Collection Organization Tips 7 7

[spreads]

1 hour ago, the blob said:

Stayed home with a sick kid today, so had some time. I have been setting up a wall of boxes i am getting out of my main room, these are unsorted dc, unsorted "old" nonDC/marvel, unsorted indie, and some boxes of batman, spiderman, etc. 23 so far (the ones at the end are not this) with about 7 more boxes getting close to full, so will be 30 soon:

Just curious if your place has other non-comic clutter, and if so are you using this time to de-clutter some of that stuff?  

[OrangeCrush]

20 hours ago, Alf Pogs said:

Hate longboxes, too heavy. Old shower curtain or trash bag over the top in case of leaks from pipes above.

Agreed. Can't stand long boxes. Honestly, I don't understand why everyone doesn't just convert over to Drawer Boxes. IMO, they are without question the best comic boxes on the market and the advantages they have over regular boxes, short or long, are significant. You no longer have to use any sort of shelving to hold the boxes, you don't have to move any boxes to get to a comic, and the box sort rails are an absolute godsend. They allow you to create categories in boxes that have room to grow without the comics tipping over from the box not being full.

As for labeling the outside of the boxes themselves, the best method is to use self adhesive label holders. I purchased mine from Light Impressions and they are roughly 3" long x 3" wide. I don't think Light Impressions carries them anymore, but there are LOTS of other companies that produce them. Here is a example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739JRV9P/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0739JRV9P&pd_rd_wg=bHPtZ&pd_rd_r=6TBK1TAEVTHN2SN5WQ5R&pd_rd_w=Wkvd7

You just affix the self adhesive label holder to the front side of the comic box and you can then label the box however you want with the small cardboard inserts that come with them. The cardboard labels just slide right into the self adhesive holders. I use a DYMO label maker and just affix the label to the cardboard inserts. That way the label is nice and clean. The best part about using these is nothing is permanent. If you decide you want to change the name of the box, you simply pull out the cardboard label and make a new one and slide it in. It allows you the freedom to change the labels on your boxes whenever you want and its nice and clean and they look great, especially if you use a label maker to create your labels. 

So basically, Drawer Boxes with Box Sort Rails using BCW Comic Dividers and self adhesive label holders is the only way to go IMO. I will never use another storage method ever again. It makes your collection look incredibly clean, highly organized, and best of all you can access any comic or box you want without having to move anything. Personally, switching over to Drawer Boxes SIGNIFICANTLY increased my overall enjoyment of the hobby as its made accessing any of my comics super fast and easy and they really make your collection look really clean and organized. 

Edited February 13, 2018 by OrangeCrush

[the blob]

1 hour ago, spreads said:

Just curious if your place has other non-comic clutter, and if so are you using this time to de-clutter some of that stuff?  

Yes, i have a lot of empty boxes i have accumulated "just in case" i can ship something in them and i am getting rid of those. A lot. They are getting recycled.

My wife also stores her shoes and boots up there, we keep our luggage up there, and we have vacuum packed bags of kids clothing (2 boys means we use everything twice), and way too much adult clothing. Basically all my clothes as i worked myself up from 190 to my current state of affairs. I'm set if i ever lose a lot of weight.

Edited February 13, 2018 by the blob

[the blob]

37 minutes ago, OrangeCrush said:

Agreed. Can't stand long boxes. Honestly, I don't understand why everyone doesn't just convert over to Drawer Boxes. IMO, they are without question the best comic boxes on the market and the advantages they have over regular boxes, short or long, are significant. You no longer have to use any sort of shelving to hold the boxes, you don't have to move any boxes to get to a comic, and the box sort rails are an absolute godsend. They allow you to create categories in boxes that have room to grow without the comics tipping over from the box not being full.

As for labeling the outside of the boxes themselves, the best method is to use self adhesive label holders. I purchased mine from Light Impressions and they are roughly 3" long x 3" wide. I don't think Light Impressions carries them anymore, but there are LOTS of other companies that produce them. Here is a example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739JRV9P/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0739JRV9P&pd_rd_wg=bHPtZ&pd_rd_r=6TBK1TAEVTHN2SN5WQ5R&pd_rd_w=Wkvd7

You just affix the self adhesive label holder to the front side of the comic box and you can then label the box however you want with the small cardboard inserts that come with them. The cardboard labels just slide right into the self adhesive holders. I use a DYMO label maker and just affix the label to the cardboard inserts. That way the label is nice and clean. The best part about using these is nothing is permanent. If you decide you want to change the name of the box, you simply pull out the cardboard label and make a new one and slide it in. It allows you the freedom to change the labels on your boxes whenever you want and its nice and clean and they look great, especially if you use a label maker to create your labels. 

