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The Verge
2 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
The best ways to digitize your documents
When you're preparing to move, you can find yourself faced with a lot of paper documents. Holiday cards, leases, letters, tax documents, notes, doodles – whatever – can really stack up over time. If your choices are only 'keep' or 'trash,' it can be hard to let go, even if you choose one of the more responsible ways to get rid of your stuff. Digitization makes these decisions easier by adding a third option: create a virtual version for safekeeping and say goodbye to the physical paper. These days, digitization only requires a smartphone or a tablet, but you'll want to optimize the process while reducing the risk of data loss. Decide what to do with your papers In my experience – and I've been digitizing boxes upon boxes of documents for the past six months – there are only a few types of records worth keeping on hand after creating a digital version. These are original government documents, legal agreements such as a will or a current lease, items that might lose their form or meaning when reduced to images on a screen, and anything you may want to display in your home. Of course, there will be exceptions. Maybe you decide to toss every birthday card but keep the one your grandmother sent before she died. Or maybe you just feel better retaining hard copies of every tax document, even though the IRS says it's generally okay to scrap them after three years. You do you. What you'll need to start After you've decided your documents' fate, you can get to work. At minimum, you'll need a mobile device and a flat, clean surface like a tabletop. While that's technically enough to do the job, I recommend also having a computer, a way to transfer files between your devices (like a cable, AirDrop, or cloud storage), image editing software, and at least one backup drive. If you have a truly overwhelming stack of papers, you may want to consider buying or borrowing a scanner to help. A scanner that comes with a feeder can quickly scan a bunch of documents at once rather than doing one at a time, and most scanners can save images directly to your computer or to your cloud storage. Home scanners that are meant mostly for documents can run about $100 to $500, depending on their features and capacity. Scanners that handle high-quality images may cost considerably more. Personally, having used scanners in domestic, professional, and academic settings, I think they're great for archival work, but are overkill for most people's digitization needs. I've used my phone for my own digitization project and have no regrets. Digitizing with your phone camera There are three easy ways to capture a digital image of any paper using your phone: with your camera app, a built-in scanning app, or a third-party scanning app. I use whatever is most appropriate, depending on what my plans are for the digitized copy. While you're likely most familiar with your camera app, it's not great for text documents and particularly cumbersome for multi-page ones. That said, I like to use my usual camera app for cards and art because it creates editable image files that I can organize with tags. Scanning apps, meanwhile, usually only output PDFs. I use this method for text-heavy documents like leases and financial records. Both iOS and Android include built-in scanning tools that are quite capable of turning any document into a PDF. On an Android phone, you use the Drive app; with an iPhone, you can use either the Files or the Notes app. All of these allow you to simply hold your phone over the paper and wait; the app outlines the page and automatically creates a file. There are also a number of third-party apps that offer additional features for capturing, editing, and storing PDFs. If you want more options than Drive, Notes, or Files can provide, it may be useful to check out what's out there. Best way to digitize images Lay your document flat in a well-lit space with no shadows. Weight it down if necessary, but try not to block anything important. An encyclopedic knowledge of camera angles won't matter here. Hold your phone flat and level over your document, without casting shadows onto the page. I also recommend cropping your pics immediately to save time and make the images easier to see in previews when you're organizing. If you're capturing cards, you can photograph the cover and interior separately, then use image editing software to combine them into a single file. Backup your files If you've built a repository of digitized documents on your phone and are thinking of leaving them there — don't. That's like stashing your birth certificate in a folder at an open window and trusting it won't blow away. To mitigate risk, transfer your digitized documents to a computer, a backup drive, and / or cloud storage. Despite advancements in storage technology, data loss still happens, and it's safer to keep your important files in at least two locations in case something happens to one of them. If you use Google Drive to scan your documents, you've already automatically backed them up to the cloud. To send those documents to another device that doesn't have access to your Google Drive, you can download them using Google Takeout. If you use Files or Notes on iOS, you can check to make sure that your files are being backed up to iCloud by going to Settings > [ your name ] > iCloud. If you're using Files and want to send those files elsewhere, tap the three dots in the top right, hit Select, pick the files you want to transfer, and touch the share icon in the bottom left (a box with an upward-pointing arrow). If you use Notes, tap the note you want to transfer and select Share Note. Then choose your preferred sharing method and ship 'em out. Organize your documents No matter where your files are — a computer, mobile device, or cloud storage — you really should organize them so you can find them later. If you have a system that works for you already, great. But if you need a strategy, I recommend creating top-level folders like 'cards' and 'records' that describe the broadest categories within your collection. Within these, make more specific folders, like 'leases' and 'identification.' When you get to the bottom-level folders where the actual files live, try to name them consistently. If you really want to go hard, you can add tags and other metadata to your files. It's important to understand that the goal here is not to completely eliminate anything that could be considered clutter — it's to find an efficient solution to managing the items we accumulate as we live our lives. It's okay to hold onto meaningful items and make a measured assessment of their value from time to time. After all, drowning in a sea of paperwork might be bad, but living a life devoid of meaning and mementos might be even worse.
