Thoughts: Keeping Track of Your PC

In this case when I say PC, I'm referring exclusively to player collections and/or specific set collections, not one's entire collection. That said, this is going to be a two part topic:

• Physically tracking your PC
• Digitally tracking your PC

When it comes to physically keeping track of and organizing my Jimmy Howard collection, I currently have every card in the collection stored in top loaders, including the base cards. I even have my prized 1/1 in just a simple top loader for the sake of consistency. I know some people like to put base and simple insert cards into binders, but I prefer the top loaders as it's more enjoyable to look through a stack of cards rather than flipping through page after page. I also believe my cards are safer in top loaders, what do you guys think? Also, how do you physically store your PC?

For some people, simply tucking their PC away in a box or desk drawer would be enough, but for those of us not living in the stone age (especially those of us with blogs, PC websites, etc.) it's not. This is where digitally tracking a PC comes in. Specifically in regards to my Howard collection, I've taken a three-prong approach to digitally keeping track of it:

• Front and back scans of every card
• Excel spreadsheet (for tracking acquisitions by date/source/cost/quantity)
• Card Boarded (Blog) and The Jimmy Howard Collection (PC Website)

I use my Excel spreadsheet to track not only the cards I have, but the cards on my Howard want list. Aside from using it as a checklist, I like to track where each new addition comes from, how much it cost, and if applicable how much I paid to have it shipped to me. This lets me know how much I've sunk into the project, which I can use to determine whether or not I'm sticking to a kind of self-imposed card spending budget. 

The scans, as well as blogs and PC websites, are something most all of us do as that's pretty much the core of sharing/interacting with other collectors online nowadays. What I want to know though, is what do you guys do as far as any kind of 'book keeping' when it comes to your PC's, whether it be player or set specific, or both all rolled into one.