So basically, Drawer Boxes with Box Sort Rails using BCW Comic Dividers and self adhesive label holders is the only way to go IMO. I will never use another storage method ever again. It makes your collection look incredibly clean, highly organized, and best of all you can access any comic or box you want without having to move anything. Personally, switching over to Drawer Boxes SIGNIFICANTLY increased my overall enjoyment of the hobby as its made accessing any of my comics super fast and easy and they really make your collection look really clean and organized. 

Alas, i invested a few hundred bucks on 9 of those shelving units you see, so that is what i am going to use for now.

[OrangeCrush]

20 minutes ago, the blob said:

Alas, i invested a few hundred bucks on 9 of those shelving units you see, so that is what i am going to use for now.

To each thier own. I just put that out there for anyone that was thinking about reorganizing thier collection. After using Drawer Boxes for the last couple of years, I just couldn't imagine going back to regular boxes again. I have a bad back and have actually thrown my back out on multiple occasions over the years due to lifting comic boxes. Not to mention, when I was using regular comic boxes, I would almost never access the comics that were near or at the bottom of the stacks as I knew it required moving a bunch of boxes to get there. Now that I use Drawer Boxes, I can access any box of comics that I own in just 10-15 seconds, regardless of where it is in the stack. That is why using Drawer Boxes has significantly increased my overall enjoyment of the hobby so much as I like to just pull out my comics and look at them and I just wasn't doing that with the comics that were at or near the bottom of the stacks as it was just such a pain to get to them. Basically the comics that were in the bottom boxes were basically in comic limbo. 

Edited February 13, 2018 by OrangeCrush

[the blob]

My goal is to have everything on those shelves so that i never have to move a box to get to a box. That would limit me to about 113 magazine boxes. I could do with a lot less, but i have to set interim goals. But i hear you, i am sore just moving 15-20 boxes around today and standing in my house slippers for 4 hours sorting. I got old really fast.

 

Edited February 13, 2018 by the blob

[Alf Pogs]

Drawer boxes are ok but they sit right on the floor (yes?) and if it gets wet will sponge right up to the top. My rack has wheels so my room could get 6 inches of water with no problems. 18 inches before it hits row 2 so keep the drek low.  In a house fire you would probably see me pushing that cart down the street in my underwear.  

[OrangeCrush]

10 minutes ago, the blob said:

My goal is to have everything on those shelves so that i never have to move a box to get to a box. That would limit me to about 113 magazine boxes. I could do with a lot less, but i have to set interim goals. But i hear you, i am sore just moving 15-20 boxes around today and standing in my house slippers for 4 hours sorting. I got old really fast.

 

I hear ya on that one. Turning 46 this year and believe me, I definitely feel it, lol. 

[OrangeCrush]

52 minutes ago, Alf Pogs said:

Drawer boxes are ok but they sit right on the floor (yes?) and if it gets wet will sponge right up to the top. My rack has wheels so my room could get 6 inches of water with no problems. 18 inches before it hits row 2 so keep the drek low.  In a house fire you would probably see me pushing that cart down the street in my underwear.  

I don't store my comics in the basement so getting wet isn't an issue. And even if I did store them in the basement, I would simply buy or build something that would keep the bottom of the stack roughly 12-16" of the floor. That is a very easy issue to address, and you could do so using a variety of different methods. I have tried pretty much every type of box out there over the last 30 years and I haven't come across one yet that beats Drawer Boxes, for a variety of different reasons including the box sort rails, the strength and stability of the boxes, and the fact that you can attach rows of boxes together to make them even more stable. I'm 150 pounds and I can actually stand on the top of a single drawer box and it doesn't even begin to buckle under the weight. Those boxes are INCREDIBLY strong and stable. If there is a better comic box out there, I certainly haven't seen it yet. 

