Comments on: Don’t Try This at Home: The Organizing Tip that Won’t Help You

By: kirstjen

kirstjen — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:35:23 +0000

That just sounds like OCD, and probably has nothing to do with organization, but everything to do with a psychological issue.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:46:08 +0000

For gift giving, perhaps something that could save time is to make a wish list of books you want to read, instead of lists of thousands that you have now.

By: Camilla

Camilla — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:42:18 +0000

I can’t understand the idea of cataloguing everything you own, I agree. But when it comes to books, in a family of avid readers but with widely different tastes, is is another matter. My father will of course know what murder mysteries he has, and I will know what Discworld books I do not own, and my mother keeps track of her modernists…but to be frank, I honestly don’t know every single book in every single bookcase in every single room in my house. We have thousands of them, after all, each and everyone (more or less) cherished, but not necessarily by the same persons. Thus, it is good to keep a list of books for gift giving purposes. Not to keep track of books, or know where they are – I know my books as the back of my hand, every single spine a loved friend – but for the convenience of other people.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 07:47:29 +0000

Please, call my parents…LOL

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:45:24 +0000

CDs have a larger “dynamic range” and greater “depth of field”- they sound better than MP3s. Very few people have headphones or even a car system good enough to hear the difference, though. Really only a good home stereo system will show it.
CD music can be burned to iTunes in a “lossless” format that has all the same data as a CD, and so sounds just as good, but it takes up more drive space than MP3 or AAC formats. Still, a terabyte hard drive is only $100 and should hold 500 CDs losslessly in about the same space as a hardback novel.
My 1K or so CDs are all in the attic, waiting for the iPhone that comes with enough storage for me to reburn them at the higher lossless quality. For now I listen to them at a slightly lower 128kbps AAC format.
Eventually I expect all my movies to make a similar transition, clearing even more shelf space. Books will make the jump at some point, but it’ll be quite a while before my crazy back catalog of architecture reference and shelter-porn will be replicated digitally, so for now I still need lots of shelves.

Buying music and movie files online (iTunes or elsewhere) will not only save you space and time, but it’s FAR easier on the the ecology than printing up bits of plastic and trucking them all over the world by the tens of thousands. iTunes tracks are now sold in lossless format without DRM.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:39:29 +0000

I have set up Delicious Library to catalogue all my possessions, from furniture to clothes to books. I really I use it as a quick and easy tool for DE-cluttering! I can see most of my things as they are in the same room as me easily accessible, but sometimes it’s less emotive (for me anyway) to just open the programme when something comes in and pick something from it to go out rather than handling the object. Plus I find the totals of each category useful, even though I’ll probably never manage to live within the bounds of the 100 thing challenge, (not for everyone I know, but for practical and ethical reasons I’d like to get as close to it as possible), I can see when certain totals are creeping up and have a purge of unused items.

Though I’m training to be an archivist (where classification is bread and butter!) and am more than a little OCD when it comes to my ’stuff’ so I admit I may just be self-delusional!

By: Missives From Suburbia

Missives From Suburbia — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:21:32 +0000

I think this kind of thing is circumstantial. Very unexpectedly, my husband’s career took a turn that requires us to move every few years. As a result, I now maintain a photo catalog of all of our furniture, art, light fixtures, and other large possessions, which requires regular maintenance. Far from busy work, it’s immensely helpful on two fronts: first, cross-country moves, which require pre-planning about which furniture/light fixtures will fit in the new house and what will have to go to storage (if any); and second, for insurance purposes. While I think the advice about not needing lists for books is dead-on, I think when you’re talking about valuable art or antiques that can’t be sold and repurchased at the drop of a hat, an inventory is a very good thing.

Oh, and a list of staples in the fridge is also a lifesaver for big moves. It’s annoying to have to throw out the ketchup every time you leave a house, and then realize a month later you have none!
Missives From Suburbia´s last blog post ..Be Still, My Beating Heart

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:55:16 +0000

Making these lists may someday become a moot point as more of our media becomes digital. I have 2,000-plus songs and iTunes catalogs them automatically. My passwords and accoutn data is all stored in a searchable, secure database. If I someday buy an iPad or eReader, all my books will eventually be indexed and stored as well. Same for movies.

By: k-chan

k-chan — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:26:13 +0000

Ahem…INSURANCE PURPOSES!!!

If you are a serious reader with an extensive library,
or a major movie lover, you need to have a catalog of what you own for insurance reasons.

You only need to update the list once a year really. Keep a copy of the list along with pictures showing the collection in your safety deposit box.

Otherwise suffer this senario: Your hose burned down. You try to get reimbursed for the loss of your large collection, and the insurance company says, “Okay, give us a list of what you lost, and proof that you actually owned those items.”

No list, No photos, TOUGH LUCK! to quote Willy Wonka, “You get nothing, you lose! Good day sir!”

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:15:49 +0000

…Also…this situation may or may not be different if sheet music was as widely available for borrowing as reading and textbooks are. Renting a piece of music often costs much more than just buying it outright.
Lisa´s last blog post ..Running and Coffee