The DVDs Almost Everyone in Erie Owned

There was a stretch of years when just about every home around Erie had the same shelf. A tower of DVD cases next to the TV, a few box sets stacked sideways because they would not stand up straight, and at least one movie nobody remembers buying. Streaming changed all of that, but the shelf is still there in a lot of houses, holding dust and good memories in equal measure. So humor us for a minute and see how many of these you can still spot in your own living room.

The Shelf by the TV

There was always a box set, wasn't there. Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, bought one season at a time back when that was the only way to own a whole show. They were heavy and proud and took up more room than the TV stand ever had to give, and half of them are still up there today, complete and barely cracked open.

If there were kids in the house, the Disney shelf was going at all hours. The Lion King, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Shrek, played so many times that everyone knew the songs whether they wanted to or not. And for the grownups there was always the one big movie you watched a hundred times anyway. The Lord of the Rings marathon that ate a whole Saturday. Titanic on two discs. Gladiator, Jurassic Park, the Pirates run. The ones you knew start to finish and put on just to have something going while you folded the laundry.

Some of them only came out once a year, and honestly that was part of the charm. Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Elf, It's a Wonderful Life. Down from the closet the day after Thanksgiving, back up in January, and for a lot of families it wasn't really the holidays until one of them was playing behind all the wrapping and cooking.

Then there was the stuff we don't talk about as much. The workout DVDs bought every January with big plans and used about twice. The mystery discs from the five dollar bin by the checkout that you grabbed, meant to get to, and still couldn't quite summarize if your life depended on it. No judgment. Every shelf has a few of those hiding in the stack.

When You're Ready to Pass Them On

Here's the nice thing about that shelf though. It's a record of a lot of good nights, and there's no rush to do anything about it. But the day you'd rather have the space back, we make it easy. We come to you, box and all, and take the DVDs off your hands for free. The ones still in good shape get donated to libraries and donation centers around Erie so they can give somebody else a few good nights too, and some collections even earn you a little back. No sorting, no hauling, no cost. Just send a photo or give us a shout, or call 814-806-4351, and we take it from there. It's about as simple as it sounds.

So be honest. Which one is still on your shelf? We're betting we can guess at least one.