The Verge
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Verge
How to handle the tech challenges of moving overseas
Moving is stressful at the best of times, and while moving to a new country is exciting, it also adds a layer of logistical complications, especially when it comes to tech. As someone who's tackled several international moves — most recently, from my native Australia to the US in mid-2023 — here are some tips for figuring out what to bring and how to bring it, and for making sure that your tech works with you, not against you, in your new home. Before you leave With all the paperwork and legwork involved in moving countries, it can be easy to put off more minor matters, like what to do with your electronics. Laptops, tablets, and phones should travel with you, but if you're planning on taking relatively large, bulky items like monitors, desktop computers, stereo equipment, TVs, and so on, it'll be cheaper (and easier) to ship them in advance, along with other similarly bulky items like furniture. If you do decide to do this, you'll need to decide between air freight and sea freight. The former is faster; the latter can take months but is generally far cheaper. If there are devices you need with you right up until departure and / or as soon as you arrive — a work computer, for instance — then by all means send them by air freight or bring them as carry-on baggage (which may be your only option for devices with lithium-ion batteries). But the more you can get away with sending via sea, the more money you'll save. Whatever you decide, before you pack all your gear, look at the voltage specifications on each item's power supply. The US power grid operates at 110-120V, as does the rest of North and Central America and a good chunk of South America, but with the occasional exception; the rest of the world's power is transmitted at somewhere between 220V and 240V. If you plug a device designed to receive 110V power into a 240V socket, you'll be greeted with a big blue flash and left with a dead device. These days, many devices come with universal power supplies that can handle AC current anywhere between 100V and 240V at 50-60Hz; they'll work nearly everywhere with a simple plug adapter. Nearly all modern devices with rechargeable batteries, like phones, tablets, and laptops, come with a universal AC adapter or can be used with one, which is the same for most electronic devices — it's usually cheaper for the factories to build one model that works everywhere. However, there are still a surprisingly large number of devices that don't, as many a forlorn musician facing a whopping great bill to replace all their amps and synths will attest. This really is one case where it's better to be safe than sorry. Both the device itself and its AC adapter (if it has one) will have their power requirements listed; check everything you plan to bring with you. If you do have a device that only accepts low-voltage inputs, you'll need a step-down converter to sit between the mains and your device. These are widely available and often come in the form of outlet adapters—just be aware that most plug adapters are not voltage converters. The other option, of course, is just to buy new devices when you arrive, which might prove to be less trouble for relatively cheap household devices. A good rule of thumb is that anything that runs on mains power and has either a motor or a heater in it — hair dryers, blenders, coffee makers — is best replaced unless it's listed to work in your new home or expensive enough that a transformer is cheaper. Factor in two-factor The next thing to consider is how you're going to maintain access to your various accounts. Two-factor authentication can be a real pitfall here. If you have a bunch of accounts trying to send 2FA codes to a phone number you can no longer access, you're going to have a bad time — especially if that means you can't access those accounts to change the phone number. Again, preparation is important. Ensure you have an alternate way of meeting two-factor requirements. SMS is really the authenticator of last resort; if an account allows for the use of an authenticator app, use that—it's both the safest and most straightforward option. Google and Microsoft both make such apps. Otherwise, make sure you can get a code sent to your email, at least until you have a new local phone number. The advent of eSIMs has made hanging onto your old number far easier than it used to be; instead of having to physically swap between your local SIM and the one from your home country, you can just keep both active until one or the other is no longer necessary. (If you do this, however, be careful of roaming charges on your home country's plan.) And finally, tell your bank where you're going. The last thing you want is for your card to get blocked — or, worse, swallowed by an ATM — the first time you try to use it in your new home. (Sadly, this is one lesson your correspondent learned the hard way.) While you're speaking to the bank, also ask about reciprocal ATM arrangements. Using an overseas ATM often carries a whopping transaction fee, and these can add up awfully quickly if you find yourself needing to withdraw cash regularly, unless your bank has a reciprocal arrangement. For example, my bank in Australia charges $5 for most overseas ATM transactions, but lets me use Bank of America ATMs in the US for free.) Opening a local bank account can take a while in some countries; this can help tide you over. And if you need to transfer money between your accounts in different countries, a service like Wise can help avoid otherwise exorbitant transfer fees. In a similar vein, ask about foreign transaction fees for your credit/debit cards. Again, these can add up quickly, but some cards waive these fees; if your bank offers such an option, it may well be worth signing up for. Once you arrive If your destination has a power grid that's less reliable than you're used