HUGE Physical Media Collecting Hack | Disc Storage Made Easy! 

Products mentioned in this video: Tarifold DVD Protective Sleeves: amzn.to/3WJt5jv Tarifold Blu-ray Protective Sleeves: amzn.to/3HIzTsu Media Organizers with Handles: amzn.to/40fsSry *Cereal At Midnight earns a small commission through these links. Tarifold is not a sponsor and I purchased everything shown.

I work at Tarifold and likely shipped your order! Glad you like the product! Happy collecting!

This makes your DVD collection like a record collection.

You're just going to have to give up luxuries like bedrooms and turn them into movie storage rooms. You can always sleep in the kitchen, at least until you need it for even more disc storage. :-)

To everyone saying “I could never bring myself to do that”…well, keep buying discs. You’ll get there. 😆

Just ordered a 100 pack for DVDs. Such a great idea for having a large collection. Thanks for the valuable suggestion 😀

I would love to see an update video after 6 months or a year of using this solution.

I did this a few years ago with most of my collection that didn’t have slip covers and I’ve never regretted it. Of course my collection is currently only around 1500 movies. I mainly kept premium titles on the shelves and by doing that has allowed me to keep collecting. I also unloaded a few hundred titles before doing this. But yeah love having it all so easily accessible.

I use 336 discs carrying cases for most of my discs especially DVDs. I do keep some boxed sets intact. I give away the cases and keep the disc and cover slip. It's not perfect but I live in a studio and have limited space. Your solution is great too it definitely saves a lot of space. Great topic and cool video Heath!👉😃👈

I've been collecting for years and have always just randomly put it wherever works best. But now I'm starting to have space concerns. I'm gonna incorporate new shelving for now, but in the future this idea could be invaluable. Thank you for sharing it. I'm definitely keeping it in the back of mind from now on.

Wow! What an awesome way to store those disc u don’t have room for yet you wanna keep. This is excellent

This is a great idea! I have DVD's that i don't watch very often but i don't want to get rid of them and they are using lots of space. This is perfect to still keep them and at the same time save valuable space for the things that i do want in the shelves. I think the only thing i would prefer is some kind of box that i could stack on top of another one to save more space there.

Wow, I may do this. I was in the military for almost 30 years and I amassed a collection of over 5,000 DVDs/Blu-Rays such that we boxed them up and put them in an airconditioned storage bin. A few years ago, I built a LAN and we used 4 old laptops to digitize most of them so we can watch them without even using the original disks but have them in case we lose a file or the LAN fails for some reason. This is a great idea and I believe it can get our disks back in our house.

Me and my wife have to go through our movies every few years. We get rid of anything that we don’t want to watch again and anything we have accidentally bought more than one copy of. We plan on making some custom media shelves to get everything organized better.

Hi, Heath I use Disc Socks. They can accommodate multiple discs in their own divider within the sleeve. They can also be expanded. They are more expensive but considering the protection and compact form they are worth it to me. There are a few RU-vid videos on them. Thanks for your great channel and long live physical media!

Great video Heath! Might have to look into these. Thanks for the tip.

Great idea! I would consider. But the thing for me is losing the ability looking at the spines when browsing for something to watch, which I find myself doing often. Even with older DVDs I sometimes want to watch something I hadn't seen in long time. I am not sure if I would like flipping through like records. But, it is something to think about. I appreciate the video!

Thank you Heath. This helps alot !!!

Think about all the space saved if they just made DVD cases smaller. But I guess they stretched them out to VHS size to fit on shelves with VHS

Great hack! I've always resisted un-casing my discs for storage reasons, but this is the best case (hehe) I've seen yet for it!

This is brilliant! Thank you for this video. We love physical media but our DVD collection is way out of hand at this point. I’m going to buy all of these products. This is a game changer.

I put mine in cd wallets. They hold 100, all in one package. I had to get rid of the art wrap but I used that solution on films that aren’t my absolute favourites. Really glad I did as I moved to a smaller place and really needed to fit more into less space.

This is great for all the stuff that I would normally tote away, and not need displayed. Thanks for the tip!

