Last Organizing Post of the Series

And now, for a word about bookcases. Plenty. That's my word! I have more than 1,000 books in my house. I actually counted them and I'm sure that says something about me. Probably not flattering, either. I know I'm not alone among homeschoolers in my endless acquisition of books. I even have numerous strategies for bringing books into my life. Among them:

* The public library, of course
* Paperback Swap
* The Amazon Kindle
* Freecycle

and naturally, bookstores, both brick-and-mortar and the on-line version. Amazon loves me. To prove it, they give me One-Click Buying and, should that seem too slow, Books In 60 Seconds on my Kindle. Really good for reading. For addictions, not so much.

Anyway, all those books need a place to be (yet another reason I love my Kindle). In my homeschool room, I have two bookcases and three cabinets. One of the bookcases is depicted above. That one is small. It's only about 4 feet tall. I'd love to change it out for a big, nice Pottery Barn modular unit, but that's not in the wallet for now. What is infinitely useful, but always scarce are bookends. Depicted above, you can see two fancy finial-type bookends; pretty, but I need dozens. Staples sells the cheap version, also depicted. They work pretty well. I have about twenty sets in my house, but I need about ten more. Tottering piles of books that flop over really work my last nerve.

My aunt once gave me a cute little doorstop, which I then used as a bookend. On the inside was a brick, but it was wrapped in fabric and decorated with tiny pillows and bolsters to look like a miniature sofa. Very cute! I don't really enjoy craft projects like that, but if I did, I would make a bunch of them. Or, if someone who is really crafty is stumped for a Christmas gift for me...



The cabinets in my homeschool room hold games and toys, curriculum and crafting materials/art supplies. Sometimes I manage to have these pretty well-organized. Other times, not.

So, you see, although I have a pretty good rep for being organized, I don't always have it all together. Nobody's perfect. If you find yourself buried in a disorganized mess, you can use my ideas to chip your way out of it. But you can still keep it real.