[title subtitle=”words and images: Yvonne Pratt”][/title]
Do you love books or have an obsession with magazines? They are inspiring, interesting, and they give us hours of enjoyment. Most of us cannot let go of them because they are a wealth of information and beauty! However, if left unorganized, they can quickly become a huge source of clutter. It does not take many of them scattered around to make a whole room appear untidy.
This year, let’s commit to keeping our coveted reading materials organized and neat – while at the same time, using them as décor around our home. Try these five simple tips to control all of that paper and you’ll take your literary mountain to a neat and organized décor statement in no time.
Corral the books
Not only can baskets contain your books, but they also look great and go with almost any décor. Baskets bring much needed warmth and organic texture to most rooms and there are so many options available. Woven style baskets come in a variety of colors and sizes with various decorative handles. Keep out only the books that work as décor and stack them neatly on a table or shelf.
Organize in baskets
Stand books upright in a basket so they are easier to access and view titles. Put larger books in the back of the basket and smaller ones in the front. Don’t crowd too many books in a basket as it will be harder to put them away neatly and could damage jackets and corners. If the tops of the books stick out of the basket, that’s okay! Baskets are meant to organize, not hide books.
On the shelf
Baskets of books on a shelf are an attractive way to showcase your books. Find baskets that fit your bookshelves and décor. There are many affordable basket options. Put books that you use less frequently on higher shelves and ones you like to pick up and read more often where they are easily accessible. Numbered items are in vogue right now, so consider making numbered tags for each basket.
Birds of a feather
Many of us hold on to magazines like books. Go through and organize them, putting together like titles and placing them in sturdy magazine holders. Just like baskets, there are magazine holders for almost any style! You can also customize a standard magazine holder with fabric or scrapbook paper to match your décor. Group magazine holders together on a shelf to make a great décor statement.
Cull away
The hardest part of organizing your books and magazines is to go through each of them and decide what you can, and cannot, live without. Keep only the most current ones displayed in your living space. Put the rest away where they can be easily accessed, but not out in plain view. File boxes are a great way to keep and organize past issues of magazines, by year or by type. A bookshelf in a spare bedroom is an excellent location for books that we love but do not use often. Think of your shelf like the library and check your books out to friends and family. Share the love of reading as often as you can!
Yvonne is the creator of StoneGable, a beautiful and widely popular blog about all things home. Her love for American farmhouse living is evident throughout her posts on decorating, home décor, DIYs, gardening, cooking and much more.
