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I was curious how you folks organize and store your cards. Specifically, I want mine in something a little more water resistant than a cardboard box, but I'm having trouble finding plastic containers of the proper size and dimensions for storing large numbers of cards.
Last edited by Xan (2014-04-03 18:01:18)
416 (100%)
That's quite a long list. My recommendation is:
1) Create a basic land box.
2) Organize your cards into sets.
3) Organize your cards into colors.
4) Alphabatize the cards.
5) Store in box(s).
Cards should look like:
White Blue Black Red Green Gold Artifact Land
A-Z A-Z A-Z A-Z A-Z A-Z A-Z A-Z
This method will also aid in improving memory, a useful tool when playing Magic.
I organize mine pretty much the same as Paul_K except starting with return to rav and theros i've started to keep my blocks together as opposed to sets. This is as i lean alittle more to organized play than casual/collector. Also ive kept all my cards in the ultra pro clear polypropylene sleeves. This started from the get go with me as i kept my decks in them before deck sleeves came around and were popular. This allowed me to pull cards from my collection and not have to sleeve them as they already were. I've kept up on this as my collection has grown and i'm glad b/c as ive gotten older and moved around occasionally i've had to store them in less than idea conditions with minimal loss of cards due to moisture, etc. I know this is an added expense and definitely a time consuming chore if your collection is large but i will order sleeves prior to or along with a booster box just to make sure i have enough.
117 (100%)
I tend to keep standard cards in a box per block with dividers per set, then color/alpha. For cards not in standard I have a box per color, then sets, core sets then expansions. So I have an RTR block, Theros Block, and M14/15 box. On rotation the RTR and m14 cards will go into boxes per color at the end. Once you organize everything, you mostly update the standard boxes, then when they rotate you just pick each color out and put them in their appropriate boxes. Rares I have a bulk rare box, which is a disaster, and playable cards get bindered. I'm probably going to have to seperate binders into standard/not standard but I'm not quite their yet.
62 (100%)
I've settled on three-section boxes for each named block. I use two-section boxes for the annual core sets (e.g., M13 and M14 in the same box). This has really simplified things for me, as an entire block rotates out each fall (along with one core set).
That's what I've been doing with everything in the past few years (after going from single boxes to those giant five row boxes, to some other formats and things between).
For my older cards (where I do not have playsets of every block), I simply alphabetize everything in a set of two-channel boxes. Since I use Deckbox to help with deckbuilding, I don't need to sort those cards by color to browse what I have. If I want to see the cards, I just use the spoiler view. Once I know which cards I need for a deck, I open the box, go to that section of the alphabet, and find what I need.
The only exceptions to this basic system are non-basic lands and planeswalkers. Those I keep in a holiday gift box so they are more convenient to find, and to make them quickly portable.
One tip I have for making dividers is to use rule cards topped with post-it style tab dividers. You can get a pack of 36 of them for under $3 (less when on clearance), and they work perfectly. I always have plenty of rules cards around, and I can always grab more tab dividers at nearly any store on the continent.
2014-04-08 23:06:30Before I sold my collection, i had the cards in 3 inch D-ring binders. I sorted them out by Color, Type(creatures, enchantments, and so on), casting cost and then by name. I had to seperate out the types into different binders. It took me a while but I started that back when i started playing so i just kept it up. By the end I had 21 3 inch D-ring binders, and could find every card as long as i had them entered into deckbox.
I organize by Value, Rarity, Playsets, Color/type.
1) all Mystics, Rare, and any card of value are sleeved in binder. sorted by color and play-set.
2) all Uncommon & Common cards are sorted by play-set, divided by color & type "IE special lands, Artifacts, Multi-color" then boxed.
3) Keep all Uncommon's, Commons, and Mana-lands in separate boxes. Label boxes.
4) Divide Uncommon, Common boxes by generation. "recent standard, modern, legacy"
Using Deckbox as a digital tool / aid helps allot. keeping track of what cards I do have available, or which deck they reside in.
Finding cards is quite easy. Choose a card, grab the box corresponding to that card, flip to the correct color divider, pull your card.
Plus you can read all the flavor text that way! 
