Bookshelf Organization Tips
Books are an important part of life. Almost everyone has a favorite book or two that they’ve read in their lifetime. And books are also a way to get to know someone, providing a way to connect with people. If two people have read the same book, they instantly have a topic for conversation.
Bookcases are also a way to show off your interests and personality. What you have on your home bookshelf says a lot about you. Perhaps you are a budding entrepreneur or growing your own business. If so, it’s probably a safe bet that your bookshelf will be full of business and leadership books, personal finance books, business books, and books for entrepreneurs. If your bookcase is full of adult coloring books or graphic novels for adults, you probably lean more toward the artistic side. Or if you enjoy cooking, maybe you collect celebrity cookbooks or the top cookbooks every man needs. And don’t forget self-help books or productivity books, indicating an investment in improving yourself. Or perhaps you enjoy photography and have a stack of coffee table books with the best photos you can find.
But sometimes bookcases can become cluttered and messy. They collect books, knick-knacks, and dust over the years until they are no longer representative of your true personality. And you don’t want your bookcase to say that you’re on the messy side! Luckily, there are many ways to organize a messy bookshelf to reflect your personality in a better manner.
1. Get Started
The first step to organizing your messy bookshelf is to ask yourself a few questions. First, what’s the purpose of your bookshelf? Perhaps, you are most interested in highlighting your favorite books. Or maybe, you want to have a dedicated space to show off unique souvenirs and other knick-knacks. Second, what should go on the bookshelf? Once you decide what the purpose of your bookshelf is, you will need to determine what items you want to go on your bookshelf. As part of this, decide if your bookshelf is large enough for all your items. And finally, how do you want to organize the books? There are several different ways you can choose to organize your books. Try to determine which method will be easiest for you.
2. Remove Everything
After you’ve answered these questions, the next step is to remove everything from your shelves. Starting with a blank canvas is the most natural place to begin because you won’t have any preconceived notions related to the way it was. Start by going through your books and decorations and weed out the ones you don’t need or take up too much space. Getting rid of excess is a crucial part of this step because it will allow you to look at the remaining books and decorations in a new light. Hopefully, you will be inspired to use them in new ways!
3. Find the Right Design
After you go through your books and knick-knacks, you will need to decide on how to organize your books best. There are a lot of different ways you can do this, including organizing by genre, title, subject, author, the color of the spine of the book, the height of the books, read vs. unread, and many other ways. There is no one right way to organize your books, so you will have to find what works best for you. This step can be tedious and may take some trial and error, but once you figure out how you like to have your books organized, you’ll be happy you took the time to do this. Not only does it give you a fresh looking bookshelf, but it also helps you always know exactly where everything goes.
4. Start Decorating
Once you figure out how to organize the books, you can add decorations. Choose decorations that highlight different aspects of your personality. If you like to travel and have picked up a lot of souvenirs, use them to decorate your bookcase. You can also use photos, family heirlooms, keepsakes, or indoor plants as accents on your bookcase. As you decorate, keep this one thing to keep in mind: empty space is just as crucial as a filled spot. It’s okay to leave bare spots in between books and decorations. This negative space adds an essential visual dimension that is vital for a finished look.
5. Evaluate Your Work
Once completed, take a step back to evaluate your handiwork. If you don’t like it, it’s okay to go back several steps and choose a new way to organize the bookcase. That’s the beauty of organizing and decorating. You can keep changing things until you are happy with the result. Organizing a messy bookshelf can help in more ways than just cleaning it. Just remember that once you finish the job, keep up on dusting! Bookcases can be a reflection of your personality and make a first impression. Make sure it’s the lasting impression that you want by getting your messy bookshelf in perfect order!
