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?