HOW TO DIGITIZE CDs, DVDs, AND VHS TAPES

CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes take up a lot of space. They can make your spaces look very cluttered. And, if you aren’t even using them, they are cluttering up your storage areas. It’s time you stopped allowing these clutter-causing items to take up valuable real estate in your home. Here is all about how to digitize CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes so that you can free yourself from the clutter! And, did you know, you can also organize your spaces according to your organizing style? You can find out what your organizing style is here.

Before digitizing your CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes, you must purge the damaged items and the ones that you do not listen to or watch anymore. Be ruthless and purge the excess so you can save time digitizing what you do listen to or watch.

In my freebie library here, I include guides which help walk you through the organizing process and help you decide what to purge and keep. I also include my declutter and organizing challenge calendars and guides to help direct you through each area of your home. These guides ensure you get through every nook and cranny and finally get to the other side of clutter … an organized and functional space!

In this post, we focus on how to digitize CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes. Below, I share ideas on how to digitize CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes so that you can free your spaces from the physical clutter. For those who choose to keep their CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes, in the next post, I share different types of organizing solutions that will work for your organizing styles and spaces. (I also share how to organize toys, board games, sports equipment, and video games.)

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How to Digitize CDs

If your laptop still has a disc drive, you already have the easiest solution on hand to digitize your CDs. If you have a newer laptop that doesn’t have a disc drive, an external drive is easy to find and is not very expensive (found here):

To convert the tracks on a CD to MP3 audio files, you likely already have software on your laptop or computer like Windows Media Player or iTunes. Simply save your songs from your CDs and you’re all set! If you save your songs to a cloud-type drive, you can listen to your music on your mobile devices!

How to Digitize DVDs

For your personal DVDs, there is a selection of free software tools to choose from allowing you to easily digitize your DVDs from home. Simply search the internet for “digitize DVDs” and simply follow the directions provided. It seems that HandBrake is a highly suggested free solution.

WinX provides both a free and paid version. The paid version seems to be the best solution for digitizing your DVD movie collection (found here):

Remember, you may only digitize DVD movies for your own personal use.

How to Digitize VHS Tapes

There are services available to take care of digitizing almost anything and everything, but I love how a simple, inexpensive software solution can make digitizing things yourself super easy to do at home. You can utilize a straightfoward software system like this to convert your VHS tapes to DVD (found here):

Once you’ve converted your VHS tapes to DVDs, you can then convert your DVDs to digital files as noted above.

Once you’ve coverted your CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes to digital files, you can finally get rid of the physical products! To properly dispose of them, you can destroy your personal DVDs and VHS tapes simply by scratching or cutting them up. Then, check with your local recylcing centers to see who will take the clutter off your hands. You can search for an ewaste recycling center. Also, stores like Target and Best Buy sometimes have recycling bins or services available.

I hope you have been inspired to digitize your CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes and free yourself from the physical clutter! In my next post, I share how to organize physical CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes for your organizing style and/or the space that you have. Don’t forget to grab my free resources from my freebie library here. Let’s get to the other side of clutter … an organized and functional space!

Happy Organizing!