07.Jan.2026 Last year I started taking physical media seriously again. I've always been into collecting books, but I had become increasingly reliant upon streaming and subscriptions when it came to music, films, games, and television shows. Noticing my favorite shows slowly being weaned off platforms, missing the art and lyric books that came with physical items, even the physical act of walking into a store and perusing their current selections were only a few of the reasons as to why I wanted to get back into collecting physical media. I missed being able to truly own items I had paid for.

This year, I wanted to take the project a little further and start collecting VHS tapes! I haven't used a VHS in well over 2 decades. I was born in the late 1990s, so I definitely grew up using them, however by the age of 10 they had been replaced with DVD and Blu-Ray discs. I don't have many of my old tapes, so the goal this year is to re-acquire (most of) the tapes I've lost. I started by visiting my local video store earlier this week, but their selection did not really have what I was looking for. I appreciate the store being in the area and keeping the art of physical media collecting alive, but I would have to say that I slightly prefer the joy of hunting for picks at the thrift store, half price, or garage sales.

Since I'm collecting tapes now, I should also go ahead and start the search for a VHS player so I can actually watch the movies (lol). I have a TV that sits on my dresser, but I would probably move it to the area near my desk that I've been working on. All in all, everything is coming together nicely and I am feeling refreshed in my creative space after so long.I may get around to making a seperate post about this project, so I can show how everything is organized.

One thing about collecting is that I can see myself going overboard if I don't measure my purchases and focus only on my absolute favorite movies or series. I will be keeping a list in my planner to make sure I am not accidentally purchasing duplicates or purchasing more than I need! I think a good pace would be two tiers on my shelf by the end of the year would be a great benchmark. I'm not as worried about CDs because I am a bit picky when it comes to music, but the DVDs...man I could fill my bedroom, living room, garage, etc. and not even realize. I definitely live vicariously through the larger-scale collectors!