Somehow- I’m not quite sure how- we ended up with TWO bookshelves, full of kids books, in our playroom.
It was too much.
And I love books. But it was just too much.
So, I did a little consolidation, donated a huge box of books, and ended up with one really well-organized bookshelf, with plenty of space for all three of our kids’ favorites.
(Scroll down to the bottom to see a time-lapse of me sorting through all the books and making it happen!)
Here’s how it turned out:
By the way, if you’re looking for even more great tips about organizing kids books, including keeping track of the library books, and creative things to do with books your don’t want anymore, be sure to check out the post I wrote here!
Our bookshelf
I love this bookshelf because the doors on the bottom two shelves really help it to look uncluttered and pretty. Plus, it’s very sturdy.
Unfortunately, I can’t find the link to this exact shelf, but I found one here that looks pretty similar.
Chapter books
My oldest daughter, Emma (who is 6) has just started being interested in chapter books. We’ve read her all the Ramona and Fudge books, and both series (serieses???) were big hits.
So I filled the top shelf of our bookcase with chapter books, along with a few devotionals that I read aloud to the kids.
I repurposed this giant woven basket from Target to hide some chapter books that we’ve been saving for when the kids are older, but they’re not ready for yet.
Preschool books
I love doing a little preschool-at-home lesson with Kate, who is 4, each morning.
(You can see an overview of what we do each day here, or check out our latest unit- preschool around the world– here.)
I use the second shelf for some of Kate’s preschool workbooks, along with the library books that we’ve checked out for whatever theme we’re currently studying.
Book bins
The last open shelf is for our book bins. I bought these plastic bins on Amazon, and printed out labels for each of our favorite book series. Then I attached the labels with clear plastic packing tape.
This makes it really easy for our kiddos to find books they want to read, and return them to the correct spot when they’re done.
Board books
On the lowest two shelves, I keep all of the books that we have for our one year old, Andrew.
I use these pink baskets, which I found a long time ago in Target’s dollar spot, to contain the smaller board books and baby magazines.
Another reason I love this shelf is because the bottom shelf has so much space that even the largest picture books fit in here with no problem.
And that’s it!
What do you think? Does this look like a space that would work for your family? Hopefully I’ve given you at least a few helpful ideas to think about. 🙂
Good luck with all of your own organizing projects!
-Laura
P.S. Here’s a fun little video of the work in progress:
Organize a bookshelf for kids – the supply list:
- Bookshelf: We bought this bookshelf at Target, and I can’t seem to find it any longer, unfortunately. However, this one looks very similar.
- Pink wire baskets: These were a Target dollar spot find.
- Book bins: You can find them on Amazon, here.
- White and grey basket: The basket that we have sitting on top of the shelf can be found at Target, here.
Pin How to Organize a Bookshelf for Kids:
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Laurie says
Where did you get the cute picture labels?
admin says
I just created them on a simple Google doc and printed them out. 🙂