January is an odd month, we just got done celebrating the holidays and now it’s a new year. We write down our goals and dreams for the new year, eat better, go to the gym to five times a week, drink more water (my personal goal) and maybe this is even the year you’ll get your sh*t together and get organized? If you plan on getting some things organize this year why not start with things that make you happy, like your books? Here are some fun ways to organize your bookshelf/bookshelves this new year!
Before you start:
- Empty your bookcase and give it a good cleaning (don’t forget the top!)
- Clean off your books – gently wipe off the covers with a LIGHTLY damp cloth
- While your emptying your books set aside books that you may not want to keep (you’ll be surprised to find one or two books that don’t spark joy!)
- Marie Kondo your books
Start Sorting!
Quick Knomari Method for your books
Marie Kondo came into our lives last January and asked us if our things “sparked joy”, she also said to only keep 30 books at most.
*cricket sounds*
Don’t worry, I’m not EVER going to tell you to downsize your books to only 30, but here is a quick way to go through your books and make sure that the books you do have spark all the joy.
Organize the books into categories (fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, etc.)
Ask yourself:
Do I love this book?
Will I read it again?
Is it in good condition- if you get a lot of your books second hand this is a hard one to answer because sometimes the books aren’t in the greatest shape
Could I borrow it from the library?
Do I have multiple copies?
Am I still interested in the topic?
Would it be more useful to someone else?
Is it available as an eBook or audiobook?
Does it spark joy?
Okay, now comes the fun part! You’ve cleaned the bookshelves, you’ve cleaned off your books, but now how the heck are you going to organize your bookshelves?
1. By Color!
If you have lots of colorful books, you should try sorting your books by color! It’s not only fun, but looking at a rainbow of books can be so calming.
2. Playing with Lines
If you have a lot of books that have different shapes and sizes, try playing around with vertical and horizontal lines! It also gives you a chance to show off cool knick-knacks, letter boards and maybe introduce some greenery!
3. By Category
This might sound like a no-brainer. Fiction, Non-Fiction, etc. But then you can take that a step farther, try putting all the Romance books together and then sort them in alphabetical order. This is also a great way to reference back to your shelves to see if you have a certain book or how many books you have by an author!
4. Bottom to Top, Top to Bottom
Depending on what your shelving situation is but the company might suggest the weight each shelf can hold safely, take that into consideration when organizing your books! Try putting all your larger, heavier books on the bottom and work your way up! You can still play around with colors and lines too.
5. Read and TBR
This might sound like an odd way to sort your books, but it can also make you stay on track with your reading list! @onereadingnurse flips the books around that she’s already read. This way, she knows exactly what she hasn’t read yet! I’m calling genius on this one!
How do you show off your books? Do you have a fun or practical way of organizing your bookshelves?
