HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR BOOKSHELF
Have you tried the satisfying trend of colour coordinating a bookcase yet? I can’t deny, as a naturally bohemian (read ‘bit messy’) person, this counts as one of the calmest corners of our house. And yes, for non-believers, I wrote (12 of them) & have read the majority.
Recently on Instagram, I posted an image of our dog Rufus in the library. Several friends and followers commented, less on my beautiful boy weirdly, and more… “I love your colour-coordinated bookshelf.”
I was ‘trending’!
Since then, visitors to our ‘rustic’ style home always comment.
Colour coordinated bookshelves at Random Thatch; photography: Will Stanton
How colour coordinating calms
Imagine a floor-to-ceiling chakra system of books that make you feel good (check that Feng Shui babe) in your home. You got it!
A rainbow coloured vista of novels, wellness, poetry and art books, that transitions from reds into yellows; blues to greens, with a row of black spines, and a few old classics in tactile leather: I’m a convert. I am content.
My own ‘top shelf’ …in the days of texture and no colour except brown: a few ‘old’ beloved books
Calm after the chaos of a declutter
Messy bookshelves (never been one to put a book back in its place) with added ornaments, were always ‘my thing’. Order was an anathema to me. Now, however, there’s a logic to this aspect in life!
Our vast array of books - from modern art to the pre-Raphaelites, self-help to romance, poetry to crime - are so organised. It feels so calming and therapeutic - and was rather fun to sort. Plus, now I can now read a spine at a glance, place the book straight back from whence it came, relax and feel a little inner peace as I gaze in wonder at my new-found logic (especially when working from home).
Lead by design
Naturally, the cover matters.
“A lot of work goes into the spine,” says James (husband, artist, designer and co-founder of JOGB). “It can be a real pain typographically: all the information that’s on the front cover design has to then squeeze into a narrow edge and read downwards. It needs to look quite bold and takes more thought than many might imagine.”
You see I married a serious book cover designer (ex-Pan Macmillan). Long before eBooks and Amazon, we’d happily browse old bookshops together for hours (oh the horror on his face when he found that his beloved old Pan Bookshop along Fulham Road, SW6 is now an ‘Easy Coffee Shop’ - as in ‘EasyJet’!
To this day James will still only buy a book from a physical book shop (new favourite is Stripey Duck in Bruton, Somerset), never online.
Reclaim the joy of reading
Time to truly appreciate the vibes of your own library space: a reflection on your life and yourself as a person; your interests, passions and learning. Remember the TV programme “Through The Keyhole”? The best bit was when a camera scanned the bookshelves for clues that helped reveal the mystery celebrity homeowner. I always thought there could have been a programme just on how a bookshelf is a reflection of the self. Now, sadly, it’s more likely to all be on a Kindle.
Okay, so maybe you’d think it’s an age thing? Well, even this week my youngest (aged 21) was sniffing our books with joy, saying, “ooh, how good ‘old paper’ smells”.
So why not create your own ‘wall art’. Why not fill a blank wall with colour? Celebrate by putting all that creativity on show: just make sure you’ve read a few too!
Now sit back, light a candle, burn some incense,
PS Quick Random Jo tip: declutter books that no longer bring you joy (the best Marie Kondo tip for happiness in the home - well maybe after her third child it’s the only one she manages now, eh?) Go to the apps for Zapper, Ziffit, Sell It Back, and/or Music Magpie, and get a price for selling books you don’t need in your home. You won’t get £££’s, but it’s a great way to trim down, and repurpose paper without creating landfill.