I love being organized in all areas of my life. I think I get this trait from both of my parents who are very organized people. I don't necessarily like housework but I do like organizing the "stuff" in my house!
The tip for today: organizing children's books that they have outgrown!
I have 2 daughters who are avid readers. They take after their parents and both sets of grandparents! We have enough books to open a small bookstore it seems like. I was in a children's book of the month club for my oldest when she was a baby-prek. I stopped it when my youngest was born and started shopping online. For the most part, we borrow books from the library as both girls have been enrolled in various library clubs over the years plus the summer reading club. They are "too big" for that type of thing now but we still go to the library 2-3 times per month. However, we do buy books that are "classics" or favorite authors, etc.
For example: I have collected all the Eric Carle "very" books and most of his other books as well! My 8 year old still likes to get them out and read them once in a while so they are in a denim bin, dyed like a pair of jeans, that sits on the floor of her closet. It holds just Eric Carle books and Bill Martin, Jr. books. Carle was the illustrator for many of Martin's books. They are classics!
WHAT I DO: I have purchased very large plastic bins for each daughter. They have good solid covers. I wrote in permanent marker on the top. I put their name and what the bin holds. Each girl has books I bought specifically for them when they were toddlers and preschoolers. I also put in there a few puzzles we wanted to keep. Any book that was a gift that they outgrew and wanted to keep for their own children someday, is also in there. I have each bin in a corner of our "playroom" basement. This way, if we are entertaining someone with a young child, we can "share" a book. It also allows my daughters to have some control over their things and they can add to it as they outgrow their books. We take very good care of books here so any books we no longer want to own, we donate either to an inner-city center or the town library.
Books that are still being used stay in their rooms on bookshelves or book bins/wicker baskets.
In my family room, I have a white shaker basket for books that are "picture books" for elementary aged children. I rotate them depending on season/holiday. For example in the basket for this summer we have books such as: Butterfly House, The Bear that Heard Crying, I am an Artist, Fog, a Christian book about the trinity (something we are discussing this summer),plus a few more. These are books that a 1st-4th grader would still like to read if wanting something quick or other than a chapter book. I often choose a couple of these for car rides, or quiet time on the deck.
I have also purchased a square trunk, similar to a dorm trunk, for my oldest daughter's many chapter books that she has outgrown but wants to keep. Most of these were purchased from school (Scholastic) or were gifts. The trunk is in her room, matches her daisy decor, and she places a stuffed animal on the top for decoration. Again, she has control over what goes in and out of it. This was a very inexpensive buy from Target!
I hope you find this tip helpful. What do you do with your own "outgrown" books? I would love to hear from you!
The tip for today: organizing children's books that they have outgrown!
I have 2 daughters who are avid readers. They take after their parents and both sets of grandparents! We have enough books to open a small bookstore it seems like. I was in a children's book of the month club for my oldest when she was a baby-prek. I stopped it when my youngest was born and started shopping online. For the most part, we borrow books from the library as both girls have been enrolled in various library clubs over the years plus the summer reading club. They are "too big" for that type of thing now but we still go to the library 2-3 times per month. However, we do buy books that are "classics" or favorite authors, etc.
For example: I have collected all the Eric Carle "very" books and most of his other books as well! My 8 year old still likes to get them out and read them once in a while so they are in a denim bin, dyed like a pair of jeans, that sits on the floor of her closet. It holds just Eric Carle books and Bill Martin, Jr. books. Carle was the illustrator for many of Martin's books. They are classics!
WHAT I DO: I have purchased very large plastic bins for each daughter. They have good solid covers. I wrote in permanent marker on the top. I put their name and what the bin holds. Each girl has books I bought specifically for them when they were toddlers and preschoolers. I also put in there a few puzzles we wanted to keep. Any book that was a gift that they outgrew and wanted to keep for their own children someday, is also in there. I have each bin in a corner of our "playroom" basement. This way, if we are entertaining someone with a young child, we can "share" a book. It also allows my daughters to have some control over their things and they can add to it as they outgrow their books. We take very good care of books here so any books we no longer want to own, we donate either to an inner-city center or the town library.
Books that are still being used stay in their rooms on bookshelves or book bins/wicker baskets.
In my family room, I have a white shaker basket for books that are "picture books" for elementary aged children. I rotate them depending on season/holiday. For example in the basket for this summer we have books such as: Butterfly House, The Bear that Heard Crying, I am an Artist, Fog, a Christian book about the trinity (something we are discussing this summer),plus a few more. These are books that a 1st-4th grader would still like to read if wanting something quick or other than a chapter book. I often choose a couple of these for car rides, or quiet time on the deck.
I have also purchased a square trunk, similar to a dorm trunk, for my oldest daughter's many chapter books that she has outgrown but wants to keep. Most of these were purchased from school (Scholastic) or were gifts. The trunk is in her room, matches her daisy decor, and she places a stuffed animal on the top for decoration. Again, she has control over what goes in and out of it. This was a very inexpensive buy from Target!
I hope you find this tip helpful. What do you do with your own "outgrown" books? I would love to hear from you!
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