Setting up your bookcase shouldn’t take much time and is something that can be accomplished within an hour (if you stay focused 😉 ). Read on for quick and easy tips to declutter your bookcase.
Declutter Your Bookcase-Quick and Easy Tips
First, you will need to empty the bookcase and give it a good cleaning.
As you remove the books, weed out those you no longer need or want. Put them in a pile to sell or donate.
Sort the remaining books into categories on the floor. You can sort them by topic, color, by the book’s size, or you could choose to sort them alphabetically, whichever works best for you.
When sorting the books, place the larger books on the bottom of the pile and smaller books on the top.
How to Design Your Bookcase
I believe that bookcases should “breathe.” That means that bookshelves should not be full of books, but should have some sort of personality.
Take a walk around your home and collect items to display in your bookcase. Look for large, heavy items to use as bookends and smaller pieces to place between books. You can use vases, picture frames, plants, or anything you would like to display.
Now you can begin filling your bookcase. Place books upright with the spine facing out. Taller books go towards the edges of the bookcase, and shorter ones are towards the center. Leave space open between the two sets of books for a display piece.
Mix Things Up
You can also mix it up by placing books on their sides.  Try setting decor pieces on top of the horizontal books to add visual interest.
Another option is to fill your shelves 75% and use accessories to fill in the remaining 25%. One shelf would begin on the right and leave the left side open for display; another shelf would start on the left and leave the right side open.
Be sure to change the way the books are displayed on each shelf, so it doesn’t look too matchy-matchy.
Here’s a great tip to follow when placing your accessories on the shelves: Always think in odd numbers and apply it to 2 of the shelves. Example: Place three accessories on one shelf and then place two on the shelf above or below it. This trick helps balance the bookshelf and keeps it from having a monotonous feel.
If your bookcase is in a spot where there are small children, consider putting baskets on the bottom shelf to house toys.
As you can see, following these quick and easy tips to declutter your bookcase won’t take much time, and your room will feel more organized once you are finished.
If you have any questions or thoughts about decluttering your bookcase, let me know in the comments!
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Really cute idea thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome and thanks for commenting. 🙂
Great Post! I think everything in the house can be functional and fabulous, and I believe you’ve proven that point in this blog posting.
I also like to purchase a bag full of books when the local libraries have their sales, and look for old, unique, or colorful books (if my current collection of books is not “vibrant” enough for my liking). This adds a punch of color to your display, if it is currently lacking. When choosing book colors, don’t forget to consider the color scheme of the room!
That would be my tip.
P.S. Thanks for visiting my blog! It seems we have similar themes; it was nice seeing a blog I could relate to.
Thanks for your tip…it’s something I will keep in mind during my library’s next book sale. 🙂
I love how you organized your shelves by colour. Very cool!
Lori
Thank you but it’s not my photo! LOL! I do try to follow a color design, though. Thanks for visiting and your comment. 🙂
You’re welcome!
Thanks for visiting me at Curtain Queen. I enjoyed visiting you, as well, and am following you now. I’ll be back when I have more time to read through more posts. Good stuff, girl! Happy Sunday. 🙂
His blessings,
Kim
I love how an organized bookshelf can be like art work or decor for a room. Love the tips!