Assemble all the movies you wish to include in your organized collection. If your assortment is small and singular in format, a dedicated storage space, such as a DVD wallet or drawer in your entertainment center, could provide all you need to manage your movies well. In this case, an alphabetical arrangement by title provides easy access to your collection of films. If some of your movies are also stored on your computer hard drive, simply slip a place card in the appropriate pocket of the DVD wallet or storage drawer to hold the film's place in the alphabetical arrangement. Be sure the place card lists the location of the film on your hard drive.
If you are managing a large collection that includes a broad range of video formats and possibly multiple storage locations, organizing your collection will require greater effort. A comprehensive catalog can bring all of the titles together in one manageable list. With your movies assembled, create an inventory of all your movie titles.
The love of movies manifests itself in a variety of ways. For some, a favorite director or actor inspires, while for others a particular genre provokes collection. Consider your motivations for buying a new movie. When you want to watch a favorite film, is it the title that occurs to you first? Such questions will help to identify the categories that will best reflect the ways in which you access your movie collection. Then, be sure to include any appropriate detailed information in your inventory. For example, if you are drawn to specific films by the actors that are featured, include leading actors for each film in your inventory list.
If the collection warrants nothing more than an alphabetical list by title, use your favorite word processing program to type up your inventory. To accommodate a variety of formats, consider assigning each with a font color. For example, your alphabetical listing might feature all the Blu-ray disc titles in blue, the DVDs in black and all the digital movies on your hard drive in red.
For a more comprehensive catalog, consider using database or spreadsheet software to create your list. Database or spreadsheet software programs allow you to sort by various fields. Using the detailed information you've noted for each film, your catalog might include the movie title, the director's name, the genre and the leading actors. Your digital catalog can be sorted by whatever category you choose. A printed version could include an alphabetized title list and an additional list sorted by your most often used category as a second search method. Color coding can also be employed in this case to designate format. This is particularly useful if you store varying formats in different locations.
A printed version of your movie catalog can be extremely handy when offering visitors the option of picking the evening's entertainment.