I love it! I'm going to consider this

Mmmm. I like this. Might have to reassess how I've got things set up atm. My shelf space is mostly reserved for boutique releases, director's filmographies and personal favorite of the favorite standard releases. What got me into dabbling in dvd zippy binders was when I received a huge tote full of dvds with fully functioning discs, but very badly damaged cases and cover art. So I took everything worthwhile and salvageable and put them into a big zippy binder. Overtime, I started to put more and more of my pawnshop/garage sale/bargain bin pickups into zippy binders for the sake of space. At this point I have a smaller one specifically for comedies, filled with Ben Stiller, Will Ferrel, Adam Sandler, etc dvds. Another smaller specifically for horror movies that don't make the cut for taking up shelf space. One smaller one for asian films, and a big black one for everything else for now, but mostly have it organized with action films in mind... For now, with the exception of things I recieved without coverart or too badly damaged coverart, I have all of my cover art and any slips neatly tucked away. If, for example I get into a new director, and I start to collect for them, if I know I have a couple of their releases, I will reintegrate them to the shelves. For that, I keep a small stack of empty dvd and blu ray cases where I keep all of the coverart inserts.

Love this system, love it, thnks heath

If you buy the dvd soft plastic sleeves that are designed to go around the hard plastic dvd boxes you can put the snapper sleeves in them. Thats what I do

I'm gonna buy plastic sleeves for all my movies. I live small so it's gonna get me more room. I have just finished to put my music collections in sleeves and put them in some boxes. It really saves space for sure. Love it!

whoa.... totally going to do this!

I like it. I ended up getting the thin dvd and blu ray cases. Thay made a massive difference on the shelf space as well.

Brilliant. You may have just saved my marriage. Thank you!

It's funny in the past week I folded up around 500 to 600 of my DVDs like this. I still have at least a few thousand to go that I'd like to do. It does hurt very much to do, but I was way past being out of space literally tripping over bankers boxes of DVDs in every room. Every wall is already floor to ceiling media shelves. I understand the comments saying this is sacrilegious, but it get's to a certain point where you feel like the walls are closing in like the trash compactor in A New Hope. I wish I had a basement here in Florida for the empty cases. Some of the empty cases are going to end up in my attic and probably be warped by the heat. I used the paper disc sleeves and folded the artwork around them. Then I put them in little drawers to flip through horizontally along the spine. I can't really afford thousands of the Tarifold DVD Protective Sleeves at this time, but I love the way they look. Ninety-nine percent of my DVDs were just a dollar each from thrift stores or dollar stores, so I may have to skip the Tarifold sleeves for .25 cents each. I'm just like you Heath already thinking about the mostly dollar tree blu-rays I should probably fold up when I'm finished with DVDs. It hurts to fold these up, but there is some excitement to maybe having more shelf space for new blu-rays, videogames, cds, books, vinyl, etc.

I store my cheaper / "less important" discs in big cd wallets with the cover and inserts in plastic folders in binders. For me that is a perfect solution.

Heath, I did the same thing. I am just getting started on doing it with some Blu-ray releases, too. I did this a while back with my DVD collection. It just saves tons of space and space is a big commodity for me with such a huge movie collection. For my DVD's, I actually kind of prefer it - I was never a big fan of the DVD cases anyway. The sleeves even kind of give it a vinyl like appearance to flip through. For my Blu-ray releases, I actually love the Blue cases so it's not quite as much fun, but I think it's a decent trade off to be able to properly store things. I have several media towers for storage but it's just not enough room for my giant collection. I've decided to keep my steelbooks, limited editions, collectors editions, slipcover special editions, etc. on my media units while sleeving other releases to help save storage space. It seems to be a good idea for me with my living area. It's a relatively cheap solution, too at 50 cents a movie. I am also using the Tarifold brand - the other brands are annoying with the spines folded in half just like you mentioned or not fitting form/properly. These ones are pretty well made.

I prefer DiscSox. Same concept but 2 fabric-lined pockets to protect the discs and they sell inserts with 4 more disc pockets for sets that have up to 6 discs.

