Remember when DVDs came out and compared to VHS tapes they were so sleek and modern OMG and now they’re basically extinct and computers don’t even come with DVD drives anymore? We’re living in a time where technology is sprinting along and our little analog brains are like, wait, what am I supposed to do with all this stuff I bought over the last few decades? Well good news, I’m here to tell you that I have all the answers! (Just kidding, kind of). I don’t have all the answers, but I definitely have some guidance for you, so if you have piles of plastic cases bumming you out in your living room, read on my friend.

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This post is a series of questions, kind of like a choose your own adventure thing, so here we go!

Question 1: Do you watch your DVDs?

YES: Great! I will (probably) allow you to keep them! Move on to Question 2.

NO: Uh oh…If you wholeheartedly believe you would watch them if they were accessible, move on to Question 2. If you’re in love with Netflix and/or don’t even own a DVD player, donate those little plastic disks to the library and stop reading this now!

Question 2: Is your DVD collection easily accessible?

YES: “They’re alpabatized on a shelf in our immaculately-organized home office.”
If this is your answer, GET OUTTA HERE you don’t need my advice!

NO: “Ummmmm….I think they’re in a box in the garage from when we moved in 2014?”
If this is more in line with your answer, but you care about your collection enough to create a functional system then congrats! Move on to Question 3. If you’d rather pay whatever it takes to subscribe to all the streaming services so you can avoid ever having to think about that box in the garage, then your journey is over my friend, I don’t think you really want to keep those DVDs. Do yourself a favor and take 30 minutes to locate them in the garage and drop them off at a donation center. Someone else can enjoy them now, and you can reclaim that space in your storage area.

Question 3: Are you attached to the cases?

YES: I get it, I went to film school and I love movies and I know that some DVDs came with super elaborate special-edition cases. If you have the shelving necessary to store this combo in a way that doesn’t make your spouse want to move out, congrats! If you don’t, I suggest you pick the 10% you care the MOST about and then move to Question 4.

NO: GREAT, I love you, move to Question 4.

Question 4: Are you more of a binder person, or more of a filing box person?

Binder Person: If you like the idea of having a big binder (or binders) full of DVDs so you can flip through and see all the printed disks, here’s what you’ll need: 256 count DVD binder.

Filing Box Person: I personally find DVD binders a little unwieldy (and not very cute), so I like using this DVD filing box for clients (including my own husband). They also look super cute on a shelf and take up very little space.

Now that you’ve chosen your storage receptacle of choice, move on to Question 5 (and then you’re basically done!).

Question 5: Do you want your DVDs organized alphabetically, by category, or both?

ALPHABETICALLY: If you know the name of every single movie you own and want to be able to search for them quickly this way, by all means alphabetize. Just know that if you plan on getting more, it might be hard to add titles in efficiently.

BY CATEGORY: If you don’t have the time or desire to alphabetize, no sweat. Just separate them Into basic categories (I chose broad ones like horror/sci fi, adventure, fantasy, comedy, kids, etc.) and file them away this way.

BOTH: WHOA. Hats off to you, if you want to separate them into categories and then alphabetize, I’m impressed and you can submit an application to work for me here.