How to Organize & Store DVDs | Minimalism Solutions

Minimalism How-To: DVDs & Media Collection

Keeping the DVD and Blu Ray collection at bay can be a challenge in our entertainment driven society. Many of us have book cases full of our favorite movies, shows and video games.

1. Declutter your library

Pull all the DVDs and games from the shelves.

Before purchasing any organization tools, evaluate whether or not these are items that you want to keep. Only keep ones that you truly enjoy and watch over and over.

Let the others go. Even if you haven’t watched them yet.

If you have any that belong to other people, make it a point to return them this week.

2. Sorting

Next, pull out all the cases and sort them by category or genre.

Example:

• Action
• Romance
• Documentaries
• Childrens
• Games

3. Choose your storage & remove cases

The obvious first step to reducing your DVD storage is to ditch those bulky DVD cases. All those DVDs suddenly take up a fraction of the space when they’re naked.

You might store them in a binder, or use DVD sleeves that take up far less space.

Now we need to choose how we want to store our collection.

DVD storage ideas

Here are some storage and DIY ideas to lasso up your movie collection and save on storage space.

DVD collection wallets

Get one (or however many are needed) DVD Wallets or DVD Binders.

I got two of these 64 count.

If you have fewer movies, get the smallest ones.

I recommend you put the children’s movies in their own case, so picking their own movie is easier.

It’s good for them to be in charge of putting their movies back into the right case and keep in the habit of taking care of their own items.

Then start placing the discs in the order you prefer into each wallet. Discard all empty DVD and Blu Ray cases.

Be sure to mark them on your Decluttering Chart!

Having space on shelves and in cupboards is such a calming sensation. And these DVD wallets make finding a movie to watch a complete breeze.

Decluttered and organized:

Digitize

To maximize your space saving, you could convert your DVDs to digital files and store them on a hard drive or cloud service.

If you’re technologically challenged, this solution might not be the one for you.

Enjoy displaying your collection? Try floating shelves.

Floating shelves can make attractive holders for your DVDs, if you’d like to keep the cases and like the look of a collection on display.

These also get the DVDs and Blu Rays off of the floor and entertainment centers.

When I suggest something like throwing away the cases, don’t do that if you hate the idea! We all have different visions for what we want our home to look like, and film buffs are often proudly displaying their movie collection.

Hidden storage

Maybe you want to keep your cases, but you’re not be into the out-in-the-open look! Hiding away your collection is also a good option. You might do this with a TV cabinet, an antique trunk, or a decorative storage box.

DIY DVD storage ideas

Here are some do-it-yourself ideas for creative ways to store your movies and games.

Wooden crate bookcase

Stack and secure wooden crates to create a cute, affordable rustic shelving unit. These can hold your DVDs, Blu Rays, books, and games.

Ladder shelf

Transform an old ladder into a leaning shelf by adding wooden planks or another type of support between the rungs.

This might stick out a bit, so ensure you have the floor space to avoid crowding up your room.

Repurpose furniture

For a hidden storage option, repurpose closing furniture to hold your movie collection and games.

Furniture like dressers, cabinets, an ottoman with storage, a rolling cart, or a modded vintage suitcase.

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Up next: Why can’t I succeed at decluttering my house?