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home decor 2

Organized bookshelf & Girls’ Room

Hi friends!  Popping in today to share a quick before and after.  The girls’ school is having a used book sale so I decided it was time to tackle the bookshelf in their bedroom…

Um yeah.  It has been a while since I straightened it out.  It usually doesn’t look THAT bad, but for quite a while Kole was obsessed with pulling every single book out he could reach.  After cleaning them up what felt like 4,000 times I finally just decided to leave things a mess (SO hard for me!) until he was over his mad “pull everything off the bookshelf” phase.  Thankfully he hasn’t been as interested in this little activity lately so last week I pulled everything off the shelf and went through every single book.  I have a huge sack of books to donate to the school and the favorites that made the cut?

Well they are looking much better now!
Ahhh.  That picture evokes such a feeling of peace and serenity.  :)  I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts!  (The glitter guitar on the top of the shelf Addison just made at a birthday party and the “Sisters” album I created on-line I shared in this post.)  

Aside from simplifying our book collection, I wanted to organize the books a bit.  I categorized them by hard cover, paper back, church books, old books, Golden books, Little Critter books, and the whole bottom shelf is dedicated to Kole’s books.  I just stuck a small white sticker label below the books to categorize them.  These labels come off easily.  I wanted to do this more for me than the kids because when I’m ready to read to the girls I can now easily locate the book I want.  I also won’t be scrambling to find the book I want for church each Sunday (I teach the Sunbeams – 3 year olds – in primary).  And now Kole can tear through the bottom shelf and they are all books made for him.  It has made story time for all three of my kids run much smoother!

Of course I know the books won’t stay lined up all perfectly like this and I don’t care if they do.  And of course toys will inevitably make themselves at home.  As long as we keep books in their category (because it makes my life easier and I’m all about making my life easier) I’ll be happy. 

I still need to tackle the older children’s books in our guest room, but it feels good to have this little project checked off the list!

A few of you have previously asked to see pictures of my girls’ room.  I don’t have pictures of everything, but these are some random shots I was able to find that I took on different occasions.  Most of the pictures I have are of their bunk beds.

We bought the bunk beds and bedding when Ellie was two!  That’s my little peanut on the bottom bunk in March of 2006.  I know – it’s Kole with pig tails!  :)  

This picture is more recent.  I had just cleaned the toys off of their beds (the beds are always covered in dolls!).  The bunk beds we bought at a local store and the bedding was from The Company Store for kids.  The bedding is a little faded from multiple washes, but other than that it has held up really well.  The girls have always just slept on the top of these comforters with a blanket over them.  I don’t make bunk beds every day!  I am SO ready to update their rooms, but we want to wait and do it in the new house because we’ll get the girls their own bigger beds.  
(Butterfly collage shared here)
All set for Easter!
A lot of good memories in this room.  I’ve checked on my sleeping baby girls every single night in these beds.  Even though I’m excited for them to have their own rooms in the new house, a part of me will be so sad to leave this sweet little room they grew up in.  In a way I’m glad we still have over a year before we move.  Not quite ready to say good-bye yet!
I’m off to check on my sleeping babies right now.  :)  
Have a great Wednesday everyone!  
xoxo, Erin
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19 thoughts on “Organized bookshelf & Girls’ Room

  1. Aaawww what a pretty room! I’m working on my 13 year old’s bedroom right now and I have to fight the urge to add pink or purple. She has threatned if there is a stitch of pink in there she’s moving out. Lol

  2. We’ve lived in our current house for 11 years. With my Mom. So I feel a bit differently then you about moving, haha. I obviously will miss this house for the simple fact that he grew up here but I’m really excited to get out on my own and build a home in a house I can love. :)

  3. Thanks everyone!

    Nonny – the doll bed is from Costco! Love that place at Christmas time. :)

    Kristen – I’ll tell Addie you said that. It will make her day. :)

  4. Such a cute room! Our bookshelves don’t stay organized for longer than 5 minutes!

    Ok…so I really, really don’t mean to sound like a paranoid mom, but after selling window treatments for way too long, it’s engrained in me to look out for loose cords, especially now with my own little guys :) I noticed your hanging window treatment cord, and with Kole around, it might be a good idea to put it up, even just up in the shade up top! Ok, I’m sorry!!! Just in case :) ~gina

  5. So can I ask, if you had it to do all over again would you buy the bunk beds? My daughter is about to turn 1, and we want to start for our 2nd. I hear bunk beds are a real pain to make. Give it to me straight :)

    Miriam

  6. Love the beadboard bookshelf, can you tell us where it is from? Is it Land of Nod?

    We have lots of books scatterred all over different parts of the house but after seeing your dedicated bookshelf, I sort of like the idea of putting them all together. All my kids have their own rooms so they wouldn’t ALL be together but I could do something similar in the hallway with most of them.

  7. Hi Gina!

    I am paranoid about cords too! All of my window cords are looped up into the top of the blinds. In fact I took the cord down for this picture so that I could open the blinds all the way. :) I’ve heard SO many scary stories about babies getting choked. Such a good tip for moms to remember!

    Miriam –

    I have LOVED our bunk beds – but they ARE a pain to make. That’s why I don’t make them! The comforters are always tucked in even at night. My girls just sleep on top of them with a blanket over them and then we fold the blanket up in the morning and put it at the bottom of the bed. I only have to make them once in a while when I’m washing everything because there has been some sort of an accident or if it has just been a while and I want to clean them. But I would totally recommend bunk beds! They’re great – the kids love them and they are a great way to save space.

    Lynnsey –

    The book shelf was from the same local store (Children’s Land) that I bought the bunk beds at. It was a full set with the dresser. They may have a website? But I bought it years ago so they may not have it anymore. But yes – it IS nice to have them all in one place!

  8. Hi Erin! My niece recommended your blog to me, because I am an ‘organizer’ also! Everything has to be in its place!

    If you are redecorating, please check out Pottery Barn Kids and Land of Nod catalogs! They are absolutely wonderful.

    I am thoroughly enjoying your blog!

  9. So cute! I love your blog! I’m trying to figure out what to do for my girls room. Have you ever seen addison’s wonderland bedding? If you haven’t you should look it up! It’s adorable! Can’t wait to see the new house! And I am VERY excited to see all your built ins!! ;)

  10. Thank you for the sweet words about my blog! You are all so kind to stop by and say hello. :)

    Reenie – The Easter tree is from Pier One Imports (but it’s a couple of years old…)

    Thanks for the tips on decorating stores! I’m in PB Kids at least once a month. :) BUT I haven’t checked Land of Nod or Addison’s Wonderland Bedding. I’ll check into them for sure when we do the girls’ rooms!

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