Supplies for Sorting and Styling Books
You don’t need to give away your books Marie Kondo-style to declutter and tidy up your home. First, it’s worth bringing some attention to reorganizing your book collection and your shelves.
There are a number of supplies and tools I always have on hand while I work on my own shelves and those of our clients around the world. These items and their various uses are described in detail in For the Love of Books. I highly recommend having these within reach if you decide to re-style your bookshelves!
Swiffers and dusting cloths.
Working on your bookshelves is a great opportunity to clear everything off the shelves, wipe off the dust that’s accumulated over the years, and give yourself a fresh, clean start — literally!
Scotch book tape.
Great for minor repairs to book jackets and torn pages. (But if you want to repair a rare book, try an acid-free product from a library supply site, like this archival book tape from The Library Store.)
I always have one of these on hand for cleaning up books. You can use it to erase pencil marks (often found inside used books), remove smudges on page edges, rub away adhesive from price stickers on jackets, or freshen up book spines. (Other ways to remove sticky residue from books include rubber cement and a hair dryer (not together!) — feel free to contact us at customerservice@juniperbooks.com for specifics on how to put them to work.)
Scissors.
Helpful for trimming errant threads from book covers or tidying jackets, corners, and other loose ends.
Sticky notes.
You can use these to map out your library and/or mark piles of books you plan to relocate, donate, etc. Stick them to the shelves with your ideas about where specific books/book genres should go. Note your thoughts on how each shelf should be organized, or where a picture frame or object might go.
Camera/phone. Photos offer spatial insights you can’t see with your own eyes, so take pictures of your shelves as you work. Look at the photos to see if the books are balanced and if any adjustments need to be made. Ideas will come to mind for moving books around by color and size, and for how they should be grouped or organized.
For more styling tips and ideas, check out For the Love of Books and my Instagram and Facebook pages. Good luck!