• About
  • Contact
  • Courses
  • Binder Kits
  • Collaborate
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Organize
  • Projects
  • Lifestyle
  • Crafts
  • Holidays
  • Courses
  • Binder Kits
  • Media and Press
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

Organized-ish

Organized-ish

Progress > Perfection

  • Organize
  • Projects
  • Lifestyle
  • Crafts
  • Holidays

How To Declutter And Organize Your TV Recordings

September 26, 2019 · In: Lifestyle, Organize

It’s September, which means it’s also fall TV premiere season. After almost four months of torture–I mean reruns–what if your DVR is at 97%, definitely not enough space to fit Dorinda’s latest outburst on the new season of RHONY? In order to “make it nice,” you’ve got to make your recordings nice too, so grab a good snack, turn on your favorite music, and let’s get to work.

manage tv recordings

Work From Oldest To Newest

Start in your list of recordings and with the oldest shows. That way, you’ll be less likely to keep them “just in case.” Then, ask yourself four questions:

  • Have I watched? If you meant to delete something after watching it, go ahead and knock it out. If you haven’t watched, set a time with your favorite snack or beverage and do nothing else until the show ends.
  • Will I honestly watch? I use the “is it online?” method if I don’t have time for a full episode. If you want to watch Beyoncé’s Grammy performance but don’t care about the awards ceremony, you can find official clips of almost any show online. Keep shows you can’t find the clip for or want to watch entirely.
  • Are there old episodes? Unless there are gaps in a drama’s story line for you, or a trivia night is in your near future, there is no need to keep reruns. You can probably recite the plot of your favorite episodes by heart anyway.
  • Is it always on? Some shows, especially kids shows like Teen Titans, are seemingly on constantly, so why record them if someone can watch live later?

declutter dvr recordings

Cancel/Update Your Scheduler

Your favorite crime drama comes on at 6:30 on one channel, at 10:30 on another, and at 2:00 AM on a third. Imagine that during a full month of after-school practices or falsely short meetings at work. For a once a week show, that’s twelve episodes shown only one way, and since you have a DVR, you can rewind one episode instantly instead of watching all twelve to pick up on details.

Change your recording settings for each series to “Record first run only” or “Record only new episodes” so that reruns aren’t kept, and make sure only one channel is recorded. Also, take any shows off your scheduler that you don’t watch. Do the same for cancelled shows and duplicates, like when certain episodes repeated during the summer.

manage dvr recordings

Do A Five Minute Declutter Once A Week

For those days when there is absolutely nothing on, including with your DVR, set a timer for five minutes and do a quick purge. I do this on Sunday afternoons when there really is nothing I want to watch, but you could easily do it about five or ten minutes before a new episode to distract from that “Why isn’t it 8:00 yet?!” feeling. My Alexa device keeps the time, and a running clock prevents procrastination. On top of that, I always try to beat my record from the last purge, so it becomes more of a personal competition than a to-do list item.

The Five Minute Declutter works for more than just TV recordings. Check out this post to learn how to use it anywhere you need immediate organization.

I admit that I can’t always keep to this next tip, especially during the holidays or the Olympics (I must watch all the curling matches), but pick a percentage goal for TV recordings and try not to ever exceed it. Mine is 75%, so if it gets above that, I know it’s time for some cleanup.

how to organize dvr recordings

Finally Hit Play!

Now you can record the new season of your favorite show. Yes, every episode this time. You decluttered and organized all your TV recordings, and you skipped the fluff that prevented you from catching up in the first place.

You made it nice, my friend. Go skip some commercials. That’s the main reason you have a DVR, right?

Co-written with Brad Gandy

By: Lela Burris · In: Lifestyle, Organize · Tagged: declutter, digital, electronic, storage, television, tv

you’ll also love

space saving clothes hangers for small closet100 Ways To Get Organized
manage tv recordings10 Organization Quotes to Live By
new erin condren dual-tip markers20 Lists To Make To Declutter Your Brain

Get Blog Posts In Your Inbox

Every Saturday morning I send out a weekly recap of all the new blog posts. Want in?

Reader Interactions

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Next Post >

12 Quick Fixes For A More Functional Kitchen

Primary Sidebar

Meet Lela Burris

Meet Lela Burris
hey-o!

My name is Lela, (say it like LEE-luh) and I'm so glad you stopped by my blog! Whether you're into organizing, home improvement, crafts, or you just think my pets are cute, you'll find all kinds of inspo here.

Tell Me More!

Connect

Get VIP Emails

Search

Shop My Planners

printable planners for home organization

Get Organizing Advice

lela burris organiziedish

Follow Along

@lelaburris

Family isn’t defined by dna, it’s built on lov Family isn’t defined by dna, it’s built on love. Happy Father’s Day to the greatest man I know @___inteebe___ ❤️
He met this four year old little dude who was sick on the couch clutching his Lightening McQueen car. Soon after, Noah told me in the car “Mommy let’s stay friends with him, ok?”
So we did. And here we are ten years later. Nothing makes my heart more full than seeing these two together.
…Except when they gang up on me for asking [dumb] questions about superheroes… 😅
Happy Father’s Day Nigel!
Let’s talk about organizing overwhelm. Yep, we a Let’s talk about organizing overwhelm. Yep, we are going there…
As exciting and freeing and calming it is to get a space cleaned up and organized, it’s also stressful and overwhelming and exhausting. Especially when you’re doing big projects.
After three weeks straight of working on my garage, I was reaching the point of burnout. I got behind on other things, I constantly felt like I wasn’t doing enough, and my to-do list kept getting longer.
If you’re feeling this way today, I want you to give yourself permission to do these two things:
1. Take a break. It is ok to pause a project and take some chill time. Log off of social media, stop looking at your list, and just recharge.
2. Remove things from your list. You might have planned a huge project, but after a while you start losing enthusiasm. At that point, let some plans go. Save them for later in the year, or maybe even never. Projects should be flexible, not set in stone.
What’s something on your to-do list you can let go of today to save you time and stress?
#organizingtips #lifeorganized #momquotes #lifequotes #frontporchdecor
New colors, who dis?! 😍 The summer collection o New colors, who dis?! 😍 The summer collection of @organized.ish Printable Binder Kits just dropped and I am OBSESSED with the Cardinal Hill color option.
Check out the new colors, new website, and new planner available (psst: it’s a Garage Cleanup Planner!) at organizedish.com
#organizedishbinderkits #printableplanner #plannercommunity #planneraddict #plannerlove #plannerjunkie #homemanagementbinder
Meet my organizing dream team! [AD] Every organiza Meet my organizing dream team! [AD] Every organization project I do is different, but one thing stays the same...these five tools from @HARTtoolsUSA.
Whether it's a single drawer, a small closet, or a whole garage, these five tools are with me every step of the way. Head over to my blog post to find out how I use them and snag links to my fave go-to's.
#doitwithHART #homeorganization #organizationgoals #organizingtips #organizinghacks #organizationideas

Footer

Browse By Category

  • Organize
  • Projects
  • Lifestyle
  • Crafts
  • Holidays

Get Organized-ish

  • Courses
  • Printable Planners
  • Shop My House
  • Amazon Faves

Blog Info

  • Contact
  • Media and Press
  • Disclosures
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Organized-ish LLC © 2022 · Theme by 17th Avenue