Though unconventional, I have 2 bookcases in my dining room. These bookcases hold cookbooks, arts and crafts, puzzles, projects, and toys. Since we work on our crafts at the dining room table, the best place to house our craft supplies is in the dining room. The farther away the supplies are to the work area, the more time I have to spend carting the supplies from one area to another. To use my time wisely, I have bookshelves to hold these items in my dining room.
During my recent deep cleaning project, the first bookshelf was in need of organization. From getting used, some items had made it to the wrong shelf, were not needed, and took up too much space in the current arrangement.
BEFORE:
The 6 shelves held the following items on the corresponding shelf:
- Handmade gifts collection and cookbooks,
- Science encyclopedia, cake decorating books, and recipe box,
- Crayons, paper, paint, Model Magic, and a puzzle,
- Play-Doh and Moon-Doh,
- Puzzles, and
- Bags, lunch boxes, and toys.
In following the 10 steps to organizing a bookshelf, I was able to donate some of the unused books, place similar items together, and open up more space.
AFTER:
Now the 6 shelves hold similar items on their corresponding shelf:
- Handmade gifts collection and cake decorating books,
- Coloring books, paper, science encyclopedia, and practice books,
- Craft supplies: paint, crayons, stamps, and Model Magic,
- Play-Doh and Play-Doh supplies,
- All puzzles, and
- Bags, lunch boxes, and toys.
Taking the bookshelf one shelf at a time breaks down the big project into small manageable sections. Start small (one shelf) and continue until your project (entire bookshelf) is complete. I was thrilled with the results: a clean bookshelf with similar items together and some empty space.
How about you? Do you spend 10-15 minutes a week organizing? Try it. Start small, and come back to report your progress in the comments.