Storage solution ideas?
 

I have a dedicated workout room/home gym (it's a spare bedroom). I keep my VHS and DVDs in a big dresser, on the top of which I have my TV/VCR combo and my DVD player. My collection has outgrown the dresser, and I now have a set of titles on the floor, which is not ideal as it gets in the way of equipment and things. The closet in this bedroom is not functional for storage space, as the door is persnickety and we already use it to store formal wear that doesn't fit in our main bedroom closet.

I've looked on Amazon for some small DVD storage units, but anything affordable has a bad rating, looks flimsy, and I worried about things getting jostled around just from the fact that the room sees a lot of motion. Like, I have this image of jumping around too close to the unit and the whole thing collapsing.

The room is awkwardly-shaped, with multiple wall bump-outs to accommodate a fireplace and the closet, and I have to share the space with a cat litter box and cat trees, plus two floor-to-ceiling windows means there isn't much usable wall space already. I could always put a DVD storage unit in a different room, but there is still something of a premium on both wall and floor space in this house.

Our walls are plaster, so installing shelving on the wall itself presents some challenges as well, and there's still the problem of jumping around and causing things to jostle/fall over, etc.

I really want to get this room in more functional shape. There probably is room to put a smaller dresser with drawers in it somewhere, and if I really had to I could take the closet doors off and convert that entire space into media storage. I could also purge my collection down to what will actually fit in my current storage area (this presents me with some anxiety ;) ).

Anybody have creative solutions or something that works really well for them? I guess another option would be one of those big folders with sleeves in them and just store the cases in my attic or something.

Can what you have hanging in the closet be pushed over to one side so you can fit a storage unit inside the closet? Or fit one under clothing that is not full length?

I don't know if I have good suggestions as my own small collection still fits inside of a large decorative box. :o But I do have this problem with kids DVDs. Maybe a larger dresser, or a second one? If you don't want it to intrude in your space, one that fits inside the closet. I also like the tall skinny ones for this. I saw a DVD storage unit on Marketplace that seemed quite sturdy, but not sure it would have held enough for it to be worthwhile for a big collection. I chose not to get it because I have a 2 year old and visible, eye level DVD storage isn't a good choice for us right now.

I don't know how you feel about taking your DVD out of their cases, but I use the following: https://www.amazon.com/Atlantic-Medi...s%2C151&sr=8-3

Not all of my DVDs go into this, but many do, and it really helps cut down on the space you need. You can fold the cover art and put it in the sleeve so you still have all the info. There are alphabetical dividers (either come with, or I got separately, can't remember) and I made labels for the dividers (so kettlebells, step, 10MS, yoga, etc) to help organize my storage bins. I've also started putting my most recently used at the beginning after each divider which lets me know the ones I really use a lot.

I use these case logic dvd/cd wallets (the 100 size*):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005ATMD/

For the most part, I store the workouts alphabetical by instructor and label the spine of each cd/dvd wallet with starting and ending instructor or letter. (I use a label maker for labeling the spines). I leave open slots every so often in each wallet to allow room for new additions.

The dvd cases I store alphabetically in boxes in the closet (though I may soon be moving them to the shelving in the basement soon now that I've cleared out some room on those shelves). Some day maybe I'll go totally minimalist and ditch the boxes but for now I like keeping the cases and artwork.

A couple deviations:

Cathe's I keep in (mainly) chronological order in smaller wallets that you flip through one disc at a time. [ETA: forget that, apparently it's been awhile since I did a Cathe because I switched her to two 100-disc cases sometime ago, except for STS]. STS is in its own little wallet. Jessica Smith goes in her own 100-disc wallet (she hasn't filled it all the way up yet!).

And I keep one wallet for frequently used dvds so if I'm on a certain kick, like old CIA stuff or Kathy Smith, I put them in the frequently used wallet for convenience and/or to remind me to try a virgin workout.

*I found the larger size that holds 4-to-a-page too cumbersome.

Speaking of, my current workout room/knitting room/spare bedroom is a bit of a mess and feels more like a storage room vs workout space. It is also awkwardly sized (kind of long and tapers in the corner due to a triangle-shaped walk-in closet (currently my yarn closet). It used to be 2 rooms but one was teeny, tiny so the wall between them was removed back in the 80s and it was made into one room.

It still has wallpaper and curtains in it my sister picked out in the 90s. And a tv armoire that sticks out too far in the room since it was designed to hold a tube tv. The whole room is soon going to get an overhaul and I'm getting rid of the hulking wood armoire and getting more practical shelving instead on the wall for the tv, dvd player, and dvd wallets. Going to have to find a new place to store all the extra boxes of kitty litter though. Right now I stack them on one side of the room but I'm always worried about walking or backing into them during a workout.

I have 4 of these: https://www.amazon.com/Atlantic-52-D...s%2C74&sr=8-11

It doesn't look like this exact model is available, but if you look at the recommended items, there are similar ones.

I have had these for about 10 years. They have moved to new homes with me several times, and I didn't even need to take the DVDs out to move them. Just lay them horizontal until they get to their destination.

The ones I have hold 52 DVD cases each, and because I also utilize MANY multiple DVD cases (ones that hold 2, 4 and 6 DVDs per case) this allows me to store a large portion of my collection this way.

I am fortunate to live in an apartment where not only do I have one room for working out, but I also have ample closet space, so the rest of my collection resides in one of my linen closets :p

ETA: These racks take up very little space in a corner or against a wall, so I've always been able to keep them out of the way and have never had one fall over.

Thanks, everyone! The closet solution is probably going to require more work to be a viable option than I had anticipated, looking at it again, but it would probably accommodate storing the cases out of the way if I did want to go the wallet route. (The closet door is extremely fussy, and so it'd be a situation where I'd have to either remove the door entirely to make it more accessible, or else fight with it every time I wanted to get in or out of it.) However, it would be one time in and out to put the empty cases in there, as there is room for that.

I'm starting to come around to the wallet idea, since it would really collapse everything, and then I could simply keep my VHS in the current dresser drawers. I'll keep brainstorming, though, and perusing everyone's suggestions! I love physical media, but this is one thing streaming has over it, the lack of need to store it all!

This is in our closet and holds all my workout DVDs. In looking at my history I bought it for $39.99 back in 2017. It’s sturdy and just deep enough for the DVDs so doesn’t stick out from the wall too much.

https://www.amazon.com/Atlantic-Maxs.../dp/B00005OT5X

I'm the same as ADAWN except they just go in the next empty slot - saves having to rearrange to keep them in alphabetical order. The sleeves are numbered and I have a database listing each workout with the number (and other tags for Instructor, Type of workout, equipment needs, level of difficulty....) The outside of each wallet has the number range. (1024 - 1152) The 'pages' are 2 discs high, front & back. What's available each time I need another one varies so some only hold 72, others hold 128. The original cases are in storage. Not tossed, but not easy to get to either. All discs have their number written on them.

Oh, my gosh, my inner nerd LOVES the library-ness of your system!!!!