There’s no such thing as too many books. Unfortunately, sometimes we run out of places to keep them and feel that we either have to get rid of some to accommodate more, or stop buying books altogether. I dislike both these options and would like to share some ideas for ways to organize your storage so you can have your books and keep buying them too.
1. In the back of your fridge, you’ll see a dial that controls the temperature in your freezer. Turn it all the way to off. Wait a day or two for the freezer to go to room temperature, wipe it out with Clorox, and there you have extra storage space. In countries with inadequate refrigeration, they purchase their meat fresh daily. You could do that too – no more need to buy freezer bags, either.
2. Remove the staircase and create one out of books. This is fairly simple. Get a sledgehammer and whack it against the stairs. They are usually nailed around the edges, so pay particular attention there. I recommend wearing safety goggles. Once those stairs are gone, rebuild them out of books. I would start with the heaviest books, such as the dictionaries and nonfiction texts, on the bottom, and put the paperbacks on the top. You don’t want to put the paperbacks on the bottom or the whole thing will fall.
3. If you’re one of those lucky individuals who has two bathrooms, turn the second bathroom into a walk-in bookshelf. Honestly, why do you need two bathrooms? People used outhouses for years and I’m sure you could do just wonderfully with one bathroom. Or, if you really feel you must have two, leave a path to the commode; it’s common for people to read in the bathroom so I suppose you could allow for that.
4. Did you know that you can create fabulous sofas with books? It’s true. Stack your books into a general sofa shape and then cover with a throw. Accent with throw pillows and your guests will never know it’s not a real couch. Some furniture manufacturers already make couches so hard, you’d think they were books – take it a step further and create your entire living room ensemble out of novels.
I hope you’ve found these tips useful. In future, I’ll share my plans for insulating your home with romances and building a foundation with a set of encyclopedias. Oh, and you’d be amazed at what fabulous garages you can build out of Dickens and Twain.
