I don’t know about you, but we have A LOT of children’s books. I mean a whole bookcase full of picture books, and that’s not counting the ones in the garage that are boxed up from when I was teaching that I need to get out now that the “kids are older.” Or the tubs of books Jeff and I both saved from when we were kids, or the chapter books….
Well, you get the idea. Organizing children’s books was on my list of ways to punish myself.
Then I started organizing children’s books by subject, I had them all in nice little cardboard magazine boxes, and the ones that didn’t fit were in a different small box.
But, I was the only one using that system, so very shortly it was a huge mess again.
Enter my new plan, and this one is working. You need magazine boxes (I got mine from Ikea), stickers, contact paper, sharpie, and scissors.
First I divided the books up into rather broad categories: Bible, Fairy Tale, Princess, Hero, Science, History, and maybe one or two others.
Next I put a sticker on each book for a particular category. Yellow dots in my house are any series books: Scooby Doo, Bernestain Bears, Diego, My Little Ponies, etc.
Then I put the same type of dot on the magazine box, covered that in contact paper, and also put contact paper on the bottom, to reinforce it.
Now, the kids know to look for the sticker and put the book in the box with a sticker.
I do have a few books that don’t fit in the boxes, and those just go on the shelves, but it’s a small manageable number. I’ve now only got the top row to finish going through and then it’ll all be done.
One final thing I did. I created a reading box, I’ve had one of these off and on for years, but right now it’s specifically designed with only the “I Can Read” books and a few others books they really like.
So, that’s the first project I’ve completed for my Summer Bucket List, books are done. Well, kids’ books are done, my shelves are still a horrible mess.
I’m not quite sure why a hair brush is there, or why a dragon sits on the shelves.
And now I really smile when I see this.
So, there’s part one of my new unofficial series: Organization for the Unorganized Mom.
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