Within the innocuous shed that borders our patio, a storm awaits. This shed houses my beloved book collection and our craft supplies, and it is sadly out of order. This is what I’m up against. Yes, I know it’s gotten awful. I cry when I see books treated like this as well.
West side, facing the patio
East side, Facing the garden
East side, facing the patio
It needs painted. It needs more light. Most of all, it needs organized in a way that I remember and use. *gulp* All of this needs done without neglecting school. Or chores. Or sick children, or healthy meals. Therefore, it must be done in tiny increments of time.
It’s not all awful. Some shelves look neat and organized. (Mostly the shelves the children can’t reach)
But by and large, this place needs work! A few plans:
Rather than alphabetizing, books will now be divided up by Reading level and Ambleside Online years. I’m sure there will also be a million miscellaneous shelves, but I haven’t gotten that far yet. 🙂
The dresser needs moved out and a reading nook created in it’s place so my older children have a quiet place to read without the little ones trying to steal their books and turn pages for them. Thank goodness for Pinterest!
Some of these books need to go. Since I began reading Charlotte Mason’s works my taste in suitable books has altered drastically, and I’m finding that some of these are no longer the type of book I want to fill my shelves with. SO some of these dear friends will be moving on to make way for better books. *sniff* I’ll probably cry a lot with that part, and every now and then I’ll even post about this painful decision making progress.
Wish me luck: I’m going to need it!
StrongHaven 
that does look like a challenge!! Glad you got some great ideas. Good luck!! And some advice on the books that are no longer appropriate – I boxed them up by series/author and left them in a big stack out of the way. Some I figure I may want to read again either (I’m a fantasy fan – Harry Potter, included 🙂
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You might check to see if there is a “half-price bookstore” in your area. I purged several shelves of old mysteries, romantic history, etc a few years ago in order to make room for homeschooling! I received 1/4 of the value (which is better than a yard sale!) and have credit to buy anything on their shelves at 50% off. I’ve found many classic books which are on my Ambleside/HUFI list and “bought” them with my credit. Also – you can donate to women’s shelters or homeless shelters if that helps you part with them!
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Did you code the books in some way or just shelve them by year? I’m in the process of doing the same thing and found this post via a google search. Thanks! (we are AOers too)
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