I’m a movie buff and have, over the years since I got my first DVD player, amassed a collection that comprises a couple hundred movies and several complete sets of television shows.  When I knew I was going to hit the road in an RV, the thought that I would probably have to downsize my collection scared the heebie jeebies out of me. I’d already reduced my library of books down to its barest essentials, but was having a difficult time doing the same to the movies. Finally, I wondered why I was agonizing so much. DVDs themselves don’t take up that much space; it’s the packaging that fills up most of a carton. So, I decided to invest in a way to store just the discs. My first thought was binders, but research told me that store DVDs in binders has proven to lead to warp. The best way to store them for longevity, besides in their jewel cases, of course, is to use a hard case with sleeves in it:

DVD storage case, available at Walmart

This model of case can hold 200 discs, but there are bigger ones that can hold 500. I decided to go with several of the smaller model for maximum storage flexibility.

I was able to fit all my movies and tv shows into just over one and a half cases, meaning that I had just over 300 discs. To put this into a bit of context, picture a paper box, the kind that holds reams of paper for photocopiers or printers. Last time I moved, I filled ten of those with my DVD collection and now I had it squeezed into just two of these teeny boxes!

I did decide to keep the DVD jackets, so I bought some inexpensive binders and stored the jackets in there, slipped into plastic sleeves. Three binders were plenty and left me room to grow my collection. When I was done, this is what my collection looked like:

Insurance against a rainy day!

I catalogued the collection on my computer so that I don’t have to constantly realphabetize the discs within their sleeves. At some point, I might note right on the jacket where a movie’s disc is located, but that hasn’t proven necessary so far. Since I watch movies on my computer, accessing the database isn’t a hassle, the way it would be if I had to boot up the computer just for that.

So, now I have reduced my collection to a size that doesn’t even take up one full upper cabinet in the study and I have plenty of room to grow within it. That’s great news because how else am I going to see new movies but by buying them. And what if I like them enough to keep them instead of giving them away?

What?! you say. You buy movies and just give them away?!

The answer to this is yes. Renting movies stopped being cost effective years ago when Walmart started offering incredible deals on recent titles. I could go to Blockbuster and rent a movie for 5.50$ or buy it at Walmart for the same price. If I didn’t like the movie enough to keep it, I’d add it to a pile and then sell the pile on eBay, where I always ended up making a profit! Nowadays, I leave movies I didn’t like much in the laundry or guest area of the RV parks I go to. I don’t see how this is any different than leaving a book (and I often help myself to books!). Thanks to Walmart, I haven’t paid more than 5$ for a movie for so many years I can’t remember when was the last time I paid more! They also have even better deals than that; I recently scored a sci-fi triple feature for 10$. The selection at Walmart is excellent and I always end up getting my latest favourites for 5$ or less in a remarkably short span of time. The best deal I ever got was a collection of 50+ Hitchcock movies for… 2.50$. So, even if I occasionally get a dud, I don’t care.

Really, I have no idea why anyone would pay to rent a movie these days, not when movies go from the main theatres to the Walmart bargain bin in such a short amount of time and space doesn’t have to be an issue. I have friends who use the Netflix system, which I’m told works very well for them, but a full-time RVer’s mobility doesn’t make using Netflix possible. I’m told that the US also has vending-machines that rent out DVDs for just a couple of dollars, but even for that price I’d rather buy.

As a final note, someone criticized me for sending all that DVD packaging to the dump. I didn’t. There was a bit of a war over my Craiglist ad offering the empty cases at no charge and I made 50$ off the lot. 🙂

Now, if only the Amazon Kindle would come to Canada, I wouldn’t have to worry about any of my vices taking over Miranda…