One Page At a Time Podcast

One Page At a Time Podcast


Episode 21: Organize yourshelf; Storing books with Jamie Shaner

February 26, 2020

This week we are joined by Jamie Shaner, a professional organizer who founded Home Solutions of WNY, Inc. in 2005. She is also an avid perennial gardener who loves playing in the dirt,  and enjoys reading and listening to all kinds of music. This was an interview we looked forward to for a long time, both for her expertise as well as because of her approach toward books, which to quote her is: “As a professional organizer, I'm authorized to say there's such a thing as too many suitcases, too much jello in the pantry, or too many dolls with eyes that move, but rarely ever too many books.” 

In this episode we talk about:

1. Note that Jamie’s book philosophy is that one can rarely have too many books (not never), so she does share with us some circumstances that may show that we have books that might be better served finding a new home for.

2. For all of our remaining books, we talk about finding ways to store books appropriately using the space we have available. One missed book storage opportunity that both Amanda and I are guilty of is picking short bookcases- why limit yourself to that when we could find one that goes all the way up the wall that can use that rarely-utilized vertical space.

3. We were very interested to ask Jamie her thoughts on Marie Kondo, the rather famous organizational expert who has gotten some flak through the years for her sometimes sparse attitude towards owning and storing books. Jamie gave us her personal method of helping her clients organize: “Do you need it, do you use it, do you love it (if it is something loveable), and do you have the space to store it?” She shares with us how she would apply it specifically to books and it is incredibly helpful!

4. If we do every find ourselves needing to downsize our book collection, Jamie also had thoughts on what to do with the ones that we, as she put it, “release out into the universe for someone who does not have these books of their own.” 

5. We also got into the organization of books once you have the spaces set to store them. The librarian half of our duo loved this part of the discussion and, while we recognize that everyone is going to have their own “cataloging” system for their home collections, she gave us some great thoughts and tips if you are struggling managing it.

We are so grateful to Jamie for taking the time to talk with us! More information about her and her company can be found in the following places:

In Organize yourshelf: storing books, we mention:

Websites:

Home Solutions WNY Inc

University of Buffalo Annual book sale

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/HomeSolutionsOrganizing

Books we mentioned:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Ann Patchett (Author)

Barbara Kingsolver (Author)

Anne Tyler (Author)

Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein