Graceful Order

Organizing and Decorating the home.

Organizing Cookbooks

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All my friends know that I love to organize, But I am equally known for my love of eating cooking.  I read cookbooks like one would read novels.  When a favorite chef of mine has a new cookbook coming out, the release date is written on my planner (right next to my cardio gym class suggestions reminders…the irony).  I take this stuff seriously.

Over the years, I have collected so many cookbooks that they were spilling out of my office.  I needed a solution for organizing cookbooks. I knew that I had enough to fill up a bookshelf, so that’s what I did.  There was a little corner in our home, that was perfect for my books.  This spot was close to the kitchen, which made it even better.

Organizing Cookbooks

 

I found this bookshelf at Target.  I wanted something sturdy but inexpensive.  It’s not like I have kids that jump on furniture!  Scratch that.  I don’t have kids that jump on bookshelves.

Organizing Cookbooks

 

I started to place all the cookbooks in the bookshelf and I thought that I would have enough room to accessorize the bookshelf and leave some empty space…but nope.  The books took up the whole space.  If you have a ton of books to put away in a bookshelf, try to alternate the placing.  Standing some books, leaning others, and so on…  Break it up so that it is more interesting to look at and not so orderly.  If you do have space, add a picture frame, a book-end, or an accessory on top of a stack of books.

Organizing Cookbooks

 

I left enough space on top of the bookshelf to look through the books when searching for a recipe.

Organizing Cookbooks

 

I added some accessories and voila!  My little cookbook corner!

Organizing Cookbooks

 

Do you also collect cookbooks?  Where do you store them?

Until next time!  I will be cooking up a storm (at the very least, reading about people that do!)

Maria

 

Organizing Kids Bookshelves

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My 9-year olds bookshelf.  He uses it for books but I also use the bottom shelves for toy storage.  I don’t know if you can identify but no matter how many times I fix this bookshelf it ends up looking like this:

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He has had those orange and brown baskets for years and they started to show it.  When he was smaller they served their purpose but now he needed stronger baskets.  I had to find baskets that wouldn’t warp and could handle being pulled out by kids who are not always the most gentle on their toys.  I also needed larger baskets to house the countless cards that my son collects.

Target saved the day.  Again.  I found these bins with the basket weave design which are VERY sturdy and I chose the putty color.  I also purchased some white ones that I will use for some bathroom storage.  I will post on that later.  They had the bins in white, putty and brown.  The baskets also nest but that wasn’t my intention with these.

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I used one of the small baskets to hold magformers.  I love that toy!  They are like legos with magnets and kids (and adults) don’t seem to outgrow them.  I purchased them like 4 years ago on QVC.com

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Next, I used this sandwich container to hold one of his little card games and its pieces.  That’s the thing with kids toys…ALL THE SMALL PIECES!  They end up scattered everywhere especially when they don’t have a home.

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This container was $1. and not the best quality for lunch but perfect for this little game.

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There were cards that he only had a small set of.  I used small bags to put those in and I added a label.  I placed the bags inside one of the tins seen in the pictures below.

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The second small bin is only for card games.  It holds tins that are full of cards and the sandwich container.

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The large bin was a good size to organize all the miscellaneous small toys.  I used boxes on the inside to keep them in place.  If I used a separate small basket for each type of toy I would have a wall of baskets and bins.  Not an option.  This bin was large enough to fit the smaller items and his DS perfectly.

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The finished product.

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The bins fit nicely in the shelves.

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Notice the labels on the shelves.  My son did that on his own with my label maker.  Should I be proud or scared that he is doing this?  At least it’s not color-coordinated.  Now I am giving myself ideas. 🙂

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Of course we all know that this much order wont last in a kids room but creating systems for everything makes the clean-up easier.  If it’s easier, then the kids are more likely to do it.  If not, at least it’s easier for mom.

Maria