Organize Your Bookshelves

If You Have Books and Other Media

1. Hide unsightly stuff. “Contain anything that isn’t display-worthy,” says Vicki Norris, a personal organizer in Sherwood, Oregon. Stash spare USB wires and instruction manuals in colorful labeled boxes.  
 
 2. Corral loose snapshots. Buy postcards (vintage or otherwise) when you’re on vacation and slip them inside the front windows of photo boxes so you know which shots are inside.  
 
 3. Think ahead. If there are certain books you need to access often, place objects (like a framed picture) behind the stack rather than on top.  
 
 4. Categorize your music. Stow CDs in stackable boxes and sort by genre.  
 
 5. Mix the old and the new. A mediacentric bookcase doesn’t have to be entirely cutting-edge. A few vintage touches, like the antique film canisters shown, can add character.

Paint color: 
Pale Cowslip 4 by Valspar  
 To buy: $25 a gallon, 800-445-6937.