The shelf that took 3 years to finally get right

Last week I finally finished reorganizing my bookcase in my Chicago apartment, but the journey started back in 2021 when I first moved in. Back then I just shoved everything anywhere, cookbooks next to sci-fi novels, and it was a total disaster every time I needed something. Last month I tried grouping by color, looked pretty for about 2 days, then I couldn't find my repair manual when the sink leaked. Yesterday I sorted by how often I actually use each book, and now the top shelf is just my daily reads and the bottom holds the stuff I've kept for sentimental reasons. Anybody else ditched a fancy organizing system for a super practical one that looks kinda boring?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamieburns2mo ago

Wait, you said you sorted by how often you use them, but then you put the daily reads on the top shelf? That doesn't make sense to me, cause the top shelf is usually the hardest to reach unless you're pretty tall. Maybe you meant the middle shelf? Honestly, I tried the color thing once too and it was a nightmare, looked great for a photo but useless for finding anything. My system is basically just shelves for stuff I grab all the time, and the high spots are for junk I barely touch like old textbooks and cookbooks I never use. Tbh, boring and practical beats pretty and frustrating every time, especially when you're in a hurry and the sink is leaking. It took me a while to learn that too, but once you stop trying to make it look like a Pinterest board, it gets way easier.

mitchell.wade2mo ago

Is your sink leaking right now or is this a hypothetical @jamieburns? Cause if my emergency plumbing read is on the bottom shelf, imma just grab whatever book is closest and hope it works.