Summer Project: Sorting My Bookshelves (w/free printable)

It has become my annual project to take everything off the shelves from all the places in the house and sort the books. I dust, organize, and categorize all the books. I also take the time to set aside the ones we will need for the next school year. (Those get placed in bins in the school room.) Sometimes I take the opportunity to move shelves and furniture. It helps our home feel refreshed for the busy season ahead.

We are a family of readers. I have spent several years shopping at used book sales. Collecting books is a hobby for me and my family. We have shelves of non-fiction, YA fiction, picture books, novels, antique books, collections, and collections by author. Throughout the year as we do our schoolwork and I gather new books, the shelves get a bit out of control.

I can hear the critics complain, “This sounds like a lot of work!”. Yes, it is time-consuming. I often take a few days or more to go through our library. But what I am doing as I go through this process is slowly getting my mind back into teacher mode. Let me explain.

Mid-July I often begin the process of transitioning out of summertime and into the Back-to-School season. It is slow at first. I see isles of school supplies at Target with rows of fresh markers, lined paper, and new pencils. Then I start thinking about what themes I want to explore in our group work this year. I look at my notes from April and May. But the first action step I take is to sort all of our non-school books.

Why:

As I sort our bookshelves I am able to make visual progress and impact the physical organization of our home. So often my jobs are invisible and this project is somewhere I see immediate results.
So many books hold memories and happy moments that I have had with my children. It is like a physical photo album of memories. “Oh, this is the book about the moon and stars we took to Wyoming in 2017 for the solar eclipse trip.” I find it encouraging and inspiring to keep reading to my kids.
Sorting our books reminds me of all the wonderful materials we already have. (And keeps me from buying duplicates.)
It slows me down from the busy summer activities and gives me some alone time. (The kids know if they bother me that I will enlist their help)
I listen to homeschooling podcasts and watch homeschool related YouTube videos I have collected and kept pinned for inspiration.
I am reminded of how quickly time goes by and that each moment snuggled on the couch with a book counts. Each year my kids “outgrow” levels of books or topics. As they mature they become interested in different things and they move up in their reading levels.

How:

I take a “before” picture of the space in all its messy glory
- (if I need extra motivation I post it on social media or send it to my sisters)
I gather empty boxes for donations and make space to sort the books.
Emptying the shelves of all the books, I then sort, dust, and organize.
My Declutter piles: keep, donate, put somewhere else, to use for schoolwork
I decide how I want to organize the books in this space. Reading level, by author, by subject, by child… it often changes each year.
This step often includes a trip to Ikea or Target for more magazine files or baskets to contain books in a different way. (or sometimes I buy another bookshelf)
Putting them all back on the clean shelves.
While it is all fresh in my mind I write out a TBR (To Be Read) list. I have created some free printables for you. Check out the link below. ⬇️
Then I add in a few fake plants, tchotchkes, or decor items. (although I usually don’t have much space for those)
Take my boxes of donations to drop off or to whom I am giving them to.
I make a list of books I am missing from any series or ones that I think would be good to add to our collection.
take an “after” picture of the library space🙂
I give the kids a tour of how I have organized the bookshelf, so they can put them back correctly.
And then I curl up with a good book, tea, and chocolate to celebrate completing that big project!

I also ask my kids, a week or so before I start my project, to sort their books and give me any books they don’t want to keep in their rooms.

Tip: This inspires them to read books they have forgotten about!

Have you ever noticed how kids play with toys after they are cleaned up and organized? The same is true with books. I do enjoy photos of dusty books crammed on shelves in old bookstores, but I do not feel that way about the shelves of my home! I find that overwhelming and a barrier to their reading. The timing of this project works well for us because my kids are often bored. In mid-July the Phoenix heat is hitting us at full force and going outside it avoided if possible. They are stuck indoors and have played all the games and done countless Lego projects. Finding a good book on their shelves is like a long-lost friend.

I stumbled across this one summer when I was feeling some homeschool burnout. I just could not get myself to shift into planning mode. I was procrastinating. I had spent two weeks cleaning my whole house. I even sorted my pantry. Then I forced myself to sit down to do some school planning. Staring at the bookshelves I was inspired to do a full sort and declutter. After a few days of working on that project, my brain switched into planning mode automatically. Suddenly the barriers that had been there were gone. Through my procrastination projects, I had discovered the secret to getting back into school planning mode. Now it has become a yearly tradition and even something I look forward to.

It has also removed the guilt that I feel when books get shoved in random places. I know I will get to it in the summer. After the 4th of July holiday fun, I begin pinning bookshelf organization ideas. I look on TikTok for inspiration or watch a few YouTube videos of home libraries. This gives me ideas to think about as I drive the kids to summer activities and finish my writing projects.

I consider this project one of my yearly homemaking tasks (just like spring cleaning or sorting the garage). It can be overwhelming but I am always thankful when I have done the process. My family and I receive the benefits of this intentional organizing and decluttering. Most of the year I don’t have to do much dusting or cleaning up the shelves. This time set aside shifts me into school mom mode. I find that I am filled up by the podcasts I listen to, the time alone, and the physical relief of an organized space.

I encourage you to give it a try.

How can organizing your bookshelves help you plan for the school year?

If you picked one shelf to declutter tomorrow afternoon which one would it be?

How can this idea help you in your home?

Here are some other articles that will help you in your reading and organizing:

As you sort your shelves it can be helpful to write out a TBR (To Be Read) list. I have created some free printables for you and your kids. Check it out in the PDF link below. Enjoy!!

📚📖📙Happy Reading & Shelf Sorting! – April

Photos by Dorka Kardos-Latif / Jon Tyson / freestocks on Unsplash

book lists PDF Free Download Here!