Bookcase Curtain

Unless your bookcase serves a purely decorative purpose, odds are that it collects junk. Instead of artfully arranged leather-bound volumes, my bedroom bookcase holds a jumble of decorating and gardening books, music, scripts, choreography notes, binders, CDs, and assorted odds and ends. I have no intention of organizing it. I'd rather hide the mess.

In my perfect world, all bookcases have doors to hide whatever I may stuff inside. Thankfully, curtains serve much the same purpose and are easier to make. To hide your mess, all you need is a cafe rod (with brackets) and fabric. Voila, the clutter is concealed. The floorlength curtain also screens the snarled cords below the shelf. The CD player is now behind the curtain, where it can be heard but not seen.

This tidying technique has its limits. When the curtains reveal visible lumps, or items start falling off the shelves, it's probably time to take more drastic measures and edit your collection. Until then, stuff your laundry under the bed and call the room clean!