to, there are a couple of items you might want to consider getting hold of. The first is a universal power supply, or UPS. These are essentially batteries that ensure continued power supply for your home if the power goes out, and they're invaluable in places prone to brown- or black-outs. The battery charges itself from the grid while the power is on and then discharges if the grid supply is interrupted. The other thing to consider is some form of surge protection, which protects against abrupt increases in mains voltage. One common cause of power surges is the restoration of supply after an interruption, so if a country is prone to blackouts, it'll also be prone to voltage spikes. (For this reason, UPS devices often come with built-in surge protection.) It's worth investigating whether surges are common in your new home, because they can spell real trouble for electronic devices. Location-specific apps Once you're up and running, you may find that some apps simply refuse to work. Some apps just aren't designed or intended to operate abroad. The latter problem is especially common with finance apps, to avoid fraudulent access. Sometimes the app in question isn't available in your new country for licensing or other reasons. Streaming apps are particularly prone to this; for British people, moving abroad means resigning themselves to the loss of the BBC's excellent iPlayer application, and for this Australian, moving to the USA meant abandoning any hope of watching the cricket. Apps like Netflix likely will work, but the selection will differ from country to country. It's also important to be aware that suddenly logging in from a different country might trigger protection for various accounts. Unlike calling your bank in advance of your departure, there's no real way to guard against this, so the best thing to do is be prepared for it to happen: make sure your recovery options are up-to-date and easy to access. Ultimately, anything you can do in advance to mitigate the problems you can foresee will give you more time and space to deal with the problems you can't. And once the initial period of trying to get everything working properly is over, you'll be settled in a new home — hopefully, without any burned-out devices to replace!
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Moving Tips From Someone Who's Done It 10 Times (and Survived)
Moving to a new home can feel like hitting refresh on life—new neighborhood, fresh vibes, maybe even better lighting for your selfies. It's a chance to declutter both your closet and your mind. But let's be real: packing is a nightmare, and saying goodbye to your go-to takeout spot? Tragic. Still, the thrill of a blank slate often outweighs the chaos of bubble wrap and broken Wi-Fi. But there has to be a way to make the process of moving easier, right? Well, yes, there is. I mean, not "snap your fingers and everything has magically moved itself" easy, but certainly more efficient. And, of course, TikTok is showing the see, @em_andhercats has moved a total of 10 times, so she's learned some things. And she's willing to share them with the world. For starters, instead of using cardboard boxes, she tries to pack as much as possible in reusable plastic totes. "It protects your items better while moving and can be used as storage at your new place," she says. Next tip: label and color code those totes. That way you can unpack a lot faster, or simply know where to reach for things you need in that moment. "Use towels and paper towels to wrap your fragile items," advises @em_andhercats.While her tips are great, the folks in the comments also had some gems to share. Like using out-of-season clothing to wrap fragile items, so you don't have to waste those paper towels. And pillows? Throw 'em in trash bags instead of taking up precious space in the plastic totes. Let's face it, you'll have plenty of use for those trash bags once you get to your new abode and start unpacking.
CNET
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Here's How I Scored a Ton of Free Moving Boxes
When I started budgeting for my last move, I didn't think twice about the cost of boxes. I was more focused on things like the moving truck, the deposit for the new place and everything I'd need once I got there. But those $2 boxes? They add up fast. Most moving boxes cost between $1.50 and $5 each, and if you need a lot of them -- like I did -- that can turn into a small fortune. Luckily, I found out you don't have to spend a ton to get what you need. With a little effort, you can track down free moving boxes that work just as well. Here are some of the best places I found to grab moving boxes for free and cut down on costs without cutting corners. For more moving tips, check out the best moving companies for 2025 and six common moving day mistakes to watch out for. How much do cardboard boxes cost? Depending on the size of the cardboard box you're purchasing, you'll probably spend $1 to $3 per box at The Home Depot, Lowe's or U-Haul. If you don't have a lot of stuff or are moving from something like a studio apartment, this might not be a big financial investment, but it can add up pretty quickly. Where can I get cardboard moving boxes for free? Before you shell out for boxes, see if you can get all you need for free. Recycling centers: Visit your local recycling center to find broken-down cardboard boxes. This may be a good first stop for you, as there's bound to be some cardboard boxes for you to take. U-Haul Customer Connect: U-Haul offers customers a service to exchange their boxes with each other through Customer Connect. Through this U-Haul Box Exchange, you can see postings from people who need boxes or need to get rid of them. This service may work for you, but you'll need some luck. If you can find someone in your area giving away boxes right as you need them, that's fantastic, but it may be easier to visit a local retailer or check other community apps. Liquor stores: