Recently, I was getting ready to move from my two bedroom apartment that I share with a roommate into a studio apartment. One of my many fears in this move was how to get all my crap that I have into a much smaller place. After viewing a few studios, I soon realized that I really was in trouble in fitting all my mementos, collections and stuff (no way to describe) into such a small place. The weird part was that I was excited to go through this horrible process, as it would finally make me downsize.

Well, due to some other issues in life, I have ended up deciding on staying another year where I am at. Though bummed that I did not make my own personal goal this time around, I was relieved in now have much more time to still go through the same process, as I will try again to get my own place next year.

One of the reasons why I have such an eternal struggle is that I am an organization freak. I also constantly have design in mind and the more ‘white’ space I have around me the less anxious I am in life. The problem is, that I am also a sentimental sap. Anything from a birthday card, to a little note from a cute guy at the bar (rare), to a newspaper clipping of a mention of Bea Arthur I KEEP. It’s all very organized. Current scrap book items in a couple folders in my desk drawers. Older scrap book items thrown in a huge plastic storage tub. Now there are two of them. You get the picture… now multiply by 10 at the least. It’s an real issue for me and I need resolution now, for I cannot put this issue off any longer.

Well, Bobby, I have the resolution! Aside from the time it will take to do all of this (again giving myself about a year), I have seem to come up with a solution that I am at peace with. If it is a piece of paper, I am going to scan them all, 300dpi and organize them in folders, digitally, on my computer. If it is a tangible item, I’m going to take a photo of it, or maybe even a few photos to get a three dimensional view. Then… in the garbage it goes! The last step will be to upload these uncolored corrected, unstraighten image files to my Flickr account, marked as private. This way, I can always see my ‘stuff’ from anywhere at anytime and it will all be safely backed up on some server out of the house. This is also good to do with current things I have now that I think about it… god forbid a house fire where you lose everything… I think photos and videos are always the most important things, aside from life itself.

So, that is the plan, Stan. I know I can do it all eventually. Took me 2 years to transfer all my 8mm video tapes to DVD, but I did it! All 86 of those bitches at about 2 hours each. But, I love the convenience of having my footage of 15 years all digitized.

What do you think? Do you have better ideas or do you just throw it out and say screw it. Really, that isn’t a bad idea either, but I like to look over the things that are/were important to me later and life and think back, ‘that was a waste of time’.

Kev!