What you guys are doing is much better then what I used to do.

I did the shelf/pile inventory method. If I thought something was worth saving, it got stuck on a shelf, that is until the shelves got too full, then it sort of fell off the shelf and onto a pile. Back in the 80s & 90s that worked pretty well, I had space, and I sold a lot of stuff. Back then, not much stayed here very long, which helped a lot. When I wanted something I thought should be on the shelf/pile, I would dig through the pile. My success rate in the early years was quite high, but as the years passed, the success rate dropped to about 50% on finding a part I thought should have been there. As a side note, several times I found stuff I was looking for before...

About 20 years ago I pretty much quit collecting parts that were not for a specific project, and the parts for that project were all grouped together. Over the years I've managed to use up, or get rid of the earlier piles/shelves of stuff. About the only stuff here anymore is what is left from the nearly completed project, and what will be needed in the near future for that or a different project. I can actually see what I have now! Gene