/ SPARK Tips, Clutter free, Decluttering your home, Organize your life / By admin

How to Organize Books

You can only own 30 books.

It’s a rule.

Actually no it’s not.

This come from an infamous quote from Marie Kondo, Queen of clean herself. Except she never actually said you can only have 30 books. Here’s what she did say in her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

I’m even referencing the page so you can fact check me. On page 93….it reads…”I now keep my collection of books to about thirty volumes at a time, but in the past, I found it very hard to discard books because I love them.”

Now that we busted that myth, let’s talk about how books come into your life and why that matters with tidying up your books.

How to Declutter Books

You might have some emotional attachments to your books because of how they came into your possession.

Were the books given to you as gifts?

Maybe you inherited the books from someone who passed?

Or did you buy the books yourself with every intention of reading them, but pushed them aside in favor of doing something else?

Let’s explore how your books became clutter.

Books as Gifts

Books that came about because they are gifts or they are inherited may not be something you have any interest in reading and you might be keeping them around because you don’t want to offend the gift giver.

I’ve had many people tell me they are filled with anxiety with the thought of their friend coming over to their house, asking about said gift, and you’re put in this awkward situation because you just purged it the previous week when decluttering.

If this is your worst nightmare, I understand.

The chances of your friend doing this to you is low or remote.

But let’s say it does happen.

Wouldn’t it be better to be honest and say that you didn’t connect with the book?

Or you could feel guilt each and every time you pass by your bookshelf and let yourself be reminded that you never read the book, and let that mean something about you.

It could mean that you’re a horrible friend who doesn’t make use of books you don’t find interesting. This likely isn’t true so take care in making up stories about yourself.

Books Purchased with Good Intentions

For books that you purchased yourself with the real intent of reading them, but haven’t yet had the chance or gotten around to it, I would suggest you get honest with yourself about the book.

Ask yourself, “Do you want to read it?”

If yes, put a plan of action together to make it happen.

Whether that’s putting a task in your calendar to read a chapter a day or reading the book with a friend or partner as part of book club, make reading the book a project.

Remember, what gets scheduled, gets done.

If the answer is no, you don’t want to read it. Ask yourself why you’re holding onto it.

Thinking you spent good money on it and it would be such a waste to let it go? Isn’t it being wasted already on your shelf not being read by yourself or anyone else?

If you were to declutter it, letting it go to be donated, someone else has a shot at reading it and getting the benefit. Plus, don’t forget there is an actual cost to keeping your books too.

You’re paying money in rent and utilities to store the books in your home.

Keeping the books also requires maintenance.

You must clean them otherwise you invite dust and potentially mold into your home.

All this affects your health and that costs you too, which is far worse than affecting your wallet.

Books Started But Unfinished

What about books you started, but just couldn’t finish.

Or maybe you said “I will read it later.”

Later is often a lie we tell ourselves.

We might have the best intentions, but later is code for never.

So stop lying to yourself and stop feeling guilty for what you think you “should” be reading.

You might even have a rule in your head that says you have to finish a book. By the way, you’re not the only one. This is a very common rule.

But why?

Where did this even come from?

Maybe because we hear things like “finish what you started.”

Here’s the thing, it’s okay to not finish the book. And it’s okay to let the book go too. You don’t need my permission, but consider it granted.

Decluttering Questions to Ask Yourself

To recap, simplify decluttering your books by asking these three questions:

What internal rules do I have related to books?
What do I stand to gain or lose by keeping the books?
What do I stand to gain or lose by letting the books go?

How to Organize Books

Now that you have decluttered your books let’s take a look at what is left and how you can organize them to help you take action.

How to organize your books is widely debated and I want to give you some options here:

Organize by genre or subject
Organize alphabetically by author
Organize by color
Organize with hidden spine

Organize by Genre or Subject

You’ll find that your neighborhood bookstore is organized in this manner.

There are different sections of the store, by genre or subject and then within the section all the books are organized alphabetically by author.

