people who NEED the jewel cases for other stuff! put an add on Craigslist and be done with them lol
ReplyDeleteSorry...you're not going to like my answer. KEEP the cases! They are that big and you will not want them later on. Being the eternal think ahead antiquer/collector the orignal everything is always vital in re-sale. :0)
ReplyDeleteWhoops...I meant to type: "They aren't that big and you will not want to keep the movies later on when the kids get older"
ReplyDeleteI'm on the toss side -- for everything! We loaded all our music and DVDs onto a computer and an external hard drive as back up (plus some friends *may* have a copy as extra back up -- but don't tell the feds that). We sold the antiquated media for next to nothing (all those $16 CDs essentially worthless now), but we gained sooo much space and decreased clutter! There are some great media players to scroll through your collection from the computer which include cover art.
ReplyDeleteEven if you ended up keeping the cover inserts (they could be kept in a file drawer)--get rid of the cases. I see them at yard sales all the time, so if you need some you'll be able to replace them for cheap. Having the space in your house is worth more!
ReplyDeleteYou are asking the WRONG group of people... WE are the keepers~collectors~reusers~reinventors of society. DH burns our CDs to the computer, and tells me to get rid of them... yet I hang on to the CD/DVDs (and cases!) - it is SO MUCH easier to just 'pop' a CD into the player in the Blazer on whim than to hook up the 'thingamabob bluetooth w/ all the wiring' for a couple of songs I have a whim to hear...
ReplyDeleteWe ditched all our jewel cases but kept the CDs in one of those big book things. But to be honest, it's a pain to haul out the book and page through it to find a CD when I want to listen to something. A CD tower was actually easier to peruse.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have all our music digitized, but we don't have a sophisticated enough system for that yet.
I felt bad throwing the jewel cases away, since they weren't recycleable, though.
I say toss them. I use my CD's more when they are all in one easy to get to place. Get rid of them and lose 40 lbs all in one place! :)
ReplyDeleteI have been on a buzz bomb rampage of clutter purging lately. Any baby thing that wasn't taken to a church and given a name and a blessing, has been going (except clothes, still can't part with those. That said, this idea has NEVER occurred to me. Brilliant. I keep moving the CDs from place to place. And the movies are making me CRAZY. I purged all the VHS, but the DVDs are taking over.
ReplyDeleteI say ditch them all. In fact, you may have inspired me to load them all, back them up, and get rid of the disks all together as well. Except maybe the movies. Unless I can syn my ipod to the car DVD player... Oh, thank you for the inspiration.
Off to toss!
We got rid of ours. It was hard for me too. But honestly, how likely is it that they will ever be worth anything? You can't hardly pay anyone to take 8 tracks, cassette tapes, VHS, etc. If it makes you feel better you could keep the inserts. The cases are a dime a dozen. I actually have put a lot of the old cases to use storing my unmounted stamps.
ReplyDeleteIf you're crafty you can keep them and make cd calenders for gifts to give away. I've also seen some people use them to help with their organizing so you may want to look into that. I got rid of mine years ago then found myself having to buy some through the years, which hurts because I had to pay for something I threw out.
ReplyDeleteI use mine for my clear stamps, works wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteDeb
From Michigan