Edited February 13, 2018 by OrangeCrush

[Alf Pogs]

No way around it unfortunately but I think 30% of our collections total mass is backing boards, bags and ads.

[OrangeCrush]

3 minutes ago, Alf Pogs said:

No way around it unfortunately but I think 30% of our collections total mass is backing boards, bags and ads.

Especially if your using Mylites 2's or 4's with Full Back Boards for a lot of your comics. Using those bags and boards definitely add significant weight to your collection. 

[the blob]

12 minutes ago, OrangeCrush said:

I hear ya on that one. Turning 46 this year and believe me, I definitely feel it, lol. 

We are the same age.

[OrangeCrush]

2 minutes ago, the blob said:

We are the same age.

Won't be too long now, lol. 

[F For Fake]

I picked up an 11,000+ book collection in December (I think? Could have been November) of completely unsorted, randomly boxed books. As for getting them organized for sale, the short answer is: chip away at it, a bit at a time.  

When I had an evening with no other plans, I'd head out to the garage and pull down a box, and start going through them. I brought a couple of empty long boxes, and started sorting into three sections: stuff I was keeping for myself, stuff I was going to sell, and stuff I'd never be able to sell. (These were all indy books, so there was plenty of pure drek.)

The pure drek boxes stayed in the garage, where they remained until I sold them at $25 a box to a guy on Craiglist.

The keeper (for me, and for sale) boxes came into the house, where I broke them down further: the stuff I was keeping for myself has just been put aside until I can assimilate it into my personal collection. No rush there. The rest of the stuff, I want to move, so I started sorting THOSE boxes into more empty boxes: semi-valuable books that are worth pulling, scanning and listing on their own, and stuff to sell in lots.

The lots I broke down into runs or categories: manga, 90's Image, modern Image, Cerebus, Dynamite, etc.

The point is, it takes a while, but a system of constantly whittling those large boxes down into manageable groups, and then organizing those individual groups, is what works for me. Good luck!

[the blob]

I am going to triage the drek and excessive dupes when i start organizing the boxes. If i do that now i will never get through these boxes. I have 10 more magazine boxes in the office that need to be home by april as we are moving. Not looking forward to dragging those up the stairs.

[Point Five]

35 minutes ago, the blob said:

I have 10 more magazine boxes in the office that need to be home by april as we are moving. Not looking forward to dragging those up the stairs.

If most of it is quarter box stuff as you've described, try to just pitch it instead of lugging it home, or even consider giving it back to the store. It sounds like it will be an 'extra' problem, and it's great to see you making progress with the books at home! Your time and peace of mind are worth something too. 

 

[Cocomonkey]

12 hours ago, OrangeCrush said:

So basically, Drawer Boxes with Box Sort Rails using BCW Comic Dividers and self adhesive label holders is the only way to go IMO. I will never use another storage method ever again. It makes your collection look incredibly clean, highly organized, and best of all you can access any comic or box you want without having to move anything. Personally, switching over to Drawer Boxes SIGNIFICANTLY increased my overall enjoyment of the hobby as its made accessing any of my comics super fast and easy and they really make your collection look really clean and organized. 

Do you have a link to drawer boxes with box sort rails? Curious what these are.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

19 hours ago, Point Five said:

The 'before' photos actually aren't as dire as I was expecting, but it does look like a tremendous amount to deal with.

Agreed.  I thought the "before" pictures were going to be much worse.

[Shawnismaximus]

26 minutes ago, Cocomonkey said:

Do you have a link to drawer boxes with box sort rails? Curious what these are.

This is what he's talking about

Unfortunately for me, the shipping to send it to Canada costs almost as much as the boxes themselves! They seem great though. 

[the blob]

56 minutes ago, Point Five said:

If most of it is quarter box stuff as you've described, try to just pitch it instead of lugging it home, or even consider giving it back to the store. It sounds like it will be an 'extra' problem, and it's great to see you making progress with the books at home! Your time and peace of mind are worth something too. 

 

No, not necessarily quarterbox stuff. Anything i buy out of a $1 box i am doing for a reason after considering it. The nyx 3 and i kill giants and countless others were all bought for $1 or less. Also, a few of those boxes are my last nycc haul of choice $2-3 box books. I ain't chucking nothing!