The Egg Carton Trick That Doubles The Storage Space On Deep Bookshelves

With the help of a bookcase, readers enable their tomes to double as home decor pieces, each with their own story to tell. While thoughtfully organized book collections are often stunning, the process is not as simple as just plopping each book down on a shelf. If you have your own collection, you know that it can be challenging to make enough room on shelves to store each book neatly. There simply is not enough space sometimes. Once a reader succumbs to this struggle, books often wind up stacked in unorganized piles and wedged into tight openings. Believe it or not, you can eliminate this problem on a deep bookshelf by using an egg carton as a book riser.

Once you place an egg carton on a large bookshelf, you can line up a row of books on top and set a separate row of books directly in front of the makeshift book riser. This method essentially splits each self into two tiers, which doubles the storage space on your bookcase. If you use free-hanging shelves rather than an entire bookcase, you may use this hack there, too. Just make sure that the shelves are deep enough to accommodate the size of the egg carton and an additional row of books in front of that carton. This organization tip will make your bookshelves so much better looking and more functional. What's more, the same hack comes in handy in other parts of your home that often suffer from clutter due to a lack of space. 

To get a better idea of how you can maximize space and multiply your bookshelf storage space, take a look at the TikTok video posted by @eryn_librarian. You can see that the content creator placed the carton at the back of the shelf. Then, after placing one row of books on top of the carton, they placed another row directly in front. Both rows fit perfectly, and the back-row spines were still visible. You could follow this method to split only a small section of a shelf, or you could mimic the technique shown in a separate TikTok posted by user @tiffany_collects; this content creator lined up multiple egg cartons to transform an entire shelf into two tiers.

While this egg carton hack will maximize space on each of your bookshelves, it can also help you elevate the aesthetic of the bookcase. One of the most creative ways to decorate a bookshelf is by breaking up long rows of books into smaller sections; the new tier at the back will add depth to the setup and break up the monotony. You can have several double-tiered sections on the bookshelf (if its length allows) and visually separate them by placing gorgeous plants or ceramic pieces between them. For a more dynamic look, opt for hanging plants that will drape down over the shelves below. As for the ceramics, select decorative bowls or vases in colors that complement the books they will be placed next to.

This egg carton trick affords more than just a creative way to store books. Any shelves or cabinets that are wide enough to accommodate multiple rows of whatever items they're holding could benefit from a second, hidden tier the carton creates. For example, in the kitchen, an empty egg carton could help you keep spices neat and organized. Place the carton flush with the back wall and put a row of spice jars on top. Then, line up another row of jars in front of the carton, and you'll see all your spices easily while the carton itself will remain concealed. The same tick can work for organizing tea boxes in a cabinet; simply create a rear tier using the carton, and you'll have two visible rows of tea boxes. In the fridge, you can use one half of an egg carton (with the inside up) to store various sauces, dressings, and condiments, since the individual cells neatly fit the mouths of such bottles. 

In the bathroom, your vanity cabinet is probably home to an agglomeration of personal care items. Often, these items are too small to organize effectively, and without some kind of a riser system, they litter the bottom of the cabinet. The humble egg carton can banish the chaos from your vanity cabinet much like it does in the kitchen pantry or the living room bookcase. And if you want a multi-level riser solution, simply put two cartons on top of each other to create the rear shelf, then place a single carton in front; you'll have three tiers, including the cabinet bottom. While you're at it, check out these other genius egg carton DIYs.