ADVICE REQUIRED - WHERE TO KEEP MY DIARIES

[geek84]

Good Morning Folks


Please delete the following query if you think it’s not appropriate for this group.
I have had a very difficult and miserable childhood due to my disability and hardly a day went by, without being teased or picked on a school and college. I didn’t have very supportive parents either.

Many years ago, I decided to start keeping a diary in which to record how my day went and any thoughts or feelings I had for that period.

I have now got a 'stack' of those diaries which are now taking up most of my bedroom space.

If the worst comes to the worst, my house could get burgled or catch fire and I could lose all those diaries. These diaries go back to the mid-1980s.

Is there any where I could put them for safe keeping?

Also, is there any way I can put them online so that I can keep them 'forever'?


Thanks in advance for your responses.

[dundarach]

You can have them scanned, it'll cost you, however once digital, the worry of loss will be gone.

You can publish and make copies and if you feel like it, bin the physical ones, (perhaps a nice bonfire to relieve you of that burden??)

Sorry to hear the story too OP, get them scanned and share, plenty of people would love to read them and take comfort and support from them I'm sure.

Something like this say: https://www.pearl-scan.co.uk/scanning-services/doc...

[geek84]

Good Morning dundarach

Many thanks for your quick response.

I would like them scanned, but don't want to loose them during the process.

Once scanned, where would I keep them?

Also, I do not want to share witth anyone else.

Thanks

[dundarach]

geek84 said:

Good Morning dundarach

Many thanks for your quick response.

I would like them scanned, but don't want to loose them during the process.

Once scanned, where would I keep them?

Also, I do not want to share witth anyone else.

Thanks

Unless you pay for professional storage, any anxiety you have about loss now, will continue. Even then, you could loose them if stored professionally.

As I would see it, it's the content that's important, I would have them scanned and make a few digital copies to distribute amongst family and friends.

Then I would dispose of the physical copies myself.

That way, you control the process and can decide how and when to get rid of them, I'd have my family and or friends around and burn them one evening and cast that childhood trauma away!

You're worrying about them now which (IMO) is daft, once digital, leave them where they are as you'd have the copies regardless. However if you don't want them around, that's another issue!

The other thing to consider (which is harder) is that having them around ties you to that past trauma. If you've moved on with your life now and are in a good place, they might be keeping you back and reminding you of past unhappiness. Do keep the content, however move on with your life, let them go and put your past behind you??

[Badda]

If you’re under a MH team, have a chat with them about managing this. Don’t do anything drastic like burning them for goodness sake, at least not without fully processing what that means and talking to your therapist first.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Firms such as Iron Mountain can store them physically.

Scanning to digital likely to be fairly pricey.

[essayer]

How many pages, roughly? If hundreds, and you have time and inclination, it’s not too bad to scan using a phone, an app like ScanPro will snap a photo, align, convert to PDF then upload to a storage system such as Dropbox

Then copy to a small portable hard drive, USB etc for safe keeping

[d_a_n1979]

essayer said:

How many pages, roughly? If hundreds, and you have time and inclination, it’s not too bad to scan using a phone, an app like ScanPro will snap a photo, align, convert to PDF then upload to a storage system such as Dropbox

Then copy to a small portable hard drive, USB etc for safe keeping

This, IMO

In a similar situation a few years ago when I retired from competitive powerlifting etc... Diaries from 2000 up to 2015; some with huge amounts of writing in them

I scanned them using my mobile phone (always have a premium mobile, whether it be Android or iPhone) so detailed pictures taken, converted to PDF and stored in my iCloud and I've got a copy of the all on 2 separate SSDs

A bit time consuming; but you do it yourself, in your own time and it's done, free of charge

I got rid of the diaries after that as they were taking up room I wanted back

[Peanut Gallery]

If you do not want them in your house, I would be googling for Iron Mountain as mentioned before, and any competitors, not just a storage firm, one that specializes in paper storage.

If you are keeping them at home, you can get fire-proof safes, although the safe part would not be much use, the fire-proof / water-proof part would be my aim, plus this would mean they could be stacked in a corner somewhere.

If you do go for photographing each page, I would look at making a stand that holds a decent camera at the correct angle / light source etc, and you just turn each page over and press a remote shutter button, this would take each page down to less than a second.
This is the first one that comes to my google search - https://iriscorporate.com/products/iriscan-desk-6/ - but at 250 Euro it aint cheap for just a book to pdf converter!

[Douglas Quaid]

Might be worth having a bonfire and burning them. I did that once and felt way better afterwards. I don’t keep one nowadays.

You’ve already expelled the badness by writing about it, you’re not going to want to sit and read them again realistically.

[lizardbrain]

Some good suggestions above. I'll add a more cheapskate option just in case useful

Take one single photograph of one page from each diary. So if you have 100 dairies, you will have 100 photos.

Upload these photos to google photos, and make a printed book of the photos. If you do four to a page, then it will be 25 pages long. The photos will be stored for future use also.

Then pack up the diaries and store in a cupboard or attic.

If worse comes to the worse you have a representative sample.

[dandarez]

lizardbrain said:

Some good suggestions above. I'll add a more cheapskate option just in case useful

Take one single photograph of one page from each diary. So if you have 100 dairies, you will have 100 photos.

Upload these photos to google photos, and make a printed book of the photos. If you do four to a page, then it will be 25 pages long. The photos will be stored for future use also.

Then pack up the diaries and store in a cupboard or attic.

If worse comes to the worse you have a representative sample.

Indeed, but I would not call it a cheapskate option, I'd call it the very best option.
Take the obvious route to scanning, having a printer/scanner - will take you an eternity to scan single pages!

I use my I-phone 14Pro more for taking pics than I do for calling people!
I 'snap' stuff daily even if just for a reminder to me (say, see something in a shop etc).

I just looked on my library of photos on my i-phone and it says 10,614 photos, 446 videos! LOL
Over 10k of photos back in the day (I'm old) would have cost a fortune in film and developing and, importantly, time.
Do it that way, at your leisure, so easy, so simple. Print them off as and when. Sorted!

[98elise]

Scan them yourself.

When I retired I scanned every pre digital photo we had. That was mine, my wife's, and her parents photos. Took me about a week, but it's great to know we can never lose them.

Once digital I would get rid of the hard copies, and start keeping your diary in a digital format going forward.