The Shelf Method: A Librarian's Approach to Life
The Shelf Method
Close your eyes and picture a bookshelf. This is your library and you are the librarian in charge of maintaining it. Every item on your shelf has found its way into your collection, whether that’s an object, relationship, or commitment.
As a librarian, I know that there's a big difference between having things and having access to things. A cluttered collection, no matter how valuable its individual pieces, becomes useless when you can't find what you need when you need it.
Today, you become the librarian of your own life.
Your 3 Responsibilities as the librarian are to:
1. ACQUIRE
You decide what goes on the shelf.
Every library has something called a "collection development policy". It is a clear set of guidelines about what belongs in their collection and what doesn't. Without this policy, libraries would be filled to the brim with donated books and outdated computer manuals.
You need a collection development policy for your life.
If you’re like most other people these days, you bring things into your life without a lot of thought. Sometimes it’s your fault, sometimes it’s not. Companies love telling you when and what to add to your collection through daily newsletters and gigantic billboards.
Librarians evaluate every potential addition against their collection's purpose, considering not just the immediate need but how it fits into their future goals.
Think like a librarian: Do I have space to store this properly? Will I actually use it? Does it align with my lifestyle? What's the maintenance cost? If I take this, what do I remove to make room?
Saying no feels terrible, it really does. But as a librarian, you know that adding something without thought is going to feel worse in the long run.
Guiding Questions:
Does this improve my collection
Does this fill a genuine need?
What are the hidden costs of adding and maintaining this?
2. ORGANIZE
You create systems that serve you.
Librarians don't organize to make things look pretty. They organize for access. They organize with the understanding that future users will think differently, have different needs, and possibly different abilities than current users.
Here's what separates librarians from people who just “put things in order”: they organize thinking "When someone is stressed and can't think clearly, will they still be able to find this quickly?"
My systems are simple. If I have to remember how I organize things, it’s too complicated for me. Call me lazy. I dare you.
Apply this to your own life. Don't organize thinking "I'll remember where I put this." Organize thinking "When I'm panicked at 11 PM trying to find my passport, will I still know where to find it?"
3. WEED
You make space for what matters most.
Librarians regularly remove items from their collections, and they don't feel guilty about it. They call this "weeding," and they understand that it is essential for a healthy collection. Every item they remove makes space for something that better serves their users.
I actually don’t think of weeding as reducing at all. To me, it represents growth. It makes space so I can add things that bring more value and allows me to appreciate the things on my shelf even more.
This might be the hardest concept for non-librarians to embrace, but it's the most liberating: you have permission to let things go. I am giving you permission. You’re welcome.
As a librarian, you will ask: Is this still relevant to me? Does it still serve my needs? Is it taking up space that could be better used by something else? Is this relationship still mutual? Is this object still earning its place on my limited shelving space?
Weeding can feel like loss, but librarians have experienced the liberation that comes after. The guilt of letting go will help you make better acquiring decisions in the future.
Getting Started
Week 1: Acquisition Awareness - Learning Your Patterns
Keep a simple log of everything that enters your life this week, including purchases, commitments, social obligations. Note how each acquisition makes you feel at the end of each day.
Learning Objective : Recognize your emotional patterns around acquisition.
Do you bring things into your life when you're stressed? Bored? Lonely? Understanding your triggers helps you make more intentional choices.
Week 2: Access Audit - Testing Your Systems
Choose one area of your life (your email, your closet, your kitchen) and time how long it takes you to find 3 specific items you need regularly.
Learning Objective : Recognize the difference between being organized and being accessible.
If it takes you five minutes to find one thing, your system isn't serving you. If it does, it is time to experiment with a new system.
Week 3: Weeding Practice - Making Space
The most straightforward place to start is your closet. Select ten items and ask: "If this caught on fire, would I buy it again?" If the answer is no, let it go.
Learning Objective : Recognize how much of your collection you're maintaining out of habit rather than intention.
When you think like a librarian, you start to see your life differently. Information without intention just becomes noise. Relationships without meaning just become obligations. Possessions without purpose just become clutter.
The Shelf Method is about intentional decisions that lead to accessible goals.
Librarians understand that their time, energy, and space are finite resources. They know that every "yes" to one thing is a "no" to something else.
When you curate your life with the same intentionality that librarians bring to their work, you create space for what truly matters: deeper relationships, meaningful work, and the peace that comes from knowing you can find what you need when you need it.
Your goal isn't perfection. It's access. Access to your values, your priorities, and your best self.
Welcome to thinking like a librarian and to the library that serves you.