Outer Vinyl Sleeves, is it a good idea?

90% of my 12,000 records have outer sleeves. i just prefer to remove the actual pressing from outside the jacket. so the record sits inside the outer sleeve, but outside the actual original jacket. this allows me to easily navigate my collection in dim light and not fight the process of re-inserting the pressing. and mostly for new records i will keep the original outer jacket if it’s in proper condition. mostly i will add an outer jacket to new 33rpm records where it’s shrink wrap.

the exception is my 45rpm collection.....which is around 1500+ so significant. for those i do place the pressing inside the original jacket. they are almost 100% thicker pressing and two or more per title. so it’s just more practical. of these almost 75% still have the original outer sleeve they came with.

after 30 years my muscle memory for record handling is very dialed in so this is just ’MY WAY’ now. and i am no longer in the acquisition mode so not really even thinking about this stuff any more.

i do think my way is the optimal way for ease of use. but if you don’t have the space then one needs to do what’s best for you.

i do have 600-700 or so ’B’ records (mostly left-overs from an early collection i bought) where mostly they don’t have the outer jacket.

i have a large collection of box sets; most of those have no outer jacket and i don’t worry about it.

yes; it takes more shelf space to use the outer sleeve, but then there is an advantage in finding particular pressings too as the individual pressings don’t stick together. the jackets are not harmed taking them in and out.

@mikelavigne Good enough for me! 

80% of my 12,000 records have outer sleeves

I use these because they are very clear and not too thick.
BIG FUDGE Crystal Clear & HD Polypropylene 3 mil

One thing I have found helpful in freeing up shelf space is to remove duplicate copies of albums. Sometimes these have come from an inherited collection, and sometimes from forgetfulness. Then there are those where I have bought a "spare" or a replacement when a disk has become noisy, and finally there are a few for which I have mono and stereo versions of the same recording. Surplus copies can go on shelves in the basement, and leave more room on the ready-use shelves.

@noromance

thanks. i think i’m past the point where i will be buying more sleeves.

in 2021 i bought a 3000 record classical pressing collection. but i had no time or room to sort it out. then in 2023 i retired and had the time but needed additional shelf space to be able to get it properly curated. those shelves arrived last summer and then i spent 6 weeks cleaning, adding the inner and outer jackets, and listening to brief snippets of each one.

cleaning and sorting my 3000 record classical collection

i used these outer sleeves from Bags Unlimited which worked great. they were heavy duty enough and very clear. i had used them before over the years. i used 1800 of them over those 6 weeks. i bought them in lots of 500.

https://www.bagsunlimited.com/12-record-jacket-sleeve-no-flap-12-34-x-12-34-6-mil-polyethylene?quantity=100

@lewm: The Vinyl Storage Solutions Double-Pocket sleeve is made of 4mil cast polypropylene, but since it is made of 3 sheets of the plastic, the sleeve adds 12mil to the thickness of standard (non-gatefold jacketed) LP’s. As for the added space needed due to the LP being stored outside the cardboard jacket, with no LP inside it the jacket itself takes up less space than it does with an LP inside it (the front and pack of the jacket compress against each other). Plus, with gatefold covers I use the double-pocket sleeve with the pocket for the LP inside the gatefold, so no thickness is added to the LP/jacket/outer sleeve. So yes, use of the VSS double-pocket sleeve does result in more space required for the same number of LP’s, but I don't think anywhere near double. 

@whart: 45 RPM Audiophile’s name is Mike Ludwig, and yes he’s the Mike in Germany. I quickly learned that while we are both audiophiles, our musical tastes are vastly different. In one of his reviews of a group of Vinyl Me, Please LP’s he received, he panned Iris DeMent’s My Life album, one of my very favorites (Merle Haggard loved it too, recording her song "No Time To Cry" himself). That was pretty much the end of Michael Ludwig for me.  

By the way, VSS also offers inner sleeves, in a number of different versions (2mil, 3mil, with and without flaps, both flat and round bottoms, 100% clear and also with a "rice" paper side, etc.). Most are very similar to the MoFi inner sleeves (but thicker. I believe the MoFi’s are 1mm thick), some cheaper in price ($7 for a 25-pk. of the round bottomed 2mil sleeve, $12 for a 25-pk. of the 2mil rice paper sleeve, $14 for the 3mil). VSS orders of $55 U.S. or greater ship free.