While books are generally low maintenance, you still need to take care of them, whether you have a handful or a house full. Taking care of your personal library will ensure that your books will be with your for a lifetime. Set aside some time twice a year for this task, and follow the steps for an easier time.
If you haven’t yet read the first part of this article, Taking Care of Your Personal Library (1), you may want to back track to catch up. In that first part, we covered the specific reasons behind taking care of your personal library, as well as some of the things that might make the maintenance of the library take a bit longer than usual.
Now we’ll move on to the next steps. We are ready for number 3.
2) Gather your cleaning supplies. For the books themselves, you’ll need a soft dry cloth. For wood shelves, use a soft cloth with a bit of furniture cleaner or polish. For metal shelves, I recommend a damp cloth in which a little bit of rust inhibitor has been added, and a cloth with a little bit of gentle cleanser if you have plastic or hard vinyl shelves.
3) Start by dusting the entire outside of the bookshelf. That includes the top and outer sides.
4)Next, remove all of the books from that one shelf. Yes, it is tempting to take everything out at once, but resist that temptation. After your shelves and books are cleaned, you can organize rearrange all that you like. In fact, I’ll be writing a future article on how to organize your library.
5) Dust the empty shelf and the insides of the book case in the area or cubby of that shelf.
6) Taking one book at a time, use the dry cloth to gently dust the book, making sure to get the cover, top and all sides of the book. If your book is particularly dusty, then remove the dust jacket and give the book a gently shake. Then replace the dust jacket.
7) Replace the book on the shelf and then move on to the next book. Consider de-cluttering books as you go along. Look for a future article that instructs you how to do this the quick and painless way. Meanwhile, keep dusting and replacing the books. When you are done with one shelf, move down to the next one, and then proceed to the next bookcase or set of shelves.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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