Love love love this idea

Friend of mine did this back in the 90’s with cds because he had a few thousand of them. Course he just put them in bins with the cd casework and no bags of any kind- but it served its purpose for space

Very useful tip and problem solver for me. I have many DVDs that never transferred to BR or 4K that I still want to keep.

Enjoyed your video, maybe a solution for me too. Thanks for the info.

I'm tempted to do this for standard DVDs I have because they take up so much room. I'd keep the cases elsewhere as when I upgrade I will want to sell/donate them in the cases, but they can go in a box in a storage space. I'm massively out of room and could easily clear off a whole bookcase

There used to be a video rental store where I live that did this.

Same issue as digital files: Out of sight, Out of Mind.

From Amazon I got Checkoutstore clear plastic sleeves that has room for the case art & inserts and 2 POCKETS to insert the DVDs. I also got a packet of the 4 pocket version. I keep the sleeves in a Snap-N-Store DVD storage case. I guess I kept about a third of my collection in their original cases (tv series, specific boutique brands, steel books, rare oop). I get an average of 50 sleeves/cases per box. It definitely saves room, protects from the sun and keeps them dust free.

This option is not for me. It is better than disc wallets for sure, but I just can't go for it. Here's a space hack that I did do: Sometimes when I upgrade a DVD to Blu-ray I keep the DVD for various reasons, sometimes I don't. When I do keep both, to save shelf space, I buy empty double disc blu-ray cases (or triple, depending) and create a custom combo-pack that holds both. This way I still have both but save a lot of shelf space.

Not bad: I went with Case Logic CD/DVD wallets. They are great and made it possible for me to add to my collection and organize it in a cool way.

Cd/ dvd sleeves, Comic boxes, bags , even boards. Work fantastic.

Yea man. It’s def a big problem amongst collectors. I did a show on this exact topic about a month ago as I was running into the same issue. Always cool to see techniques people are using. We talked about those bags as well.

Genius. I dig this. Just might have to make the switch... Little concerned about scratching as DVDs do tend to scratch easier Guess it depends how often you're pulling them out of the cases though. Great video thanks dude

i think these are perfect for movies that I want to keep and do not care if they are displayed. Movies look so much better stored in certain ways. For instance, the old DVD snap cases, put them together! Alone mixed in on the shelving they stick out, but together they look good (Steelbooks anyone?). Display the movies you love, and store the movies you like. The hard cases are interchangeable, mostly (see afore mentioned snap cases) and can be quickly reinserted into them if you want to display it again. I am adding some of these to cart right now. Thanks!

Just wondering, if the outer dvd/blu ray cases are kept in a different location or thrown away?

Nice hack Heath. It was funny I've whittled down my omnibus collection. Today when I selling a lot of them a very nice person he asked me why I'm selling them. I just said "I haven't read them and I can get them digitally and I need shelf space for other things." It feels good to clear things out.

I've been using sleeves to store most of my DVDs (along with their cover art and inserts) for about 10 years. I initially used sleeves that fit in binders but gave those up several years ago and switched to loose sleeves similar to those you show here. I put the sleeved discs in 6x18x4 inch bins. I now have over 5000 movies (DVD, Blu-ray, and 4k) in a single 5x5 compartment Ikea Kallax shelving unit, with plenty of room to continue adding more.

I haven't gone the route of separating the case yet but I have picked up 8 storage bags similar to those and they do help. I get Evelots which can hold up to 200 with cases, 4 bags for 29.00.

Heath, watch this video (this exact video that I'm commenting on now!) and the shelves on the right are starting to bow big time. You might wanna get on top of that before it's too late!

I didn't know about these particular products here, but this is what I did: I went on Amazon and bought a CD binder for like $20, and it holds 400 discs I think. So any movie that has a case that is plain or boring or broken/beat up or whatnot (that I wouldn't necessarily NEED to have the actual CASE on my shelf) I am putting those in the binder and reserving my shelf space for steelbooks or nice slipcovers/cases, collector editions or sets or things like that.

Hey Heath -- I have plastic totes of DVDs that are tuff to access. I like this idea of reducing their footprint in my house. So, do you just recycle the old cases? Donate them? Thx for the suggestion!

