Collecting: When Things Get Out of Control

Photo: The Billfold

No matter what you collect, the laws of physics are going to catch up with you. Worse yet, physics is always going to win and may even engage in trash-talking. Okay, I made up that last part, but I always feel physics is telling me, “You think one more bookcase is going to help? You’re a hopelessly foolish person.”

Maybe physics is right, but there comes a point when something’s gotta give. Everyone’s house/apartment/basement/mansion has a limited amount of space, and when that’s maxed out, you have to either get a new house, eliminate parts of your collection, or…

Make better use of the space you already have.

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We’re talking about physical objects, not digital ones (another discussion for another time). Today, I’m discussing physical media, specifically DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K discs. In my situation, I’m trying to figure out how to eliminate a bookcase of DVDs and Blu-rays to make room for more books. (I know this is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Again, another discussion for another time.)

I found these binders, which look great, but only hold 48 discs. You can purchase extra pages, but it doesn't seem easy to insert the discs and the covers/booklets.

Then I ran across this wonderful video from Elliot Coen’s YouTube channel that offers a different solution. T3L is a Danish company with an office in the U.S. I was delighted to discover that the individual sleeves allow you to store discs with their covers and booklets.

That looked okay on the video, but I was more skeptical about the box. When I perused the T3L website, the storage box appeared to be made out of black cardboard. For $25, I was hoping for something better.

I was intrigued enough to order a box and 100 sleeves. What the heck, right?

When my shipment arrived, I was delighted to discover the storage box was not made out of cardboard, but of a different material. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s sturdy and looks great.

Now, what to put in it?

As Elliot mentioned in his video, I don’t want to include films from box sets or limited edition releases, so those are off-limits. But I still have several DVDs I seldom watch, but don’t want to abandon, so the storage box is perfect for those films.

I hadn’t anticipated this, but I realized that some of my DVDs are 2-disc sets with booklets. I felt a little trepidation in placing all that into one sleeve, but there was plenty of room. The sleeves are thin, but far more substantial than I was expecting.

I transferred 24 DVDs from cases to the box last night, but you can see the enormous amount of room those cases take up compared to the sleeves. This morning, I added about 30 more.

I only ordered one box and one package of 100 sleeves for now. Although the total was a bit more than I wanted to spend ($50 before shipping and taxes), the quality is solid, so it’s worth the money.

Physics may still be laughing at me, but that’s okay. I can take it. (I think.)

Stay tuned. I’ll see how I like this initial purchase before I order another set.

So, what are your storage solutions? The comments are open, so let me know. Thanks for reading.