Shelftastic

Because we're temporarily living in a compact apartment - without a garage, shed, or much space at all...much of our stuff is in storage. And while I do adore the storage unit, I look forward to having my things on-hand again some day.

The treasure I was missing most - our books. The poor things were suffocating in stacked boxes within the unit's bowels, and I could see no way that our multiple freebie bookshelves hiding beside them could find a space in our micro-home.

But my longing for their nearness became too much, and I resolved one tall bookshelf would do the trick - our collection isn't that large yet. (I aspire, oh, how I do.)

It also wasn't helping that people like Janssen were posting pictures of their super-shelving...her, and all those design folk that create home-redesign-lust inside me...like this post, and this shelf, and this one, and especially this one. Although I do love white.

So, I began my hunt. Second-hand stores, garage sales (okay, I lie, I only talked about getting up early and going to those temptation-lands), more second-hand stores, and TradeMe. By the way, 70% of the people selling shelves on TradeMe called their listing "Whateversize/description Bookshelve". It killed me. Shelf = singular; Shelves = plural.

In my hunting I concluded that the biiiig, solid wood shelves (or anything like them) of my dreams are expensive - first- or second-hand. We're not money-baggin' it just now, but we're fine. But solid wood shelves of my dreams are not a priority...

SO...I brainstormed...and came up with an interim solution.

6 x cheapie small, 3-tiered shelves, stacked to mimic the look of my dream-shelves.


I'm a touch impressed with myself.

Before you say I've got too much time on my hands - organising the books in this way - please note that I was taking my lovelies out of boxes, not off of a shelf and re-doing it. It's easy to place books up into a shelf corresponding to their colour. What, you didn't even notice? Squint as you look at the picture. Still don't notice? Man! Well, I tried. It didn't take longer, and it makes me happy.

What did add time, was placing "[Ourlastname] Family Library" stickers into every book as it came out of the box. You'll be proud to know I eventually stressed less about the stickers being perfectly parallel with the cover's edge. I tried not to think about what would be better than stickers...Janssen, /cough cough "book plates".

Now if I long to read an old flame, I can. I can use ol' favourites in lesson and talk prep. If I want to draw out a text I'm referring to in discussion, I will. Also, I can look at them, and have them close. Having them close is heart-warming, to be sure.

I figure when we can afford my dream-shelves, we'll get them...AND this money won't be wasted, as these can be wardrobe shelves. I love wardrobe shelves. I believe in them. Ask to see inside our wardrobe sometime, I dare you.

For the voyeurs / observant / detail-lovers:

• Recognise Snoop? That's my name for the wooden dog-fella I found on one of my op-shop trawls. He's not Snoopy, but he's enough like him that he can have the name "Snoop". I think I may paint him. I had a real inward struggle about his placement; "He's brown - he should be with the brown books. But he looks like Snoopy - and the Peanuts comics are down here...plus, there's a gap". /Sigh.
  
• Up on top there you can see the toddler push-car I bought to fix up, mid-project. Consider it a preview.
  
• Yes, there are some gaps. Some of our books are on loan...I took this into account.
  
• I also agonised over the lime cubes' placement - up with the green - or down at the height that things can be retrieved easily by little people? Yes, I know, you think before long my child will pull all the books off the shelves - why would I keep things there? Well, I like them there. We'll see.
  
• What are all those matching books in a row up the top there? That's my Pick-a-path collection, that's what. Am I particularly into them? No. Am I enough into them that when I spy a box of 50 of them going for free I take them? Yes. Now I'm into them.
  

P.S. What would a post about books and bookshelves be without links to you, J? I know, sorting by author or genre normally makes more sense to me...but I know my books so well, I can find them really fast based on what I know the spine looks like, so this works for me. In a library, NEVER.