I do something similar, I have also the little disc sleeves as well for a little extra protection. I have them stored in large hard plastic boxes (hold about 250-350 movies each) with clips to keeps it a bit more moisture proof by holding the lids closed and silica gel packets in the hard plastic boxes to help protect against moisture. I have about 7,000 movies stored this way. It was the only way I could keep most of my collection. I did get rid of about 3,000 movies though. Would show you in photos but youtube doesn't allow that

Always opt for extra protection.

Great idea! One thing I loved was that you were using “What About Bob?” as your example. I love that movie. When will the BD come out?

Great idea👍

This was my Summer project - 600 CDs and a few hundred DVDs & BluRays. Tarifold! The Warner snaps can go in if one is willing to take out a pair of scissors! I also recommend less expensive double packs inserts to place inside the Tarifold sleeves. Not great with new Criterion Blu Rays.

hey thanks for the video gotta love dvds and vlue rays im going to collect for ever. just got a nice couple players and im going to prefer my dvds over netflix. and services.

I have 160 PS4 games and 103 PS3 games and all are now in two separate CD binders. Perfect to save space. I was going that route with my movies as I have roughly 3100 at the moment with 1800 or so being DVD's. I have no shelf space left. This looks interesting and convenient. Good idea. ... J

My collection at the moment is in totes and I just watch the files I have backed up

Thanks for this great idea! I also found ones that can be put in a folder, will look good next to the old Yu-Gi-Oh Folders! I always thought about doing something like this, but would like to think some of these DVDs might be worth something one day... but since they're no longer sealed, mostly bought used and your methods keeps the covers intact, who cares about the cases? If one really were to sell them you can just buy new cases, simple as that

I bought A5 eco poly pockets and CD wallets. I store them in a long white box I got from Ikea. The A5 actually has enough space for a slip cover. Originally, I stored them in A5 ring binders, but there were too many. I also have all my Doctor Who DVDs and CDs in a Hama disc storage unit, with the covers in the poly pockets in an A5 ringbinder which is fine. The Dr Who stuff is okay, because when I start watching them every few years I watch them in order. However, for the DVDs stored in the white box, I find if I can't see them on the shelf, I forget about them. But maybe that's just old age 🙂

I basically put mine into 250 DVD/Blu albums and threw away the cases and sleeves (except for inserts). I only do this on generic and cheap titles. I don't need them on the shelf. BUT, I buy every film I want to own; especially when I'm getting used copies in the $1-3 range. I couldn't believe the amount of space I saved. Initially it was like ripping off a band-aid, as I couldn't believe I was doing it, but now it isn't a problem for me. I'm looking to purge even more cases and cut the shelf (or really stacks at this point) down to very little. One other thing I do is if I upgraded from DVD to Blu, I take the DVD and put it in a sleeve and stick it in the Blu case (If it's a special movie - special to me).

I bought (a lot) of 5 and 6 disc blu ray cases and combined all the movies for a actor/director in those cases. So instead of 24 individual John Wayne movie cases, I have 4 cases with six movies in each one. I put my favorite liner art on each one. It does end up saving a lot of space. I have 1000+ movies on one generic cabinet from Walmart.

I did this for my DVD's last year and it's brilliant got 1000 dvds into a cabinet that used to hold about 200 - now I just need more space for the Blurays

Hey Heath - how is this system holding up for you? I’m interested in making a similar move and am curious if you have run into any issues with this approach.

I've done this same thing and even have that same carrying case

I went the big cd case way. Have 4 of them think they hold like 250 discs each. The downside is you loose the original cover art only keeping the disc.. but hey it works.

I put my collection in dvd sleeves and since many are silver in color, i write the title on the sleevel. The dvd art work i put in plastic paper protector unfolded preserving the art work witbout folding the sleeve. The dvds/blurays are kept in dvd boxes. Each box holds 200 dvds and i have 40 boxes.

For years I was using HIPCE cases, which meant that I got rid of my DVD cover art. I really like my HIPCE's, but sadly, due to moves, some of them have started to break and suddenly I can't find them an more. I'm worried they may have gone out of business. So, I'm going to have to find a new alternative. Not sure if this is it, but I'm open to the idea.

