The days are finally getting longer, the temperature is slowly rising, and early bloomers are pushing through the soil. Aside from giving us respite from the long winter months, the arrival of spring is when many of us reorganise our homes and get some much-needed life admin out of the way.
For music lovers, spring cleaning might mean finally sorting out your record collection – and we can certainly empathise if things have got a little out of hand. Here at Ruark, there’s nothing we love more than hooking up a turntable to our beautiful MR1 Bluetooth Speaker System and giving our favourite albums a spin. But keeping all our records immaculately organised? Not so much.
It may seem like an onerous task but sorting out your vinyl collection will make your listening sessions so much smoother – and it’ll help keep your precious LPs in excellent nick for flawless sound quality that lasts a lifetime. Read on for our top tips for keeping your vinyl collection tidy, safe, and in mint condition.
Choose a system (and stick to it)
There are a few different ways you could arrange your record collection. The most common method is alphabetically, going by the artists’ first or last name and band name. Sorting your records by album title could also work if you’re very familiar with your catalogue. Top tip: bands that start with a ‘the’, as in The Beatles or The Kinks, should be filed under ‘B’ and ‘K’, respectively.
This is a great option if you want to introduce order to a chaotic hoard – but it does mean that you’ll be mixing up different genres. If you tend to start a listening session with a particular style of music in mind, it may be better to split your collection into genres or moods, and then order each record alphabetically within.
You could also organise your collection by release date. Every decade has a few defining albums, and you may find that a chronological system means that the records you consider natural bedfellows are grouped together.
Whatever system you go for, make sure you stick to it. That means placing every record back in its correct place after every play – trust us, you’ll feel better for it and save yourself time in the future!
Store with care
Vinyl records should always be stored upright to avoid warping – this is when the record becomes bent out of shape, which can negatively affect the audio quality, as well as potentially damaging the stylus on your turntable.
Another way to prevent warping is to ensure your collection is protected from extreme changes in temperature (beware of radiators), direct sunlight, and mould-inducing humidity. Make sure your records are kept in their inner and outer sleeves – and if these are damaged, consider buying fresh sleeves to keep them spick and span.
Invest in decent shelving
If you’ve built a comprehensive record collection, chances are your flimsy flat pack shelving unit isn’t going to be strong enough to hold up all that weight. It’s worth paying for some sturdy shelves to ensure that your vinyl is well-supported – it’s best to buy (or build) shelving with a back, to stop records from slipping down the back of your unit.
Dividers, bookends, or compartments will prevent your records from leaning over (another risk factor for warping); alternatively, a dedicated record storage holder or media console is a stylish way to keep your LPs safe.
