photo credit: julesjulesjules m

Imagine walking into a library and having to search one by one through all of the shelves to find what you are looking for. All of the books just stuffed on the shelf wherever there was a space with no regard as to the author or the subject matter. Is this how your bookshelves are? It’s time to get the cookbooks and the magic spells books sorted before dinner turns into a nightmare.

When was the last time you read your college textbook Latin for Today? Has your grandparents 1948 set of Encyclopedia Britannica graced the bottom shelf for the past 15 years yet no one has looked at them? Now is the time to clear the clutter and organized the keepers.

In this day and age information changes fast. One thing for sure is that encyclopedias, while beautifully made and certainly necessary in their time, are readily available online. The online versions are current, are updated constantly and take up no space.

Nearly all current books and lots of older books can be found in electronic versions. If you are limited in space this is a wonderful opportunity for you to begin to replace your paper books with their digital version. Having digital versions makes your library completely portable and takes up no more space than one hardback novel.

You may be like me and like real books. I like the way they feel, I like to turn the pages, I just like them! But you need to have a plan to store books in the most efficient manner to keep your bookcases looking like a beautiful bookstore and not like the day after Christmas sale.

First you need to make sure you have sturdy bookcases because books are heavy. One novel may weigh over a pound so five shelves of books may weigh hundreds.

The next thing you must do before you put anything on the shelves is secure the bookcase to the wall. This is probably the most important step that so many people miss. We had one of our bookcases topple when our dogs were playing and bumped up against four high unit we had in our living room. We learned at that point that even though we thought the bookcase was in a safe spot it wasn’t worth the risk. Now we have floor to ceiling bookcases in two rooms and they are securely screwed to the walls. You can find straps to hold your bookcases to the wall at any home improvement store.

Next, you need to sort through all of your books and decide what to keep, donate or sell. If you don’t intend to read the book again, or if it doesn’t have any sentimental value, get rid of it. You want to pare down your collection of books to make sure it all fits on the shelves plus leave room for any new books that come in.

Now that you have your shelves secure you are ready to put the books on it. Put the books on the shelf in an order that makes sense to you. You can put all of the cookbooks together or if you want to get more detailed you can sort them by type or author. Do the same with the novels, self help, trivia, etc. As you put the books on the shelf let them hang over the edge by a half inch or so. Once the shelf is filled, take a ruler or another straight edged object and hold it up to the edge of the books. Gently push the books onto the shelf. Voila! You books will look marvelous all lined up and in order.

Your Daily 15 Minutes – This may take you a couple of sessions but don’t get discouraged. A neat bookcase is a beautiful sight to be seen.

Start with one bookcase if you have multiples and take all of the books off. Dust it off with a cloth and secure to the wall if it isn’t already.

Sort your books and donate or sell the ones you no longer want. Organize the books you are keeping in the order that works for you. Don’t forget to make the spines of the books line up for a truly neat look.

No related posts.