• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sabrinas Organizing
  • Home Organization
  • Healthy Recipes
  • DIY Home Projects
  • Browse Gift Ideas
  • Donate Stuff
  • Recycling Events 2023
  • Solution Consultations
  • Virtual Organizing
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home Organization
  • Healthy Recipes
  • DIY Home Projects
  • Browse Gift Ideas
  • Donate Stuff
  • Recycling Events 2023
  • Solution Consultations
  • Virtual Organizing
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home Organization
  • Healthy Recipes
  • DIY Home Projects
  • Browse Gift Ideas
  • Donate Stuff
  • Recycling Events 2023
  • Solution Consultations
  • Virtual Organizing
×

Home » Home Organization » 5 Ways to Organize Books on Bookshelves

5 Ways to Organize Books on Bookshelves

Last Modified: January 24, 2022 Sabrina Quairoli This blog uses cookies. It also has affiliate links. We earn sponsored content income.

****Visit our "Disclosure Policy and Cookies" for details.****

5 ways to organize books on bookshelvesThis week's challenge is all about purging and organizing books. This post will accompany your challenge. The process of clearing out books can be overwhelming if you have many of them throughout the home.

First, start out by taking all the books throughout the home and place them in one room. Check inside drawers and closets where books may be stored. Don't forget to go through your moving boxes for books since these boxes are the last things that get pulled out after a move.

Vertical space works best for books, Finding a tall floor to ceiling bookshelf will make keeping all your books in one place easier.

Start the process and get rid of the books you want to give away. Make a pile of books for donating, selling, and give to family members. These piles will remind you of the next steps in the process.

Make a plan to get rid of each pile of books. Then, get rid of the books that you don't want. Donate them to a nearby used bookstore or visit your nearby public library.

***AD*** Boutique Rugs: Looking for rugs? Check out their wide variety of beautifully designed rugs.


To decide how you want to organize the book collection, ask yourself these questions. When I need to find a book, what do I look for first? The author's name? The name of the book? The type of the book? The color or picture in the book?

Here are five ways to organize your books (in no particular order):

  1. By genre? Sorting the books by categories works for romance, science fiction, realistic fiction, etc...

  2. By author or series? If you collect your books by particular authors and like series, you can organize your books by author's last name or by the series title.

  3. Organize by color. Interior designers like to organize the books by color, so it is less distracting to the eye. Grouping the same color books will give you groups of color that will be pleasing to the eye.

  4. Chronological order? This is useful for scrapbook or photo album organization and other time-related books like yearbooks.

  5. By activity? If you do crafts and have many reference books, maybe you would prefer organizing the books by the type of work or activity you would use that reference book for in your day to day life.

If you find that you need even more organization to find a book, after you sort them into a group, go back and sort them in ABC order by the last name of the author or by title. Either way, will help you get to the book you want quickly and easily.  Keep in mind this additional step of organization may be extra work to keep organized.  If you don't need this level of detail, I suggest not using it. It's one thing to be organized and another thing to be meticulously organized. It will be difficult for others who may use the bookcase to keep up with the system.

Other articles I found that also were helpful with organizing books:

HOW TO ORGANIZE BOOKSHELVES WITH A LOT OF BOOKS

27 Insanely Clever Ways To Display Your Books

7 BOOK STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL SPACES

Join our Decluttering and Home Organizing Support Group

Whichever method you decide to use for your library, stay consistent and simple. This will help everyone in your home remember the system. Now, it's your turn. Do you organize your bookshelves? What method do you use? Please leave a comment below.

5 ways to organize books on bookshelves


Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.

5 ways to organize books on bookshelves

(Visited 2,025 times, 3 visits today)
Do you live in South Eastern Pennsylvania? Don't know where to start organizing in your home? Need a plan? Check out our Sabrina's Organizing Solutions ConsultationsAre a DIYer and just need accountability to get through the mess in your home and life? Check out our Sabrina's Organizing Virtual Organizing Services

Connect with Me on Social Media!

Facebook - Instagram - Twitter - Linkedin - Pinterest

More Home Organization

  • Easy Small Bathroom DIY Ideas #bathroom #smallbathroomDIYideas - Featured Image
    Easy Small Bathroom DIY Ideas You Can Do This Weekend
  • How to Sort Kept Items - Part 3 of the Awaken to Your Clutter Blindness series - #decluttertips
    How to Sort Kept Items {Part 3 of the Awaken to Your Clutter Blindness Series}
  • How to Take Care of Clutter in Your Home - Part 2 of the Awaken to Your Clutter Blindness series - #decluttertips
    How to Take Care of Clutter in the Home {Part 2 of the Awaken to Your Clutter Blindness series}
  • Awaken to Your Clutter Blindness Part 1 #decluttertips
    How to Awaken from Clutter Blindness - Part 1

About Sabrina Quairoli

I love sharing my passion for organizing life and home. I hope you get inspired when visiting my home organizing tips, quick weeknight recipes, party planning ideas, and DIY organizing projects. Visit the About Me page to read my story.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Deb Lee

    February 13, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    I would love to organize by color, especially if the colors are bold and beautiful. But, I often feel compelled to organize by book height. I have no idea why that appeals to me. It just does. I like seeing books arranged from shortest to tallest. Odd but it works for me. =)

  2. Kim

    February 05, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    Books and Clothing are big ones for clients. Books are like old friends or they can be about the person I want to be someday. Especially, if I haven't read the book or maybe I have but didn't put anything to practice. So, its a dream of the way my life could be. For me, I have my books grouped by category. I don't have a lot of fiction, mostly self help books and organizing books.

