Clearing the Clutter - Books and Bookshelves

I recently went through and weeded out a bunch of books so I didn't do that today. That would be a good place to start though. I got rid of the things that the kids had grown out of, curriculum we don't use any more and things I had duplicates of and I was able to purge around 100 books.

Next was the organization of the bookcases. I had a few problems. The first was I have bookshelves that are a bit short. So, I ended up having the majority of my books on their side so I couldn't read any of the spines. Second, was general disorganization. When we moved all of the school books into the house we just put them where ever we could get them. Third was all the crap that sat on the floor in front of the book cases. These were mostly things that needed a home or needed to be freecycled.

Here are my before pictures:

This is the book case next to my desk. It is mostly utilitarian, holding business and curriculum stuff. I am not delusional enough to think it will ever look neat. But as you can see there is a trash can sitting right in front of it.









This is the book case next to the front door. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the majority of these books are sitting on their side so you can't read the spines. There is also a booster seat and a pile of clothes sitting in front of it. These need to go to freecycle. I just haven't gotten around to listing them.




This is the large book case next to my desk. This holds all the 'adult' books. You know, the ones we never touch and the ones 'we' can't seem to part with.... There is also a pile of books that are for sale and a bunch of 'stuff' that probably just needs to be thrown away.









And finally the two book cases next to K's desk. I promise there are two there. These shelves hold all the children's fiction and the art books.






While organizing the books I tried to move them to the most accessible areas and put them on shelves so the spines would show. And I found homes for all the items that were on the floor blocking the shelves.

Here is the shelf by my desk. The trash can has been moved. Now the only thing in front of it is the camera tripod but that is actually it's home!! :)










Next, the shelves by the front door. These shelves got the books that would fit on them. :) The pop-up books were moved here and so were the health and fitness books. I now have room to get more pop-ups books. It is truly a glorious day!!! The dog's bed is back where is belongs and the stack of books on that chair are for sale. I still need to find a temporary home for them.



The book case by my desk is now home to all of the religion, art, science and history books. They can now all stand up so I can read the spines. That should make things easier to find. There are still a few things on the floor in this picture but that is mainly because I haven't swept yet!! I still have a trash can and a recycling bin that I need a home for. They may have to go back in front out of necessity but I am going to try a few other places first.







And finally the book cases by K's desk. See I told you there was two book cases there! The children's fiction stayed put. After moving all of the religion and art books I was able to put all of the 'other' books on the second shelf. Things like adult fiction, yearbooks, misc crap....You get the idea.