Books In Our Home

I began doing some serious decluttering of our home a few years, attempting to move towards a more minimalist lifestyle. One benefit of decluttering that I’ve found is that I now have the bandwidth to have more of the things that truly matter to our family, and it will come as no surprise that books are at the top of that list. But even with the extra space created by having less of other things, I still find that it can sometimes be hard to keep our books stored in a functional way. If you struggle with the same (or want to be a family that reads more but are afraid of the books “taking over”) here are some tips that will hopefully help.

1. Remember there are no fairytale libraries. I know, I know, I’m mad at myself even as I write this. I’ve wanted Belle’s library since the moment I first watched Beauty and the Beast growing up, and I would rather add more bookshelves to my home than paint my walls or hang curtains. But until the day comes when I can devote a full room in my house just to books, I have to make do with scattered shelves throughout our home. And while this may not seem ideal, it does actually promote reading more than having it isolated to one room. My kids are more likely to pick up a book before falling asleep at night if the books are in their rooms. And they feel more ownership around their books when they keep them close by. So my first tip for you is to add shelves (even small ones! My three girls all have a nightstand with two small shelves built into it in their rooms) to as many rooms as possible. Upstairs we have a full sized bookshelf that is stuffed full of kids books. Downstairs we have a cube shelf that is housing “kid book overflow.” We also have a full-sized shelf for our adult books downstairs. Don’t be afraid to work with what you have and upgrade storage as time and budget allows.

2. Create a to-be-read shelf. I’m not really sure why a to-be-read shelf is so magical, but I promise it will transform your reading if you try it. I have one designated shelf of our adult bookshelf that is only for my “want to read” books. And I only put books on there that I actually want to read. New purchases get added to it and several times a year I’ll reorganize it and make sure it’s filled with books I’m excited to read. This makes it so much easier to choose my next book after finishing one; I now have a smaller pool of books to choose from, and if I just can’t decide, then I’ll start with whatever is next on the shelf. I do something similar for our homeschool by putting all books I know we are going to read aloud at some point that year on the top shelf of our homeschool closet. This keeps them from being spirited away by my kids, who will otherwise read them before we can do it as a family 😏.

3. Store books you are currently reading altogether. Whatever books I’m currently reading aloud to my kids get stored together in what we call our morning basket. I also have a basket that stays beside my chair in the living room where I keep any books I am currently in the middle of, along with my Bible, bullet journal stuff, and anything I might need to reference (like cookbooks or my Christmas planner). This basket serves as a natural limit for me; I know that when it’s full to overflowing, it’s time to clean it out and figure out what to do with the ten books I’m currently in the middle of (I wish that number was an exaggeration, but I totally had this happen the other day when I cleaned it out 🥴).

4. Use the “container concept” to limit your books. Dana K. White, author of Decluttering At the Speed Of Life, coined this term to refer to the idea that when decluttering, we can only keep what fits in any given container. In our home, our bookshelves are our container. When I go to put away a book and it doesn’t fit, that forces me to look at what’s already on the shelf and see what I can let go of. I pretty much always feel resentment when this happens; there absolutely can’t be anything on that shelf I’m willing to part with! But then when I begin to look at the books individually, I usually quickly notice a couple that I can let go of. Maybe it’s a book that I recently replaced and now have duplicates of; or a book that’s falling apart because it’s been so well-loved. Sometimes I’ll consider if I’m ACTUALLY going to read that story again, or could I instead pass it on to someone else? I also know that if an area is continually covered in books (like my oldest daughters’ bedroom where there are books piled on every single inch of the furniture AND the floor), then I might need to consider adding more or bigger storage.

5. Let your kids help you declutter their books. Building off the last idea, I think books are a great place for kids to help you declutter. My kids know that before Christmas and birthdays they have to pick some toys and books to donate so they can make room for new gifts. But the books are usually easier for them to make decisions on than the toys. On the flipside, any time I try to declutter books without their input, it’s inevitably followed up by them asking for the book I got rid of (usually one that hasn’t been read in three years 😔). So learn from my mistakes and do it with your kids; they may pick different books to keep and get rid of than you would, but that’s okay. They’re forming their own tastes and interests, and those don’t have to be the same as yours.

6. Designate a spot in your house for library books. I sometimes wonder if we have spent more money on library fees or actual books! Designating a basket or bag as the home for library books can cut down on this a lot. We have used a bag in the past because it’s easy to grab and take with you on library day, but I do think my kids are more likely to put things away in a basket.

7. Use your books in your seasonal decor. I love to display a pretty stack or basket of seasonal or holiday kids books. I will also sometimes pull out a stack of books in a certain color scheme (whatever fits with that season’s decor) and give it a place of prominence. Displaying books like this can also encourage our kids to pick them up and read them more; if you notice that your kids are getting bored with your books and aren’t reading as much, try changing up where or how you store them. Often just a change of location is enough to catch their eye and prompt them to pick up something different.

Books are meant to be loved and used; one of my favorite sights is a book that’s falling apart, because it means it has been read and loved so much. Don’t be afraid of your kids being too hard on their books; they really are easy to replace (in most cases), and the more they are allowed to engage with them early on, the more they will do it later in life. Where in your home can you carve out space for books?