At home you might sort by genre and subject and then by height or color.

If you have the luxury of space with lots of storage on a bookshelf, you could also organize your books according to genre by sectioning off the bookshelf by themes and subjects.

The top shelf could be self help, and the bottom shelf could be lined with business books or children’s books.

Organize Alphabetically by Author

Organizing you books alphabetically by author is very popular method and one that you’re likely familiar with as this is method you see at most book stores and the public libraries.

Organize by Color

Recently popularized by The Home Edit, everything rainbow is their signature style.

The rainbow guides how items are organized, especially books.

While I find this lovely to look at, it’s certainly Instagram-able, in terms of finding books I don’t find this useful at all.

I rarely know the color of the spine of a particular book. So it would actually take longer for me to hunt around for a particular book and that causes friction which doesn’t work for me.

But if you’re into this, feel free to organize in this manner by color, then height.

Organize with Hidden Spine

Facing the spine on the inside of your bookshelf is a very popular method for home decor.

This however makes little to no sense if you’re big on flags and post-its to mark important pages of the book.

I personally do not own coffee table books.

Most all my books are for research or education so this method of organizing doesn’t work for me.

If home decor is your number one priority with books, this option may appeal to you.

Any combination of these will work, but the best method is the one that you will both stick with and will follow. If you can’t stick with a system you build, it’s probably too complicated.

How to Store Books

You now know how to declutter your books, organize them in a meaningful way that works best for you and moving on to the last part of this post, storing your books.

Before we get into the storage ideas, first think about why you have books.

Are they for

education,
knowledge,
decor
or a combination of all these.

Books for Knowledge and Research

If your books are for knowledge and research, accessibility is going to be a priority.

Whereas if your books are there for decoration, they don’t necessarily need to be easily accessible because they won’t be frequently touched.

Since I’m not here for interior design and decor tips, I’m limiting this discussion for books used for knowledge and research.

When you have a small home or one that doesn’t have a lot of storage space, I like the idea of hidden storage that is still fairly accessible.

For example, books can be stored under the bed, under the sofa, or hidden in storage cubes or ottomans.

Books can also be easily stored on a cart on wheels if you’re moving books frequently from room to room.

And just throwing this out there as an option, but one that I don’t prefer is stacking books.

This is easily my least favorite way of storing books because I don’t like any friction with accessing the bottom book.

Let it be easy I say.

How to Organize Books Without a Bookshelf

If you really got the hang of decluttering your books and now only have a few, not really enough to justify using a bookshelf, consider these storage ideas too.

Store Books in Bin

Any sturdy box or bin will work well to contain your books. Stand the bin upright and slot the books upright as well. The walls of the bin contain and separate the books making it easy to store and organize.

Store Books in Upside Down Shelf

Repurposing storage items within your home is one of my favorite challenges. Use a shelf, positioned upside down and use the metal pieces to mimic bookends. This is a sturdy way to contain your books while keeping the books to a minimum. I like this option for office and work desks as well as end tables or entry way tables.

Store Books on Plate Stand

Another great way to repurpose storage containers is to use a plate stand to hold select books upright. Pictured below is an economical piece that has four dedicated slots for books or notebooks. This is also a great solution for an office desk or small space areas in the home.

Store Books in Box Lid

Decorative boxes often have box tops that are just as sturdy as the bottom box. I like to use the box tops to contain my books in an easy and no cost way to organize.

Conclusion

Before you embark on getting your books organized in your home, remember to first declutter, then move on to organization and storage.

Tackling the task out of order can lead you down the wrong path towards frustration and overwhelm.

Take breaks along the way and tidy on and tidy strong!

Southern California based Professional Organizer, Sandy Park, owner and founder of Tidy with SPARK shares her joy of organization with her clients.

She serves clients in Orange County as well as the hundreds of thousands of followers on her combined social media platforms.

Connect with Sandy through her website or by connecting through her social channels.