Prime Real Estate--Open Shelving

Many of us have open shelving, either in free-standing units or built-ins, in our homes and offices. These are handy little places for books and papers, knick knacks, and odds and ends. They are also given to dust and junk collections, and because they are open there is no way to hide what can become an unsightly mess. To coin a phrase, "You can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em!"

These places are prime real estate, however, and should be elevated to that status in one's mind in order to effectively envision what they can become. While they are not necessarily a focal point in the average home, the small office space can easily be dominated by these open shelves and what they communicate about you and your organizational skills should not be underestimated!

Assuming you are not able to attach doors to the front of them or build a room around them and close others out, the first thing to do is purge the shelves of all unnecessary clutter: books you will never read, papers that should be filed or thrown away, junk that belongs elsewhere, dust bunnies, etc. You can do this a little at a time if unloading the shelves all at once is not practical (ie: you have to work in this space in the meantime).

Once you are rid of all the stuff that doesn't belong there in the first place, catagorize what remains according to kind, size, color or shape. For example, if you have a lot of paperbacks, put them all together, hardcovers, sheet music, etc. Loose leaf items should be put in an attractive binder or other container. Small items can be stored in baskets, or canvas or metal boxes. Think along the lines of what is attractive to you and enhances your space and choose storage that is in keeping with the surroundings. Be sure to measure your shelves and try to find a square/rectangular container that comes almost up to the shelf above so that it is almost like a drawer and its contents remain hidden.

When reshelving everything, put the more unattractive things toward the bottom shelves and the lesser-used but more attractive things on the upper shelves. Reserve the shelves at eye level for the things you most enjoy looking at. Save some space on these shelves to create interesting "vignettes" that you can possibly change seasonally to keep the look fresh. You may want to reserve a whole shelf for this purpose alone.

Finally, keep your shelves free of clutter by being very particular about what you put there once you have completed this process. Remind yourself that this is prime real estate, and treat yourself to a fantastic view!