Saturday, August 19, 2017

Downsizing Part XV or Dither and You're Done.


The more I work on this, the more I love it.

Catch up Day.

Well, the dump is open all day, limited hours in my wee town out on the Edge of the Atlantic.

So I look around me and my eyes fasten on my enormous collection of VCR tapes. Enormous, you say? You have no idea. I have maybe 2,000 movies scattered on these bulky (often 4 movies on a tape)suckers, all labelled and indexed carefully.

And now I shamefully report these have all been unwatched for something like 14 years now. I think I taped every episode of Saturday Night at the Movies when Elwy Yost was doing his gentle, professional interviews of all these old timers (performers, directors, technicians) before they died off. The only one who was doing so. I had planned to have a periodic movie night with a feast of these old classics. Alas, that never happened. When you're an aficionado, it's hard to find your equal nutbar twin. Most have no time for the old black and whites. And "restored" to colour? Oh please.

So I tackled the deep green shelves today. These held a triple layer of these tapes. Times 4 shelves.

I knew the only way to do it was to take out a row of garbage bags and start pitching without looking. If I lingered, it would be game over. Ah, you're definitely going to want to see this again, oh look, another Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart. See? So seven full garbage bags later I think, I could donate these, oh someone would love these, I should Kijiji these as a freebie.

You catch my drift. Stall tactics. I slapped myself. Hard.

I loaded all 7 bags in my car and drove to the dump. I told Brian, the dump-man, what was in the bags (You have to do this, they don't want household waste) and he said, hang on a minute, there's a real old fellow I know living in the back hills, he's a right old movie buff, do you mind if I take all these for him? With the winter coming on he'll be thrilled!

I mentioned I may have 7 or 8 or 10 more bags to follow and Pete says, even better for the old fellah, he'll love them all. Bring 'em over when you can!

And oh, yes, as I drove my empty car home I realized the "old fellow in the backwoods" was a year younger than me.

Letting go is not easy but it can be done if you don't stare.

35 comments:

  1. Letting go is so much easier when you know your trash will be someone else's treasure! - Kate

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    1. I felt so much better. Now on to the next installment.
      XO
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  2. YAY!! What a lovely outcome, WWW! Stars were aligned! ;-)

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    1. I was so pleased as no one else wants VCR tapes.

      XO
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  3. We have a new free channel here in the UK called Talking Pictures which is devoted to old black and white movies and is building an enthusiastic following of viewers. It's great that your freeing up of space means a welcome gift for someone else. "Use it or lose it" is often the best approach. Take care Mary xxx

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    1. Oh that would be sweet. Maybe the idea will take hold here. Though they are having classic movie days at a cinema in town 😀
      That's a new interpretation of an old saying for.ne. Thanks I like it.

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  4. Incidentally I had never heard of Kijiji until I googled it just now! Learning something new every day has to be a good idea! X

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  5. You made that man's day (or winter). Good for you.

    I too am taking "out the trash": I filed for divorce last weekend from my dreadful spouse. Now is the time of new beginnings, part of which will be cleaning out the house and making it my (and my children's) own again. Sine metu.

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    1. Goodonya Elle. New beginnings. How we can be stuck in old grooves, tossing pieces of our spirits away every day. Though as women, in a patriarchal world, we are so financially crippled. I've been there. Hugs and love and light.

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    2. So true you are, on both accounts: the chipping away of our spirits every single day and the financial worries. I lived so long in fear, though, that I'm trying to think only good things for our future...

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  6. Lucky old fellow, that is if he still has a player that can play tapes!

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    1. That's all he does apparently Ramana when fishing and hunting and berry seasons are over.

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  7. Back in the day I was faithful watcher of Saturday at the Movies.My mom worked with Elwy Yost (who could forget that name?) at the Toronto Star in the circulation department.To her he was just as he appeared to be on tv.So I had two reasons to watch his program.

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    1. Good to hear from you GFB. Marvellous show that was. I watched it so many times but for some reason out here never played the tapes again. I'm hoping there might be a streaming service of them at one point.

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  8. I did this 9 years ago when building this cottage and moving back to the woods. In a way it feels good to have a lot less. Now seems my shelves are full (with books :)
    take it slow...

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    1. I've done it many times in the past Ernestine, this is my last. I don't have "stuff" just treasures that need to bid me farewell. I'm pretty zen here :)

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  9. Hi there, I found your blog by clicking on something and then something else (wha?). I've read a few of your posts and found them enlightening. Anyway, I don't see a "Follow this blog" button so perhaps you've disabled it? Please advise.
    Another chick on the other side of 60,
    Alysen

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    1. Thanks Alysen and welcome. I don't know from buttons but a newsfeed (I use this) should catch me.

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  10. Two thousand unwatched movies - that's crazy! But what wonderful serendipity that you heard of an old guy who would love to have them. I hope he watches them and doesn't just squirrel them away "for future enjoyment".

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    1. No you misunderstood. I watched them many times in Ontario but since I moved them out here I haven't had the time.

      And the "crazy" epithet I don't care for. Let he that is without......etc.

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  11. My husband loves the American Movie Channel with the old black and whites. But recently I got a Kindle Firestick (and there are other variations of this like Roku) where you can just download old movies etc from the Internet/YouTube - a lot of them for free and more with Amazon Prime. And you can get lots of other programs allowing one to ditch cable/dish if you have it. I am getting rid of old VCR tapes and DVDs and loving it.

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    1. Thanks Mary, oh kindred spirit. I def will pursue this as I know I'll have to have a dose of some of these beauties again.

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  12. Good for you! Shedding excess is very freeing.

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  13. This is really the upside of moving. It forces you to get rid of things.

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    1. Doesn't it do. Even the stuff I couldn't live without, LOL.

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  14. Oh dear, I've meant to transfer old VCRs to DVDs but have not gotten to it and seems unlikely I will. I can empathize with you.




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    1. Oh lol me too, always the plan, actually to digital media but having tested a few the old Vtapes look terribly grainy and nearly unwatchable so with streaming improving all the time maybe we will catch those on a giant catalogue "in the clouds" h'm?

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  15. Down sizing is the best thing we ever did. It was the right time for us empty nesters to make the change. The unexpected benefit was in emptying our all too welcoming storage spaces we found things we had forgotten about which now make our lives simpler - e.g. the slow cooker - who knew how it could free my from the stove and yet keep the food delicious. With only limited space now we can actually find everything because we can see it.
    It's hard work which frees you to move forward with what you love to do what you love albeit with some stress along the way.

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    1. Pat I'm actually looking forward. The rest of the giant film collection has now found another home. Staggering in volume as they were shelved everywhere. My book shelves are hosting some old photos and a few candles and the odd precious book. It is freeing and quite lovely.

      XO
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  16. How nice that it worked out as it did.

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    1. And the balance went to another old movie buff who took several of my bookshelves to house them, LOL.

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  17. I need to declutter.....like em one day soon a good project when it's raining!

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  18. I've meant to transfer old VCRs to DVDs but have not gotten to it and seems unlikely I will. I can empathize with you.


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