My hack is I put everything in the highest-quality edition case. If I have the DVD and the 4K is a 4K+Blu combo, I put the DVD in a paper sleeve & slide it in the booklet clips of the case and then I have all 3 editions in 1 case. Then the empty cases go in a Banker's box in storage. Actually pretty space-efficient.

Nice. I put my 1000+ DVDs alphabetically onto CD spindles. I put my 500+ single BDs into CD jewel cases and onto a CD rack. The special eds are in their original cases on a DVD rack. I own every title I want-except the unavailable ones. How many disks did you "curate"?

I can dig it.. but what do you do with all the empty cases?

Folding the inner art sleeve is super triggering, you will probably have the fold crease there forever. But that is just me as I have OCD when it comes to condition of items and I am running out of space so I'd use it on stuff I didn't really care about.

I try slip covers for my dvd's but the disc just got "mist" covering them on the inside. Anyway you can help me?

Did this! Now I don’t even worry about room at all anymore. And now I don’t have to curate anymore and I can keep everything

Nice idea but i have to think of another way. Thanx

I may have missed you saying this but are you going to do your entire collection like that?

Well, at least you're keeping the artwork. Because I always regretted getting rid of all my cases and putting them into CD cases. A lot of those movies I've upgraded to Blu-ray and a few I've actually repurchased on DVD for the case if the disc was all scratched up for a $1. when I moved it was nice because I was able to fit everything in my car back then but now that I have all this stuff And I can't fit everything in my car I want my movies to have their cases. I would hold on to the plastic cases in case you change your mind in storage or for replacements. Because I'm sure those are expensive. But that could defeat the purpose.

To each his own! I did this years ago with my thousand + CD collection and well I'm still sad about it! Frankly I'd rather rent a storage space or add on a room! I'm just saying be sure! 😂

I thought you were going to say notebooks. I've got a bunch of those, and they're great.

Call me Mr. Spock, but this is fascinating. Seems like a massive reduction on taking up space. I am not ready for this step yet, but I'm going to keep this in the back of my brain for the future. I like my bookcases with all the spines and my face-outs. Yes, I had to let my collection of DVDs "spill" over into an armoire and a couple of other storage thingies, but so be it. I wager that most of us don't have a media room, or for that matter a movie room with cinema chairs and a popcorn machine, LOL. Aaah, some day ... a movie room. With framed movie posters, a big screen, and lights that dim before the show begins. :) I keep my movies all together and my TV shows together, and my animated stuff together by itself. Oh, and a little stack of Christmas discs. I don't alphabetize my discs (at this point that task seems too daunting, ha-ha), but I do separate my media: movies are by genre, plus TV shows are in a few sections: classic, modern (1990s+), nonfiction, and British. Your video reminded me of comic book boxes, the kind you'd browse through in a shop-- and I imagine that these plastic sleeves might fit fine in those. But the bag with the handle is convenient for moving things around.

Only problem i see is that carry case can't be stacked on top of each other otherwise you risk damaging and creasing the paper artwork.

It just occurred to me that you can use Magazine Size boards and bags. The standard size is 8 1/2 x 11 and the DVD cover can lay flat on the front with the disc on the back. There are also Magazine size boxes which you can stack. It may be a bit more money but the cover will lay flat, better protected and easier to store. At least in my opinion :)

I do admire storage hacks, but I couldn't do that with my Blu Rays, especially the Collection Box Sets.

I saw someone do something similar and just had a filing cabinet full of their stuff. They moved their cases to storage. It's clean but I just can't bring myself to do it.

Good LORD I wish books could do this lol!

What did you do with all the plastic hard cases ?

This reminds me of people who used binders, at least you keep the artwork.

That’s exactly what I did with my DVD collection

I understand why you have to do it but man I could never.

I did a similar thing a few years back, I hated it, I had to buy thousands of empty cases and put them all back!

Radical 😊

Sweet! 💿 📀

what do you do with the cases?

Has anyone simply used the covers as "file folders" for their discs? That's what I do. I'm still looking for a container of the correct size.