DVD Storage

I finally jumped in and organized our DVD collection! I saw this idea on Pinterest months ago, and I couldn't wait to try it out. During the move, I pulled DVDs from every room, every drawer, every laptop bag I could find and collected them all into well labeled bankers boxes. I had a plan and knew I'd get to them eventually, so they went straight into the garage at the new house so I could sort through them once all the essentials were unpacked.

As we were moving, I went to Target a lot. A LOT. And each time, I would look for something that would work to store them in when we got settled in. That's when I found these boxes (at the bottom of the entertainment center).

They are no longer there, unfortunately--unless you are lucky enough to find them on clearance. But anything about this size would work! They are called "media boxes". Even a shoe box would work, though! Get creative!

Then, I went on the hunt for the DVD sleeves that were mentioned in the Pin I found...with no luck. So I bought some of these at Target (but you can get them anywhere, really). They are paper with a clear plastic window.

We already kept our DVDs in binders (well, most of them), so dropping the cases wasn't a huge deal to me. If that's a problem for you, or you're afraid to commit, you can always store the empty cases somewhere else if you have the room? I do recommend saving anything that you plan to resell someday...for obvious reasons. Also, there are quite a few apps out there that you can use to catalog your collection--and they use your phone's camera to scan the barcode and find the DVD for you in the library. That is a lot easier than typing each title by hand, so you may want to look into that before you ditch the cases as well...I speak from experience here. LOL

Anyway, even after I collected all of my supplies, I kept putting it off and putting it off (story of my life). But as family members decided they'd like to watch something and couldn't find it, I figured it's now or never...right?!

I pulled out some old scrapbook supplies and decided to use these strips as my dividers. I used my label maker to add a letter at the top, and I also made one with # for movies that start with a number (13 Going on 30 anyone??), and I made a label with a bicycle icon for exercise DVDs. 

I took the DVDs out of the binders and cases and sorted them into piles according to the letter they start with. Then I just went through each pile and put one DVD at a time in their new paper sleeves. Once that was finished (that's what took the longest, honestly), I then put them in alphabetical order...well, somewhat. I decided not to be too anal about it. All the As are behind the A tab, but they may be out of order within that category. Does that make sense? I figured for my own sanity, this was best because most likely someone isn't going to return them to the exact spot, so I'm not going to worry about it. As long as Wolverine gets returned behind the W divider, does it really matter if it's in front of What About Bob? Not to me...LOL

The only spot I felt needed a little subcategory attention was the S section...we have a LOT of Star Wars & Star Trek movies so I felt they needed their own sections.

I plan to go back through them all in the near future and put a special marking on children's movies and Christmas movies...so that way when we're thumbing through we can pick them out easily. Maybe I'll make a catalog of titles as well...if I do, I'll let you know!

A video is soon to come, so check back later!

Television Cords

Okay, so this isn't exactly "organization" so much as "decoration", but it was really bothering me and I thought I'd share it with you! (Also, let's hear it for two posts in two days! **applause**)

We had a similar situation with our television when we moved. We had it in a large black armoire, similar to our old computer desk. But, again, it wouldn't fit in our new living room arrangement.

So, we got this cute little accent cabinet from Target.

It's not an entertainment center, and in fact, it warns against putting a television on it, so if you decide to do this--do it at your own risk!

I measured our television and I also looked up the weight online and we decided it wasn't a big risk for us. Our only problem was that the back of the cabinet is solid so there is no place to thread the cords through so we could plug them into the wall.

My husband drilled holes in the back of the cabinet. I asked him to make them high up so that when your sitting or standing, you wouldn't be able to see the holes. However, I didn't think that suggestion through all the way, because had we put the holes low, the cords would be hidden behind the box instead of climbing up the back of the cabinet. That's totally my fault (and why I'm not a designer by trade)!

Oh well..what's done is done and now I had to come up with a solution.

At first I thought of colored duct tape or washi tape...but I didn't want this to be permanent in case we got a new box or anything in the future.

Then I had a great idea! A tension rod fits back there perfectly...so I bought one for each shelf and then I needed to find something to cover the holes. I couldn't find a valance that I liked and I don't sew, sooooo...I was walking up and down the Target aisles and found the perfect solution: placemats!

For each shelf, you simply need one tension rod, and two placemats (depending on the size of your shelf). I tried a couple of different types of placemats, and I found that a solid color or one with a tessellated pattern would work best. If you get one with a border or a large picture, you will see where the line breaks. Tessellation (where the pattern is repeated with no gaps) will camouflage the line and make it appear to be one long piece of fabric! Also, try to pick a fairly stiff fabric so that you avoid wrinkles.

Once I decided on a look I liked, I simply folded the placemats over the tension rod and made sure they were lined up nicely and viola! All hidden and pretty.

What are your cord solutions? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!