If your child is an avid reader like mine, then you understand the constant struggle of trying to keep your kid’s bookshelf neat and organized. It seems like every year, I look up, and it appears as though Barnes & Noble exploded in his room. Sometimes the task of decluttering his bookshelf seems so daunting that it causes me to take the longest deep breath before he and I get to work. At the end of the process, I feel such a tremendous sense of accomplishment because we could take his bookshelf from chaos to clean. I wanted to share some of my tips for organizing his bookshelf just in case some of you were experiencing the same situations with your well-read children as well. Here are some of the strategies I used that will help you organize your kid’s bookshelf like a pro.
Remove Everything From the Book Shelf.
Remove everything from the bookshelf. Put anything that does not belong on the bookshelf in its designated place. When you remove the books, separate them into three different groups:
- Recycle
- Donate
- Keep
Recycle
The only books that go in the Recycle pile are torn, tattered, damaged, or written in, to the point where no one else would want them. The ideal situation is for all of your child’s old books to find a new home. Many people would love donated books, so don’t throw them away unless it is necessary.
Can you recycle books?
Yes. For paperback books, you can recycle the entire book. For hardcover books, you can recycle hardcover books, but you should remove the covers first.
Donate
Books that belong in the Donate pile are books that are in excellent condition. However, your child no longer chooses to read them. These books may be books that are below your child’s reading level or books that they’ve read a million times and are no longer interested in.
What do I do with my old books?
- Give them to a younger sibling or cousin or a friend’s younger child
- Donate them to a school or classroom
- Give them to the local library
- Donate them to charity (i.e., Goodwill, Purple Heart, Salvation Army)
- Sell or donate them to a Used Bookstore.
- Sell them at a Garage Sale.
- Arrange a book swap with another child close to your child’s age
Keep
Books that go in the Keep pile are books that are within your child’s reading ability and that they are excited to read. Before putting the books back on the shelves, you want to decide how you will organize your books. There are many different ways the books can be categorized:
- By Color: Books that are arranged by color are very pleasing to the eye. However, if you have hundreds of books, it can be difficult to find a specific book unless you know its color.
- By Subject Matter or Genre: You can group all joke books, all sports-related books together, etc., so that your child can easily locate the type of book they want to read. Other genres may include fiction, non-fiction, biographies, chapter books, etc.
- Paperback and Hardcover: You can place all of the paperback books together and all of the hardcover books in another section.
- By Age: If you have multiple children sharing one bookshelf, you can separate them by your children’s age. Remember to put the younger child’s books on the lower shelf for easy accessibility.
Clean Off the Shelves
Before putting your books back on the bookshelf, make sure to remove the dust from shelves either with a wood polish or with an all-purpose cleaning spray.
Accessorize Your Shelves
Use bookends to hold your books in place so that your shelves stay neat and beautiful. Also, you can use other figurines to decorate your shelves. The figurines or decorative items should match the interests of your child. For instance, if your child is into sports, you can use figurines of athletes, helmets, or basketballs to decorate your shelves. If your child is into girly things, you may choose to decorate your shelves with unicorns, ballerinas, or butterflies.
Conclusion
There you have it! A DIY project that was so simple to do. I hope these tips help you get your kid’s bookshelf neat and organized.
If you’d like to check out a really cool craft project, check out my Faux Ceramic Vase DIY.
Feel free to check out some of the other cool projects I have on my website. Thanks so much for hanging out with me, and keep coming back because…
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