We have a lot of books in our home. With that comes a problem, however. If not kept in check books can creep off of shelves and wind up in every room in every imaginable place: stacked on top of tables and counters, hiding under beds, peeking out from behind dressers, littering the floor, and consequently, getting damaged in the process. I dream of having a dedicated library in our home. One room that is lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelves and furnished with oversized leather chairs, perfect for curling up in for a nice read. Maybe a sturdy table for homework purposes. Sadly, it remains a dream and so I am left with the dilemma of how to go about organizing the hundreds (thousands?) of books in our home.
I was thinking about this the other day, and realized that there are a lot of different ways to organize books and that, rather than adopt a single method, I’ve chosen a smattering that work for me and employed them in different places throughout the house. Not every method works in every instance. I’ve even implemented a system on my Kindle to keep things organized and accessible. Here are some of the different methods I use for organizing my books:
Color: The main bookshelves in my house are in the living room. These are filled mostly with books we bought to read for enjoyment. There is also some poetry mixed in there, from my days as an English major. These bookshelves, for about a year now, have been organized by color. I really enjoy having my books arranged this way. It’s somewhat unusual, it’s visually pleasing to look at, and I have discovered that I remember books by their cover art and can actually find what I’m looking for more quickly this way. Both of my sisters have since adopted the organize-by-color method as well. If you like bookshelves to look uniform and tidy, this is a good place to start. You can even go more extreme, and turn the books spine-in for a subtle, monochromatic look, but obviously, it will be more difficult to locate a specific book with this method unless there is some other system of organization in place.
Subject: My husband and I have a lot of diverse interests from crochet and beekeeping to photography and art history. If we have more than one or two books on a specific subject, I tend to group them by subject on dedicated shelves. For example, my husband keeps all of his art, photography, and design books on shelves in his studio area. I keep all cookbooks together as well as books on yoga, crochet, beekeeping, home organization, and parenting casually grouped by subject on a large built-in bookshelf in my bedroom. Having the cookbooks there is mildly inconvenient, and I would encourage you to store cookbooks in the kitchen whenever possible. Religious books and manuals are stored together in another location.
Size: Try though I might, I have not yet found a better means of organizing the kid’s books. Right now we have a dedicated bookshelf for this in our son’s room and plan to add one to our daughter’s shared room. There is a fair amount of spillover onto the toy shelves, but I hope to eliminate this when I add another bookshelf. The shelf we currently use is small with only 3 shelves and the books are organized by size for the simple fact that it makes them neater as well as easier for children to put away. Since there are only 3 shelves, I can even tell at a glance what shelf each book belongs on. Large picture books are on the bottom, medium-sized on the middle shelf, and smaller books go mostly on the top. I say mostly, because the top shelf is really the only shelf that has another designation — all top shelf books are easy readers and early chapter books. This keeps them slightly more out of reach of the baby and also makes it easy for my two readers to find something that they might enjoy.
Type: I specify “type” because we do have a lot of books sorted this way such as my the easy reader books mentioned above, my husband’s old sketch books, photo albums, and my embarrassingly large comic book collection.
Tips for Tidy Shelves:
- Don’t be afraid to try something different. Books don’t always have to be lined up neatly from left to right. Try running them from right to left or laying them on their sides and stacking them vertically. I also like to lay a book or two sideways in the space on top of traditionally arranged books. If they aren’t level, rearrange the base slightly, putting books of equal heights at the front and end of the section you want to stack on top of.
- Mix things up. Mix in stacks of books with regularly shelved books. Add small, interesting objects to the top of stacks or in spaces at the end of a shelf to act as bookends. I have a few old, heavy cameras and some oddly-shaped vases that I do this with.
- Store outside the shelf. Books look nice mixed in with decorative elements around the room. Stack a few to give a lamp more lift or to elevate a candlestick. If you have spare dresser space, consider lining up some books spine-up in a drawer.
- Library books need homes too. Since it can be difficult to track them down when it is time to return them, I like to give library books a dedicated space. Our current library issued re-usable tote bags to our kids when they got their own library cards, so lately we’ve just been using these. They hang on the doorknob of the bedrooms with the books inside. Before that, we used a large basket tucked in a corner of the living room. Either way, it’s easier when you give library books a home of their own and let your kids know that they must be returned there each evening.
- Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. It’s a good idea to go through bookshelves once a year or so and get rid of books you no longer use or know you won’t read again. You can donate books to hospitals, shelters, prisons, or goodwill. Used book shops will pay decent money for some items — it is always worth taking in a box full of books for the proprietor to sort through. They are also great sellers at yard sales. Another option is using old books for craft projects. I’ve seen some amazing things from wreaths, to simple book-folding wall art, to mobiles and purses. I’ll leave you with this lovely inspiration:
If you have any tips for organizing, storing, or crafting with books, please share in the comments section!
Now that I have a Nook I have less of a need to buy books, though I still have more than I need. I don’t have enough room, but this post has inspire me to go through my book and make things look nice and not just shoved on whatever shelf will fit them.
DH and I recently had a book apocalypse (book-alypse?). We got rid of anything that didn’t fit in our one built in bookshelf in the guest room. Old textbooks, coffee table books we’ve never read, cookbooks with only one good recipe in them, all fiction books that we’re never going to read again, you name it. We’re saving up for an ipad for him, but my Kindle and I are best friends now. I’m trying to convince everyone on the planet now to have a book-alypse.
(BTW, love the stacking by colors idea. It always looks so nice.)
Hey, I just did a book post over at the MFG forums – http://www.myfirstgarage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=325
I’d love your insightful input!
Those book photos are amazing! I actually just saw the Karl Lagerfeld one earlier this week. I would love to have a dedicated library, but still not sure how I would organize it if it were a reality! Maybe still by color, but with a card catalog of sorts?
Wow, this is kinda freeky. I just reorganized ALL of our books yesterday. Some by color, some by theme and I mixed in a few of my favorite tchotkes. And I have your dad’s bowl prominently placed in the mix. Reminds me of you all every day. At Jonathan Adler’s talk today he suggested stacking books on an unused dining room table or side table. Not a bad idea.