Organize DVD collection to ensure that you will always be able to find the movie you want to watch right away without having to search for it and waste time.
Bring all the DVDs that you own to an open space with plenty of room to sort them.
Organize DVDs in such a way that they are easily accessible and to keep them organized over time.
Sort DVDs by type like movies, exercise, cooking, spiritual, motivational, self help, home movies etc. Group movies again by genre (like action, comedy, drama, horror, musical, science fiction etc.). Sort them again alphabetically by artist or title. Keep collections of movies together (example: Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, James Bond). If this task is overwhelming because your collection is particularly large, it may be helpful to do this in stages.
Sort and group children’s movies separately by type (like animated and non-animated), genre, alphabetical or popularity with your kids. If your kids access their DVDs themselves, consider an organizational method that is easiest for them to use and maintain. I have grouped my 4 year old daughter’s DVDs by character (like Micky Mouse, Barney, Thomas the Train, Sesame Street, Curious George etc.)
Home movies can be grouped by person, occasion (wedding, graduation etc.) and year.
Donate or sell DVDs you don't want anymore to make space for the once you want to keep.
When storing the DVDs in a bookcase, media drawer or similar storage unit, put DVDs in boxes and label the boxes like "Drama: A-C” so that you can utilize the entire height and depth of the shelf or storage unit. You can get inexpensive plastic boxes or baskets from super markets or dollar stores for this purpose. Another option is to reuse shoe boxes or shipping boxes. You can stack these boxes to optimize available space. Using boxes will make it easier to get to the ones at the back or bottom because then you don’t have to take out all CDs or DVDs in the front (or top), just the box in the front (or top).
Label the shelves/racks if you are keeping the DVDs directly on them. You can use an index tab or similar cut to size to separate each genre. Divider tabs have raised edges where you can put labels on. Label it by writing (or printing) genre (“Comedy”) or by title/actor (“C” or “B-D”). See if you can arrange the DVDs in such a way that the spines with the title are facing you allowing easy identification.
A space saving option when you organize DVDs, especially if you have limited space, is a DVD binder. They come in a variety of sizes (like 24, 112, 320 Disc etc.) and are available at supermarkets. These are very economical and holds a lot of DVDs. They take very little space because they are not as bulky as actually keeping the DVDs in their cases. You can use index tabs that are write-on or with printable inserts to create labels for each category and stick to the edge of the binder pages.
![]() |
![]() |
Depending on the size of your DVD collection, you can purchase separate binder(s) for each genre and label the outside of the binder with the genre title.
Making an “Excel” sheet or similar list will help you to keep track of what you own.
Maintain the results of your hard work. Show kids and family members how to find a specific DVD and encourage them to put the DVDs back in its appropriate location after use.
Enjoy your movies!
Return from Organize DVD to Organize It - by Items
Back to Main Site