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Organize Books in Your Home
To organize books in your home effectively there are steps to take to make the job easier.
In my opinion, one of the greatest things invented was books. I can't get enough of them! I read constantly on various subjects and I am always searching for my next great read.
But, with this great love can come clutter and disorganization. This is especially true for those with large collections or home libraries. It can become difficult to find a certain book when searching if you don't keep up with maintaining a good system.
So, I have listed some basic steps to follow if you would like to learn how to organize books inyour home.
I got my inspiration just from visiting local bookstores and libraries (the experts in book organization). If you follow what they do you will be able to find any book.
How To Organize Books In Your Home
- Decide where you are going to keep your books.- Do you have a place in you family room? Do you have bookcases scattered through your home? Do you have a dedicated den or library space?
Your books can be organized in any space, it is up to you to decide what space is best in your home.
- Decide which books to keep. - Gather all of your books and decide which books you plan to keep. If you are tight on space this is a very important step to make sure you have enough room .You may want to consider getting rid of any of the following:
- Old textbooks that have outdated information.
- Fiction novels you didn't like or will never read again.
- Old children's books that are no longer age appropriate for your kids.
- Books you just don't plan to read in the near future and don't have room for at the present.
- Organize your books. - Here is where the grouping begins. If you want to learn how to organize books in your home you must put them into categories, especially if you have a large collection. Again follow the lead from librairies and bookstores. Group like subject matters together. Here are some of the categories to consider:
- FICTION - This category can be further broken down if your collection is large. I would break it down into children's books, novels (mystery, romance, horror, science fiction), plays, and short stories. When grouping these it is also best to group authors together by alphabetical order.
- NONFICTION - From the old card catalog (for those that remember), these are grouped by subject matter. The following is a list of subjects:
- Arts
- Biography
- Cooking
- Computers/Technology
- Crafts/Hobbies
- Gardening
- Health/Medicine
- History
- Politics/Government
- Religion
- Science/Mathematics
- Self Help
- Sports
- Travel
- Writing/Journalism
- Shelf it. - Learning how to organize books is more time consuming than anything. After you have completed grouping books then it is time to place them back on the shelves you designated for the books.
TIP:You can donate any of your books to charities, libraries, schools, daycares, senior residences, or hospitals. Remember these donations are tax deductible so if that is important to you remember to get a receipt.
Final Tips On How To Organize Books
- If you just can't part with some books that you can't find shelf space for search for another space in your house that could handle keeping one box. If you don't look for the box in the next year chances are you didn't need what was in it and you can then donate the whole box.
- Make sure to leave extra space in each category for your growing collection, especially for your favorite topics.
- If space is an issue plan to discard or store one book for each new book you bring home.
- If planning to shelf your books remeber the weight of the books. If you are purchasing a bookcase make sure you inquire what is the maximaum amount of weight the shelf can hold as well as what materials are used in the shelf. (Is it real wood, particleboard? etc.)
- If you don't have any oversized books in your collection then a bookcase that is 12 inches deep should be big enough. However, check your books that are in question and measure the size if in doubt.
- Make a master list of all of your books. Keep a list just like the categories used above so there is no confusion later.
So, these are some simple steps to follow if you would like to learn how to organize books in your home. All it takes is some time and patience in grouping your books to end up with a great organized book collection.
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