If you raise a cloud of dust every time you pull a book off of your bookshelves, or if the shelves are sagging under the weight of the books that are overstuffed and piled out of place, then it might be time for you to clean the bookshelves.
I’m taking on this project myself at home, mostly because I want to eliminate at least one of our existing bookshelves in the name of more space and a less cluttered office. I also want to eliminate the dust that tends to hide behind both the books and the bookcases. Because we have baseboard heating, there is always a gap between the furniture and the walls where dust collects.
So, the first thing I do is to take everything off of a bookshelf. This accomplishes three things for me. It makes it easy to dust the shelves, it makes it easy to move the bookcase to get behind it to dust and vacuum, and it encourages me to eliminate some books as I put back only the most important ones, until I run out of room.
Most of the time, books can be had at the library, so I concentrate on the ones that can’t be found there, the ones that I reference all of the time, or the ones that i really, really want to read or re-read.
As each book is replaced, it gets its own dusting plus a quick check to make sure that there is no mold or mildew on the book. Because our office is not subject to moisture, this isn’t usually a problem, but if you live in a damp area, you might want to be diligent about this. One moldy book can quickly infect another.
As I am replacing books on to the shelves, I think about how best to display them. Usually this means grouping them by subject and by size. If I have done my decluttering job well, then this also means that I might have enough room to vary the display, such as storing some books laying down instead of on their ends to make things more interesting.
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