How to Survive DVR Woes

We love our DVR (Digital Video Recorder) and use it quite frequently to record our favorite shows. We mostly love to fast forward through commercials, but also because my husband often works late and when we record a show we can watch it together later. My Mother-in-law (MIL) also likes to record her favorite shows, even though she is home ALL day. And therein lies the problem.

When we record a show or a movie we usually watch it within a week a two. Except, admittedly for the last season of Justified ,because we are still getting caught up on that one on Amazon. Every month we go through the DVR and clear out all the strange movies and shows that we recorded on a whim that we admit now that we are never actually going to watch. And we also get rid of anything that is over a few months old. Why?

Because we have six people in this house and we need to be considerate enough to save space for everyone ages 9 to 71.

We are extra considerate when it comes to my MIL's recordings, however. There have been times when we tried to get rid of cable all together but she can't live without her Mark Harmon. Mark Harmon is to her like Perry Mason is to other old people. In fact she loves the original NCIS so much that now we have the NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans clogging up our television as well. Not just the new episodes - ALL the episodes. On ALL the channels. I think there much be 20 channels that show all of the NCIS's ever made, hence the reason for not getting rid of cable.

And don't get me started on CSI! There's like, what, 43 different CSI shows? Maybe not, but it seems like it because they are all in syndication on other channels. Leave it to my MIL to find them and record them. ALL of the episodes. On ALL of the channels.

Not only is Ghost Whisperer on at least two different channels and running nearly all day long, I can now watch it any time I want on my DVR. I think if Mark Harmon and Jennifer Love Hewitt ever did a CSI show together, my MIL would be over the moon! (I want credit for creating that show!)

I love that whenever I go into my MIL's room she is channel surfing for new shows instead of watching what she already has recorded. My husband and I tease her constantly about deleting some of her content to make room for everyone else, especially now that the kids record some of their own (stupid) shows.

She always quips back with, "That's not mine."

So we delete it. No harm, no foul. A lot of times I just delete old shows without her knowledge and most of the time she never notices. But sometimes she does and that's when I blame technology. Or my husband. And she totally buys it.