Purge time! Due South goes, well, south...

[wraithfodder]

Well, I've finally bitten the bullet and am doing some decluttering, which is long overdue and it seems like in next  year or two, we'll probably sell the house as the taxes are too high, the house too large. I know WHAT house I want, but it was in magazine, and I'd have to build it, and well, I sorta don't have a half million to do it ;)

So today, Due South goes bye-bye into the trash. Just the VHS tapes, as I have entire series on DVD now. Stargate already went, except one box of redundant Stargate Atlantis VHS, which I need to let go of, since I have the series on DVD. What I should do is when I see a good sale on Blu-Ray on SGA, get that. Of course, would help to have Blu-Ray player, and a TV that does not double as a boat anchor. Oh yes, and that gets me ranting... the major networks (CBS, etc.) are now saying, well, "screw you" to anyone without a modern rectangular tv. I get a nose off to the side, I can't even read the text on the news now as it's just half the word. Gah!! At least the local affiliates haven't gone that far... yet, but it's just a matter of time. What I want is the 60" 4K TV my brother up north has - it's GORGEOUS.



Alas, have found boxes of Due South related movies on VHS - stuff I taped off tv, movies with Paul Gross, David Marciano, Callum Keith Rennie, etc. Averse to chucking those just yet as I'm sure some are not on DVD and would prefer to see if anyone would buy them for nominal fee plus shipping. That's the trouble when you have space to store boxes, and VHS tapes were cheap, and the combination means... too many VHS tapes!!!

Comments

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Good for you! I'm also trying decluttering, but every time I touch something fannish, it's really hard. I'd looooove to hear more about your decluttering as you go on, because I could use all the inspiration and help you have to give. (For example, I'm scouring the bed linens and housewares today, in order to avoid dealing with the piles of DVDs and books and costumes, etc).

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I actually made the decision to toss the SGA VHS tapes when I discovered I didn't have them all on DVD (probably accidentally tossed the final season in a previous purge) so went, "I need the space!" Plus checked on Amazon and the entire series on Blu-Ray is not hideously expensive, so once car stuff is done, and if I get anything back decent in tax refunds, I can get the Blu-Ray set, and a Blu-Ray player, and one day, an HD TV so it all looks great! ;)

My goal is to hopefully, today, get rid of several boxes and if I'm lucky, fill the entire recycling and/or garbage bins. Videotapes are the hardest especially when I didn't mark what's on them *Headdesk*

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

I hear you. I had a heck of a time when I went through my tapes a few years ago. It's hardest to let go of stuff that isn't official, but I also have to ask myself how often I'm going to want to look at it/share it. If the answer is never, well...

[graculus.livejournal.com]

It's hard going, clearing out stuff like that. I've been avoiding the boxes under the stairs which are full of VHS tapes for all sorts of shows, most of which I have on DVD now. I don't even have a VCR any more, but that doesn't seem to make the idea of getting rid of them any easier...

Best of luck with your endeavours! \o/

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

It's tough. I have too much stuff on tape and there's some stuff... I'll offer it up in case anybody out there is interested, before trashing (one season series with actors folks used to like, etc.). I'm more leery of tossing anything if it's not on DVD, just in case...

[nialla]

I did The Great VHS Purge a few years ago. I got a new TV with my tax refund one year, and eventually a TV stand (they call it apothecary, but the doors are made to look like an old school library card catalog).

Got a BluRay player while I was at it as well. This is the current version of it. If you get one, I highly recommend getting one with a wifi connection. If you want to do Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, etc, you can do it via your player.

I had to clean out the old VHS stuff during the moving of furniture and equipment, and I literally just started tossing it all in a trash bag with barely a glance. I had to, or it wouldn't have left the house. I swear following UFYH on Tumblr has given me the inspiration and the guts to do stuff like this. It's still hard, but it's easier than it once was, when I was well on my way to becoming a hoarder like my grandmother.

Good luck!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Who is the UFYH on tumblr? I have yet to really even go to Tumblr but suppose I should one day ;) I'm not quite a hoarder but realistically, I have way too much 'stuff'. I'm currently listening to an audiobook on decluttering and that is helping a little. I have vast collections of articles/magazines I need to unload - mostly Due South and CSI. Still enjoy the shows but do not need all the peripheral stuff around. And oh yeah, I still have to go through house of my grandmother's stuff and my mother's stuff. THAT is going to take work.

[nialla]

Pardon my language... wait, you know me, you're used to it. :) UfYH is "Unfuck Your Habitat".

They have a web site, as well as a Tumblr (there's also apps for your smartphone). Both give practical tips on cleaning, mostly relying on cheap and natural stuff when possible. But the bit that finally helped me was the concept behind a 20/10.

Whenever I had a big cleaning project, I'd go into overdrive until it was done or I was, and I'd pay for it later. Now that my back is borked, I really have to be careful how much I do. The 20/10 concept is 20 minutes of work, followed by a 10 minute break. I don't always stick to 20 minutes depending on what type of job it is (stuff that stresses my back goes down to 10 minutes), but thanks to my DVR, I can watch a segment of TV show, and when it's time for a commercial break, I hit pause and go clean something, then come back and watch the next bit. Makes the time pass a lot faster.

It's been especially helpful to me as someone with chronic pain who was getting overwhelmed by the need to clean. If I take it down from "I've got to clean the entire room!!!" to "I need to clean my bedside table" then it's actually easier to keep the whole room clean a bit at a time.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Well, today I threw out several xerox boxes of videotapes, either backed up by DVD or ones I just don't care about anymore, plus a ton of paper. I must have been a silverfish in a former life as I love paper. Found a stack of Variety magazines from 2010 I hadn't even read, so skimmed them and tossed. Did find a 1994 Enquirer in which Cher was dating John Barrowman. What a hoot!

[nialla]

I recall Barrowman talking about a "date" with Cher at a con. Here's a gif set explaining the real story, and it's a hoot.

[tjackson.livejournal.com]

I have quite a bit of video in digital format. It looks like I accidently purged SG1 and The X Files last year. Now I've got to cough-acquire-cough that all again. I'm right there with ya on wanting some bluray upgrades so I can get rid of stuff.

Kinda weird when I have an affection for things so damn old that it wouldn't matter if the bluray happened or not, the quality would still be iffy at best.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd love it if certain shows were out on DVD no matter what. Still can't find Pulaski the TV Detective so am holding on firm to those tapes.

[timespirt.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm still holding on to stuff from years ago. I think It's time to get rid of stuff too.

[suekay-87.livejournal.com]

I got rid of all my Star Trek VHS about 5 or 6 years ago...I've since more than filled the space with books and DVDs!

I absolutely loved Due South but I didn't even know it was on DVD, so I'm away to Amazon :D

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I got a Due South complete series dvd set in the bargain bin at Walmart last year for $5!

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Yay for you!!

(also, I've totally been getting everything in BluRay even though I don't have a layer or HDTV yet lol)