I did a thing. A thing I never thought I’d do. I color-coded my bookshelf.
In the past, I always sorted by books by genre. Kind of like the library. Being a Type A, OCD and structured person, I always thought this was the way to go because it was organized and I could easily find the book I was looking for. Think about it for a second. At the library, you know what section you need to go to if you’re looking for a biography, a thriller or a self-help book. That has worked for years. But recently, I started wanting something different.
If you watch the professional organizers (or even The Morning Show with Rachel & Dave Hollis) you know that they all recommend organizing books by color. It’s pretty to look at, it’s easy for kids when you’re having them clean up and put books away and it saves time. I’ve been following a few organizers (and the Hollis’) for a long time and more and more I felt this pull to try what they were doing. I wanted certain books in my office anyway so this was the perfect time to make the change.
Ta Da!
This is what the end result looked like. I’m going to tell you how I got here and what I do to help me keep track of what I read.
It’s beautiful, right? I honestly never thought I’d like it but color-coding my bookshelf did so much more for me than bring beauty to my home office. Organizing by color brought on a sense of calm that I didn’t know existed and it made me smile every time I look at the bookshelf. Despite what I thought I’d feel, I can even find the book I’m looking for easily. Ha! Who knew?!
This is how I got here…
Step 1 was to bring all my personal development and psychology books up to my office. Sounds easy, but it took at least four trips. I didn’t realize I had that many books in this area. Once I got them in my office, it was time to sort.
First, I sorted by color. Remember Roy G. Biv? It’s how I was taught to remember the colors of the rainbow. If you need a refresher, here you go.
- R – Red
- O – Orange
- Y – Yellow
- G – Green
- B – Blue
- I – Indigo
- V – Violet
All the reds went in a pile, the oranges, the yellow (and gold), the greens and the indigo and violet I lumped together in one pile. Once I got them sorted by color, I sorted by height. Tallest on the left and shortest on the right. I did this for each color until they were all on the bookshelf. Then I sat back and looked at my work.
I noticed the beauty and simplicity first. And then I noticed just how many of these books I had read. I keep track of them so I will know what I’ve read and know what books I can refer to clients.
I use these teeny stickers to help me keep track of the books I’ve read. The colors don’t necessarily matter, but the application does. Each book I read brings me closer to my goal, which is achieving a little bit of personal growth each day. These stickers are a reminder of the work I’ve done over the past few years. And they’re also a reminder that I’m not done yet.
Now that I’ve gone through this process, I’ve changed my tune. Organizing by color IS THE WAY TO GO! It’s beautiful to look at, creates a great backdrop for pictures and video, brings a smile to your face and a sense of calm to your life and helps you organize with ease.
If you’re like I was, try it. Test it out yourself. See if it’s right for you. It’ll be a good experiment and I bet you’ll learn something about yourself that you didn’t know before.