Is It Okay to Store DVDs in a Garage?

A big dilemma most physical media enthusiasts have is where to store all their discs.

If you collect a ton of DVDs or Blu Rays you might eventually run out of storage in your house and have to move them somewhere else.

Most people opt to store their DVDs in their attic, storage facility, or garage if their collection starts to become bigger but is this a good idea?

Is it okay to store DVDs in a garage?

It is not okay to store DVDs in a garage. The discs will likely be damaged if stored there for long periods due to temperature fluctuations and humidity.

Your DVDs should not be consistently exposed to temperatures above 80 degrees as this can cause them to warp. It is better to keep your collection in an air-conditioned house.

In this blog post, I will recommend how you can better store your DVDs in your home as well as alternative storage options.

What temperature is good for storing DVDs?

Don’t store DVDs in a temperature you would not feel comfortable in, typically above 80 degrees or below 50 your DVDs will be damaged most likely, Keep them in your air-conditioned house.

If you are only going to store your DVDs in a garage for a very short period of time then you are probably fine but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Make sure to store your discs vertically if you do store them in the garage, If you stack them on top of each other the weight from the discs could damage the DVDs on below them.

DVDs exposed to cold weather will be affected by moisture and condensation. Humidity is also a big problem and DVDs should never be exposed to it.

My Advice: Always keep your collection in your home

Discs exposed to heat can cause the DVD to rot and become unreadable. Store your collection in an area that is cool and not exposed to sunlight.

Making more room in your house is the most feasible option, invest in some minimalist storage to put in the house like a drawer, cabinet, or bookshelf.

Personally, I never recommend storing your physical media collection in anywhere but your house. Part of the fun of collecting is looking into the drawer and picking out movies from your collection to watch.

You can also have fun itemizing and ranking the movies you have. Storing these movies outside of your house kind of defeats the whole purpose of collecting physical media.

If you are not going to revisit these movies and have them in a distant location, not at your fingertip then I’d recommend getting rid of them/selling them.

Don’t hoard

A big problem a lot of collectors have is hoarding. I don’t recommend collecting more than 5,000 discs, implement a high barrier to entry for your collection.

Only collect movies you absolutely love, I know for myself I only buy movies I have seen 2 or 3 times on streaming and rated them a 4.5/5 or above, which is about 2.5% of the films I’ve ever watched.

I only collect what I absolutely savor and love to revisit, the absolute best of the best.

Occasionally I will blind buy a DVD or Blu-Ray if I am at Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Target, Big Lots, etc. because how can you not get some discs when they are right in front of you like that but I usually limit myself to only buying 1 or 2.

An alternative option for those out of space: Highly effective!

If you are out of space and can’t store your collection in your house then I’d recommend taking your DVDs/Blu-rays out of their cases and putting them in DVD/Blu-Ray protective sleeves.

This will allow them to take up significantly less space and allow you to store more. You can use the following sleeves

Then you can store them in the following storage bags, Stock Your Home DVD Storage Bags (Set of 6) Media Organizer Bag for DVDs, CDs, Blu Ray Disc. (paid link)

Personally, I collect partly because of the cool disc artwork that comes with the movie but I would be willing to put some of my DVDs and Blu Rays into protective sleeves if they have generic artwork.

I would never do it for slipcovers or steel books though. A con of doing this is it will decrease the value of your collection dramatically if you ever try to sell any of these DVDs or Blu-rays without the case.

But to be honest how many of us plan on selling our collection? Also Be careful which DVDs/Blu Rays you choose to do this with, ones that are mass-produced and cheap will fit the bill.

Anything that has an exclusive or collectors edition label keep it in the case.

A more visible storage option

Another great storage option if you are struggling with where to put your DVDs would be the following, Atlantic Drawbridge Media Storage Cabinet –(paid link).

You can store all your DVD/Blu Rays and be able to see them which I know is important to many as you ideally don’t want to just store your collection in a place where you cannot see it.

You want to show off your collection to others! Here is another option for your storage, Wallniture Bali White U Shape Floating Shelves

This is a good option for those who don’t want to put their discs in a protective sleeve. However, you can use both of these options.

Maybe put your least desired discs in the sleeves and have your favorite movies on a bookcase shelf.