  3. Julie Stobbe

    February 05, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    I try to get clients to donate books before they become old, outdated and moldy. I enjoy giving clients options, like 5 ways to organize books, so they can use the system that is best for them. If they pick organizing by colour I make sure to discuss the pros and cons of that systems.

  4. Stacey Murray

    February 05, 2018 at 11:15 am

    I recently worked with a client with a vast book collection. In order to keep the collection at a steady level, I taught him the one-in-one-out philosophy and encouraged him to not bring a new book into the house until he had read a book and paid it forward to a friend, thrift shop, or the recycle bin. We organized his books like you advise in #1--by genre. When he feels like reading a mystery, historical fiction, or humor, he knows exactly where to find it!

  5. Janet Barclay

    February 05, 2018 at 11:08 am

    Last year, I decided to organize my fiction alphabetically by author, then by title. It bothers me that my series are now out of sequence and that the paperbacks and hardcovers are intermixed, but what can you do?

  6. Sheri Steed

    February 05, 2018 at 11:00 am

    Books are one of the few things we have in abundance. I'm great at purging other things (and for the most part my family goes along), but I do get push back when it comes to parting with books. I like your idea of thinking about what you would search for if you were looking for a particular book because what works for one person might not make sense to another. Personally color is meaningless to me. I prefer genre or topic for the basis of organizing, but others really connect with the visual appearance of a book or like the way books look lined up on a shelf according to color.

  7. Linda Samuels

    February 05, 2018 at 9:10 am

    We have a lot of books in our home and home offices. LOTS!!! It would be unwieldy to gather them all in one location to do the editing portion. So instead, every so often, I'll look at one room or one shelf at a time to see if there are any books I can donate. Most often, I'm able to fill up a bag to bring to the library. But the truth is that I love books and I do refer to them after I've read them. Of all the things that we have, the books are the most difficult ones for me to let go of. Even so, I keep trying.

  8. Seana Turner

    February 05, 2018 at 8:17 am

    I don't tend to keep many books around. The few I have are in a couple of discreet locations. To me, books are the ultimate "reusable," and I like donating them. That said, my husband has quite the collection. He has an office full. He has organized them by category or genre, and it is easy to find what you need. I'd still like him to shed a few more, though:)

  9. Sara Skillen

    February 05, 2018 at 7:54 am

    Love these ideas - I've tried both organizing by topic and by color. Although the color idea looks nice, for me personally it only works with books I'm not likely to go back and re-read often. Books I refer to over and over I have to have grouped...and I don't think I'm patient enough to try alphabetizing!

Primary Sidebar

Sabrina Quairoli Owner of Sabrinasorganizing

Hi, I'm Sabrina! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog, where you can find Home Organizing, Quick Weeknight Recipes, and DIY Craft Home Organizing Projects. Feel free and browse around to get motivated to improve your home life!

Read more about me →

Get your free copy of our 12 months of easy decluttering challenges ebook

Popular Home Life Posts

  • Places to Donate Jewelry You Do Not Want
    Places To Donate Jewelry You Do Not Want
  • Amazing Games to Help Kids Understand How to Organize-featured image
    7 Games to Help Kids Understand How to Organize
  • This Year's Recycling Locations and Shredder Events 2020
    This Year's Recycling Locations and Shredder Events
  • what to keep in your shed checklist
    What to Keep in Your Shed
  • What to Keep in your linen closet
    The Most Important Things to Keep in Your Linen Closet
  • Air fried pepperoni chips recipe - Featured image
    Air Fried Pepperoni Chips Recipe
Get your free copy of our Home Management binder ebook


MasonJars.com - Shop Original Products For The Home and Garden

Surlatable home products and cooking classes

Mom Agenda Planners

Taos Shoes

Dollar Tree Shop Now

Get our Holiday Season Planner to help you save money and time with free checklists and Printables to make this season amazing
Have a small business? NEED SMALL BUSINESS ADMIN SERVICES? Visit our blog and services by clicking below.
Sabrina's Admin Services

Amazon Disclosure


Sabrina's Organizing blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Sabrina’s Organizing Web Stories

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy and Cookies
  • Google Analytics Privacy Statement and Opt-Out Option

Newsletter and Associations

  • Sign Up for emails and updates
  • 2023 NAPO Business Stamp of Approval

Contact

  • Contact
  • Solution Consultations
  • Virtual Organizing Consults
  • Write for Us
Creative Commons License

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2011-2023 Sabrina's Organizing Blog content by Sabrina Morresi-Quairoli is licensed. Based on work at Sabrina’s Organizing blog, social media content, and newsletters shared, permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available when contacting me.