Storing old notes

daska

Call me daft but I'm still storing several boxes of DS2's dad's notes from his PhD etc. For various reasons I'm loathe to dump them but I've had enough of them taking up room in the house.

Can anyone recommend any storage boxes that are cheap, weatherproof, rodent/snail proof etc.

I did consider getting some basic Wham ones from Tesco and sealing with gaffer tape but I'm not sure that's quite good enough, I'd hate to dig them out a year down the line and find they've started to rot!

Sambucus_Nigra

First question. Why are you storing them?

PlutoinCapricorn

Scanning, photocopying and photographing work for me.

daska

Why am I storing them? Because he hasn't got space and I'm soft.

Have considered scanning, photocopying and photographing options BUT there are 6 boxes of them and each box has several lever arch files plus loose notes etc, I'd be at it for months.

tyllwyd

So when you say that you want boxes that are weatherproof, are you saying that you are planning to store them outside? Will they be inside a shed? If you have room, why not buy a small metal shed, then put them in strong plastic boxes inside that.

(And why aren't you telling him to sort it out - OK, maybe he doesn't have space to store them, but he could still organise the storage boxes, and maybe sort through and throw out stuff that isn't vital.)

angelil

Did he actually complete/submit his PhD?

I ask because it could make a difference to what follows.

Is he averse to "donating" the notes to a university archive or library? If he didn't submit his PhD (or even if he did) it seems a shame to have them rotting in storage when a current PhD student could be using them valuably now for their own research.

Sambucus_Nigra

daska wrote: »

Why am I storing them? Because he hasn't got space and I'm soft.

Have considered scanning, photocopying and photographing options BUT there are 6 boxes of them and each box has several lever arch files plus loose notes etc, I'd be at it for months.

No space at all?

Does he not have his own house?

daska

I'm not paying for the storage! But I want this sorted before Xmas

I have a sort of lean-to but it's not dry enough to use the corrugated cardboard boxes the notes are currently in, hence them being in the house. I'm glad I didn't risk it as the damp this year has even got into the plastic boxes the xmas decs are in and I've been cleaning mildew off them.

Yes he completed it but no, we're not getting rid of the notes just yet.

smartpicture

Bin them!

Be honest, is anyone ever going to look at them again? Especially if your plan is to seal them up.

If it's not beautiful or useful, it's clutter.

alyth

I'm 3rd year at uni as a mature student and I'd never ever get rid of any of my folders for my modules, each one represents the blood and sweat that I have gone through in 3 years :rotfl: If your house is so damp that even the christmas decorations are getting mildew then why don't you put the paperwork into a storage unit? It's not perfect, but I can totally understand why you/he won't throw them out - it's a sign of achievement that he gained his PhD, in 20 years time I will still be opening my folders and looking at what I've written and remembering how hard I worked to gain my degree.

smartpicture

alyth wrote: »

in 20 years time I will still be opening my folders and looking at what I've written and remembering how hard I worked to gain my degree.

You won't. You really, really won't.