You like to collect books. A lot of books. Too many books? No, never too many books. Well, now there are too many books to fit nicely on your bookshelves—but you still don’t have enough books. If it’s time to start making your book collection look nice and pretty as well as accessible, we’ve got some tips for organizing your bookshelves that you can’t afford to ignore.
Sort Them Before Placing
As with anything you want to reorganize, when beginning the organization journey of your books, you must sort them first. How you sort them is up to you. Whether you want to organize your books in alphabetical order or by color, having a system in place will help you immensely. Try to pick an organization method that will be easy to rearrange or add more books to. Sort the books into neat piles according to your sorting method. Seeing all your books laid out will help you picture where they belong on your shelves.
Eliminate Unnecessary Books
This may hurt to hear, but you may not need all your books. While you have them off their bookshelves, evaluate which books you may not need or want anymore. You may need to remove an outdated guidebook or a book with bad memories attached to it. You don’t have to throw them away by any means; you can store them elsewhere in your house or donate them to a secondhand bookstore. Making more space for the books you truly love—and even for future books—is one of the most important tips for organizing your bookshelves.
Use Your Space Effectively
Now that your book collection is sorted and pruned, it’s time to place the books on the shelves. While organizing, you may want to decorate your shelves with bookends or antiques, so save space for any trinkets you may want to display. You can also utilize bookends to showcase any special books on any other flat surface, such as a nightstand or table—they aren’t limited to bookshelves. As for the books themselves, try to keep the varying sizes in mind when putting them on the shelves. If a book is large, it might fit best horizontally on the shelf. It’s okay to have horizontal stacks of books on your shelf!
If you realize your book nook needs a little more jazz, keep an eye out for vintage furniture online that matches the style of your personal library. Home Smith has a regularly rotating collection of online antique and vintage furniture to suit any book haven’s theme.
