Monday, December 22, 2014

2014 Deep Cleaning/Decluttering/ Organizing/Redecorating - Bookshelves

While my two primary goals this year were to (1) focus on my health and (2) have FUN, I had also planned to declutter, organize, deep clean, and re-decorate each room/space in our home. While I did work in a few areas (the laundry room and hall closet) and we completed several major projects (updated the lighting in the front room & hallway, had the kitchen cabinets painted, and - although not planned - replaced the furnace & coil and added another return air and vent to our HVAC system),  I did not accomplish nearly as much as I had hoped and will be carrying this goal over to 2015.

However, this past weekend I did complete another project towards this goal by re-organizing and decluttering three sets of bookshelves. These shelves were not in terrible shape, but I've been wanting to get the books on these shelves into the books inventory spreadsheet I started when I rearranged the front room shelves last year. Over the past couple of years, these shelves have gotten a little haphazard as we've added in new books.


The paperback shelves in particular were so full, we were slipping books in anywhere they would fit.



I started with the smaller shelf unit that holds some of our children's/young adults series. After straightening and cleaning, I moved in another series that was on the overstuffed paperback shelf unit.


It took a good bit of time to inventory the books on the other children's/young adult bookshelf, but I'm excited to have it done. I also decided to donate the small figures on the bottom shelf and move the Minnie Mouse to the alcove in my craft room that holds other stuffed animals.


I saved the paperback bookshelf for last, but it actually went very quickly as many of these books were already on our books inventory list. It may be hard to see much difference in the before and after photos, but I'm thrilled to have this project complete.


And, yes, I did some decluttering along the way. Along with those small figures, I added these Noah's Ark decor items to the donation bag that will go to our local community outreach.


I also packed a box full of books to be sold at Half Price Books next time I'm over that way. The books pictured are all from the children's bookshelves, but I added five audio books and several paperbacks to it after I snapped the photo.


Did you have any decluttering/organizing goals for this year? How did you do?

5 comments:

  1. Well done.

    Yes I had big plans to organise and declutter and although I didn't do as much as I had hoped, I certainly managed a lot.

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  2. Great job! I did a LOT of decluttering and organizing the first half of the year. Nearly every shelf, closet, and bookcase on the first two floors was done. Then I hit the basement, and it all fell apart. So the basement and the attic will be the 2015 project! It's been nearly a year since I purged my studio, and it could actually use another cleaning out which I hope to do this winter.

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  3. Isn't it satisfying to get a project like this done? Even if you can't tell that much after it is :)

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  4. Organizing books is a joint goal of hubby and I in 2015. The 500 books I have in Goodreads is probably on about 80% of what I have on hand. It's time to organize and maybe, just maybe, do a little purging. Your shelves looks great - thanks for the nudge.

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  5. What an inspiration! I did a lot of organizing and redecorating this year, and I could definitely benefit by putting in a few more hours over the Christmas break before I go back to school in January.
    Rinda

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Thanks so much for your comment - it's like a ray of sunshine in my day!