I got caught up in a task that’s taking a LOT longer than I’d planned for.
The trouble with getting rid of CDs is that there are three places where I still use them, although only occasionally.
- In the kitchen
- In the car
- On holiday
If I can get a system for each of these situations where I can still hear my music, then I can unload all the CDs. A new (well, new to me, anyway) website called MusicMagpie buys CDs and provides a Freepost label for your shipment. They get mixed reviews, but might be better than donating them, and is deffo better than binning them.
Here’s my thought process: get all CDs loaded to itunes, and backed up externally. Get an adequate ipod station for kitchen. Ditto for car. Let the holidays sort themselves out. I have an ipod for listening, and the only loss would be the car on holiday. And that’s only until all cars have docking stations. Or I could get a car docking station that I can take with me when I travel.
So I gathered all the CDs into one place — the top of Dave’s piano (he’s out of town this weekend).
Of course, I do have some cr*p CDs, especially some I’ve received as unsolicited gifts. Often I bought an entire CD because I heard one track in a restaurant and liked it (Cafe del Mar). I never throw anything away. I notice Ally McBeal, several seasons worth – entirely cringe-worthy.
So I’ve worked out a flow chart for managing this project (as you do).
- First, decide: do I like the music? If I’ve never listened to it, or I don’t like it, it goes into The Out Box.
- Of those that remain, is it loaded onto itunes? If yes, then it goes into The Out Box.
- Of those that remain, load it to itunes, and then put it in The Out Box.
- Back-up itunes to the external drive frequently. It gets backed up off site periodically.
- Dave can go through The Out Box and take what he likes, but he has to store it well away from the de-clutter zone.
I am still on step one, because when I run into a CD that I haven’t listened to, I think I should listen to it before deciding. That’s silly and life is far too short! So, a tough self-talking-to and I will get well into step 2 today — checking and loading to itunes.
Yes, this will only clear about a cubic metre of space, but it punches above its weight in terms of clutter and dust-attraction. (They used to call them “dust jackets” in the days of LPs for a reason.) Plus, it will feel really good to get this cleared out. (All my old cassette tapes are still in the sideboard, bottom drawer. I think (I hope) I have no vinyl anywhere.)
That’s The Mission, Styx, Bazza and The Dalai Lama showing here.
I have currently 3 CD racks. When I’m done, I expect to have one rack, barely filled. (I’m confident there will just be some CDs I must keep. Maybe those can be my holiday CDs?)
Will report in later.