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creative storage ideas


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Bright_Spear



Joined: 24 Jul 2012
Posts: 340
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:52 pm Reply with quote
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Vata Raven



Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 710
Location: TN
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 6:39 pm Reply with quote
on a bookshelf (that's were my DVD collection is at, it's like 6 feet tall), I stack my DVDs on top of each other. I have like 20-25 DVD sized cases on top of each other.

I do the same with my manga. They're just stacked up on each other. You get more space like that, instead of lining them up in a row.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Are you looking for and additional storage unit, or are you trying to decrease the space used by the collection to maximize your existing storage space? I say this because I have run out of places to put new storage units.

Are you trying to store DVDs/Blurays, manga, figures or something else?

If you are looking for new storage units, do you want dorm quality, first home quality or furniture quality? Do you need space to store outsized box sets such as those from NISA? Can you build your own or pre made only?
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Bright_Spear



Joined: 24 Jul 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:28 pm Reply with quote
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:44 pm Reply with quote
My solution when I was where you are was slotted standards and shelf brackets. Now you can get a variety of shelves to fit the brackets. Depending on where you live,(apartment for instance) that might not be an option.

There is always the old standby of blocks and boards. I don't recomment cinder blocks as they are ugly but you might be able to find glass blocks high enough to handle DVDs.

As you are probably aware, commercially made book cases are a problem because they are too deep and the shelves are too far apart, even if adjustable. It is possible to get around this by double shelving the DVDs and putting a step behind the back row to elevate it to the point it can be seen.

If you have a number of DVD series that came as singles, you can save space by replacing the cases with slim line cases that hold two disks. If you are good with a graphics program you can even make your own covers, or at least spine lables.

Books are a problem. The only real solution is more book cases or more paper boxes. Surprised
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Vata Raven



Joined: 21 May 2007
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Location: TN
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:12 pm Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
If you have a number of DVD series that came as singles, you can save space by replacing the cases with slim line cases that hold two disks. If you are good with a graphics program you can even make your own covers, or at least spine lables.

There are cases that hold 6 discs that are the size of a standard case. They have that size that can fit anywhere between 2-6 discs. I had up a topic with someone helping me with the case issue. They even used one that holds 8, but just used a art cover from one of the singles they had. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't look awful either.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
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Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:39 pm Reply with quote
You could do what I'm doing, and sell off any series you have in singles or "parts" and then replace them by buying the more space economic "Complete Collections". This method works especially well for Funimation products and allows them to take up half as much space. I have thus far gained 3/4 of a shelf by replacing 5 or 6 things and I've plenty more to go yet that I can still replace.

My method for displaying and storing my collection is floor to ceiling shelves mounted on brackets. 14 shelves house all 300-something of my series and OVAs and all the movies (all 100-something) I just throw in turn-style DVD tower.


Last edited by Kruszer on Sat Sep 08, 2012 12:30 am; edited 3 times in total
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gsilver



Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 611
PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 12:00 am Reply with quote
Vata Raven wrote:
There are cases that hold 6 discs that are the size of a standard case. They have that size that can fit anywhere between 2-6 discs.

This is what I use nowadays, and I've got some 12-in-1s for really long series. Those take up the space of two normal DVD cases.

I was doing disks in hanging sleeves, but I found that disks got lost way too easily, and it was too hard to find stuff. With multicases, I can see exactly what I have on the shelf, and nothing takes up too much space.

You can even get creative and group similar movies, like your Ghibli collection, in a multicase.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 8:39 am Reply with quote
Best Buy used to sell cases designed for DVDs. I got my wife one that holds over 100 standard cases. I have not been there lately since they stopped having a decent selection of anime so I don't know if they still sell them.

Check out consignment stores, flea markets and yard sales. You can get some really great finds that way.
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Mylene



Joined: 07 Feb 2006
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Location: Indiana
PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:59 am Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
Best Buy used to sell cases designed for DVDs. I got my wife one that holds over 100 standard cases. I have not been there lately since they stopped having a decent selection of anime so I don't know if they still sell them.


They still do, because that's what I use. They've modified them though, now they're a bit shallower which is optimized for BD, but still works fine for DVDs (just a little overhang). I use the old version for my manga as well. They're very adjustable as well.

Here's a link on Best Buy, although I think we ended up buying them online elsewhere--I'm not entirely if Best Buy stocks this version exactly anymore.

Since I like to display figures with my DVDs/manga, I don't optimize the space as much as one potentially could. With the exception of right at the center where there's 1 stationary board, each individual box can be as tall or short as you want it to be.



For this one, I did adjust the bottom to optimize for CD storage though:

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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 11:56 am Reply with quote
@Mylene

Thats what I was talking about. Nicely done, do you actually have a black wall or is that something you put there for the contrast?

Did you fasten the shelves to the wall as the instructions suggested? Not that I think it is necessary.

I think I have seen them in white as well.
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Mylene



Joined: 07 Feb 2006
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Location: Indiana
PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 2:10 pm Reply with quote
That wall is actually dark red at the moment (but I see that it looks black from the lighting in the photograph). We'll be repainting all of the walls a soft grey color eventually, but for now we're settling for what the previous owners left us.

We had planned on anchoring them this time just to be good little owners, but since we knew we'd be unloading to paint in the next 3-9 months, we didn't bother just yet. We didn't anchor them at our old house and had no issues. As long as they've got enough weight toward the bottom it hasn't been a problem in the 5 years that we've been using them.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:39 pm Reply with quote
Ours actually sits three inches out from the wall due to a baseboard radiator so wall attachment is not an option. However we have had no problem, even through the Virginia earthquake a while back. I suspect it is intended to cover the company's butt if some idiot lets his kid climb it.
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FaytLein



Joined: 21 Jun 2008
Posts: 1260
Location: Williamsburg, VA
PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 8:57 pm Reply with quote
I have two of the towers Mylene mentioned, and they work wonderfully. Granted, The Stack has long since outgrown any feeble attempt to contain it, so I have had to make a giant pile at the foot of my bed, as well as sacrifice a dresser drawer for all the anime. Manga and figs are currently in my balcony storage unit, in about 10 or 11 plastic tubs that you can buy at Walmart (and I still need more.....and a house, not an apartment.)

If actual physical space is a problem, consider reducing display items. A big tub in a closet full of shows that are just gathering dust, tends to help out. Also, they make storage ottomans, granted they can't hold much, but they make good footstools, and they can alleviate storage issues.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 9:28 pm Reply with quote
For basic deep storage, the kind you put in a storage room, Lowes sells a heavy duty 5 shelf unit that states it will hold 5000 pounds. The shelves are 18 inches by 36 inches. They will just hold three of the boxes that paper comes in. With careful shelf position I have been able to double stack three shelves for a total of 18 boxes on a single unit. You can hold a lot of anime or manga in that.

Be very careful to get the heavy duty units if you intend to store manga or other books. Paper gets heavy in bulk.
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