Reddit users recommend using boxes from liquor stores for your move because those are some of the sturdiest boxes, and they may come with useful dividers for packing glasses and fragile items. The best part of checking liquor stores is that, depending on where you live, there are likely many locations where you can look. Big box stores: Retailers like Walmart, Target, Costco and Best Buy receive loads of cardboard boxes every day as they constantly stock and restock merchandise. It's a little-known secret that if you visit Walmart after 10 p.m., you can get loads of broken-down boxes. For your local big box stores, try to call in advance or ask when the right time to pick up boxes will be, as stores receive merchandise at various times. Grocery stores: Your local grocery store receives new produce and merchandise every day, so it's bound to have extra boxes. You'd be doing them a favor by taking the boxes off their hands, so they may be happy to give them to you. Again, check for the best time to grab boxes. Office stores: Outlets like Staples, Office Depot or OfficeMax are great stores to check when you're scouting for boxes. For stores that sell paper, you can snag boxes that come with those handy lids -- great for books and other personal items. Bookstores: Check your local Barnes & Noble or independent bookstore to see if they have some boxes they need to get rid of. Like some of the big box retailers, bookstores get shipments daily and the boxes will likely be on the sturdier side. Your social circle: Your friends, family and neighbors all probably have at least a few empty cardboard boxes hanging around. Check to see if they have any they'd be willing to give you ahead of your move. Cardboard dumpster diving: If you're feeling adventurous, some Redditors suggest trying to find your boxes from dumpsters. Several large retailers have dedicated dumpsters that are meant only for cardboard. So if you've exhausted your options and don't mind throwing some gloves on, have at it. Find free moving boxes with community apps Craigslist's "free" section, NextDoor and BuyNothing: Community apps for giving away or selling items are other great options for free cardboard moving boxes. Community members who recently moved into your neighborhood may be giving away their boxes. You can also post a friendly request for free cardboard boxes. Through our research, several Redditors mentioned they had a lot of success finding free cardboard boxes from Facebook Marketplace. It may be worth checking out the options available in your area. Don't forget to use any and all cardboard boxes you have around the house. Yes, those Amazon boxes will work -- finally, those impulsive online shopping orders are coming in handy. Need more moving tips? Here are ways to make your move more eco-friendly and seven must-have moving apps.
The Sun
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Five genius ways to keep costs down while moving house
Lana Clements, Assistant Consumer Editor Published: Invalid Date, PLANNING a house move? June is the start of the most popular time to relocate. 7 But if you start getting ready now, you can avoid pricey setbacks nearer completion time. Follow these tips to keep your moving costs low . . . DO YOUR RESEARCH: If you are unsure about using professional movers or going it alone — maybe hiring a van and getting help from friends — now is the time to check the costs. Use or to get quotes from multiple companies, so you can see what you can afford or what you need to work towards. SET THE DATE: Fridays are the busiest day of the week for moving house, according to conveyancing company If you want to use professional movers and move on a Friday so you can make the most of the weekend to settle in, you need to book in now. Alternatively, choosing a different day of the week can mean it's slightly cheaper as there's less demand. The earlier you book, the more likely you are to get a discounted rate. SAVE YOUR ENERGY: Plan your utility switching now. If you time your broadband transfer early enough, most providers let you move your package for free if you give 30 days' notice. I'm an estate agent and this is the one thing you need to check before you move house It's also a good idea to start comparing energy deals for your new postcode now, ahead of your moving date. GET FLOGGING: For a move in the next few months, start decluttering now and get your items listed on auction sites as soon as possible. While Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay are great places to sell, don't overlook and if you have more expensive pieces or antiques, try to get the best price. BOX SMART: Skip buying pricey packing boxes and instead ask at your local supermarket for any cardboard boxes or fruit and veg crates to stash at home ahead of your move. It's also well worth saving newspapers or leaflets which you can use to wrap up your kitchen plates and glassware. All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability. DEAL OF THE DAY COOL evenings call for the Sunjoy steel fire pit, previously £54.99, now £37.99 at SAVE: £17 CHEAP TREAT 7 USE Face Halo pads and water to remove make-up fast. Normally £15, you can get a pack with a wash bag for £1 at SAVE: £14 TOP SWAP 7 SERVE up for dinner using the beautiful shell platter from Next for £22. Or shell out less for a similar style with this plate from Primark at £4.50. SAVE: £17.50 SHOP & SAVE 7 TREAT your clothes with Comfort Perfume Creations' water lily and lime conditioner (48 washes). Usually £5.50, now £2.75 at Iceland. SAVE: £2.75 PLAY NOW TO WIN £200 7 JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle. Every month we're giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers - whether you're saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered. Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket. The more codes you enter, the more tickets you'll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!
