Decluttering my shelving unit

I decided that my ikea shelving unit needed a major clean up.  I had mentioned in an earlier post how I found the perfect project to start my spring cleaning.  I always like changing things up and making things feel new again.  This shelving unit had become a catch all for all sorts of things.  I didn't buy anything new I just used the things I already had and reorganized it.  Here are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

Some things I like to keep in mind when styling bookshelves:

1.  I like to group books into similar colors.  This makes everything look more cohesive.

2.  Don't group larger items at the bottom of the shelving unit.  This makes it too bottom heavy.  I like to  spread out the larger items so it looks more balanced.

3.  I find that frames can sometimes look lost on a cubby shelf like mine so I removed all of them and put them somewhere else.

4.  I also like to group similar objects together.  Whether its by color or shape it gives much more impact when grouped together.

5.  Alternate books for a more interesting look.  Stack some vertically and some horizontally.