Anyone else struggle with this?

What a good idea Chestnut.

NinjaNan18

I am really struggling with something at the moment. I lost my Mum when I was a child. I only have one album of photos of her and me, that I have always kept in the same place. Due to a long term illness I was tidying the cupboard the album is kept in but had to stop halfway through and sleep. I put all the stuff left to sort in a bin bag to come back to it when feeling better. To cut a long story short we think my husband put the bag out on black bag collection day and I only realised 10 days after the bins were collected. It's totally my fault and I'm angry with myself but I am frustrated as well that my husband didn't look in the bag as normally he's fanatical about recycling so checks through the rubbish. I am devastated at the loss of the photos and other things of sentimental value that are also missing from the cupboard and I'm struggling because I'm an only child and there's no-one alive in my life now who knew and remembers my Mum. I even did a crazy thing for me and paid a psychic who said she can find lost objects. Of course it was a scam, which in my right mind I'd never have fallen for. But that's just it, I'm not in my right mind now. It's like the grief hitting me all over again as the photo album woukd have bern on my list of things you grab in a house fire. How could I be so careless. Please don't make my mistake. Copy precious old photos so they can be stored electronically incase anything happens to the originals.

Oh dear, I was so sad to read your story. Of course it's too late to do anything differently now those things are all gone. I am also an only child and understand how you would feel, although in my case it's the opposite because both my parents were hoarders of letters and photos so I really have too many (if that's possible). But I can understand how devastated you must feel losing those precious things. 💐

You might feel a bit better if you write up your mother's life story because this will help you dig up those half forgotten memories and record them before it's too late. You don't mention whether you have children but even if you don't the act of writing about her will help you on a personal level. You can then read it later on for a little trip down memory lane.

But one of my worst phobias is changing the cartridge on my printer....
My computer is an AppleMac and I find creating and organising documents much easier than on my husband's PC.

I get fed up of people faffing around with phones trying to find tickets for theatre, cinema etc. I just know that my phone would fail and I would have to join the throng of folks frantically trying yo locate tickets.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SueDonim

I suspect even the world can’t really decide whether to be paper or digital-based. I’m dealing with my late husband’s estate and just this week, I’ve had one party happy to send me a digital copy of information I need while another party says it’s hard copy, only, by post. They’re part of the same company yet have different policies on data. 🤷‍♀️

You are right there.

My brother and I have powers of attorney for our mum, who has gone into a care home.
When selling her house earlier this year, the estate agent insisted on seeing the original paper version of those powers of attorney. They would not accept either an official electronic code that would give them access to it online (or one of the two fully legal, legitimate paper 'copies' that were drawn up at the same time as the original). Goodness knows why not.

Not being prepared to risk mailing the original, my brother had to do a round trip of 250 miles just to show them the papers they were demanding, which was incredibly inconvenient at what was already a very stressful time.

This all makes me so nervous, I only ever use an iPad and not sure I could navigate a laptop or pc anymore.

I suspect even the world can’t really decide whether to be paper or digital-based. I’m dealing with my late husband’s estate and just this week, I’ve had one party happy to send me a digital copy of information I need while another party says it’s hard copy, only, by post. They’re part of the same company yet have different policies on data. 🤷‍♀️

I've found this quite helpful;

digitalcalmlife.com/how-to-organize-your-laptop/

Perhaps you will too.

But what if the device suddenly doesn't work? These things do happen.
I download travel tickets to both my phone and my tablet, both of which I take on my travels, just in case! The first few times, I even printed the ticket off too!

Brightand breezy just put them in archive in your emails. Then get the archive ready to show whoever.

I like paper copies of statements.
If I’ve bought something from Lakeland I just add a stick it note at the top of that statement with the date of my item & file it away.
I would never, ever find it on my phone.
Paper receipts, especially if I’ve forgotten to take a bag into a shop.
I like a solid vouchers, not those digital ones.
I’ve alway got note pad on the go as my memory is shocking. I know I can add notes on my phone but I do forget to look.

Ah well, good to know I am not alone. I will continue my half in half out way of doing things 😁

Aveline

Me too. I always print off boarding passes and tickets.

Me too; so much quicker getting through gates and not having to hand over my phone for others to read

You can save it as a file though?

Domestic admin can be annoyingly time-consumptive and stressful. I used to print out bank statements and utility bills but nowadays only if I change provider. The only thing I really need to have in front of me are documents for submission of tax. Some people find that one a breeze but I don't.

I print out lots of things which to many people wouldn't be necessary but I find that if it's something I need to read and absorb then I need the paper version. Reading something online just does not seem to sink in as well. I then highlight things I might need to refer back to or that might need investigation.

Not Spaghetti. For some unknown reason. The end and home keys are now working. Thank you for sending good vibes my way!!

I am fine with digital work. For contracts though I do print them out and place in household filing cabinet in case I or family need access and can't get into the computer system.

I grew up in the age of paper. We got our first pc in 1988 - my husband loved it. Throughout my working life we had secretaries and they were the first ones to get pc’s. I could us one but have always felt much happier with paper and files. And now in my older years I hanker after the old ways. My brain has those methods embedded but not so tech stuff. Actually I am turning into more of a technophobe because the older I get, the less I use tech and the more sophisticated tech is becoming. Luddite? No, but I do get angry when I have to sign up to a company to organise a return and then there’s passwords - a multitude of them - and they really get to me too! Maybe I’m just getting short tempered but I think it’s just that I’m getting older and less in touch. When I bought my house recently I had to pay a tidy sum for an insurance regarding one aspect of the house and I had to print it out because I’d never find it floating somewhere in the cloud or on some branch of another branch of a folder I’d set up sometime in the past. So basically, you are definitely not alone!😊

FindingNemo15

Unfortunately I have had to get a new laptop. I am finding it difficult to type of the smaller keyboard and not all the control keys seem to work. For example ctrl home and ctrl end. Is this normal?

Do you still have dedicated Home and End keys?

If not it will be on your arrow keys.
You have to use 3 keys now in lots of laptops.

I will try to remember which ones!
🤔

Nannabananasplitz I worked in IT for over 30 years and I still print out documents that I need to read. I like to highlight in colour as I read so I can go back quickly and check things. If it's just proofreading it's a bit different but where I need to check facts I find it much easier to do on paper. I always print off forms, fill them in and check them, then fill them in online.

Even my Kindle nearly drove me mad recently when I wanted to go back and reread a section that seemed at odds with the rest of the story. It took me over half an hour to find it, reread it and go forward again.

I use a bit of both ie laptop and paper. I do like a written ‘to do ‘list.

I remember back at work in the 80’s dealing with phone enquiries from Local Authorities who had gone ‘paper free’. That was fine but they constantly asked me to repeat identity information because they couldn’t make a note of it.
Infuriating 😡

Lilyflower

I am very happy to do things online and I have files for everything.

However, I still print important documents out (to the hilarity of my DD) and when editing the village magazine with the Other Half I check articles off on a paper list and keep track of things on A4. The Other Half thought this was a bit antediluvian but he came a cropper not doing so and often relies on my old school solutions.

I also write my daily ‘to do’ list by hand and hand write a diary.

Horses for courses.

I also keep a paper written diary and write a to do list.

It is very handy as I have a magazine and therefore so many things to do in one day in addition to home necessities ..

Wise advice.

Personally, I think it also has to do with age.

If someone has been using paper for decades, it could be challenging to adopt to digital or computerised formats.

One should enquire in a neighbourhood course perhaps at one of the colleges, universities or high schools in their neighbourhood or close by for a course.