We’re on to week two of our De-Clutter Your Home series, and this week we are going to tackle our collection of books.
I really do enjoy having lots of books around me, even if I’m not reading them. What can I say, they make me look smart! I do, however, realize that it is definetely not necessary to keep every single book I bring home.
I haven’t been able to get rid of many books lately (mainly due to laziness – hey, I’m honest!) and it’s time to clean up this house and get rid of all those books that just sit there and collect dust.
 Gather all books in one location. - Novels This does NOT include cookbooks. We will be tackling those next week. Don’t forget any books that you may have stored somewhere, or books that are in the car for travelling. All books need to be in one central location so that you can go through them all at the same time.  Keep, Sell/Donate or Toss. It was a gift from someone special. When sorting through your books, remember that if the book wil never be enjoyed again, there is no sense hanging on to it. - If it was a gift from someone special, take a picture of it, and hold on to that instead. I always give myself 5 seconds to decide which pile the book is going into. Once it’s in my hands, I have to quickly decide if I want to keep, toss or sell (or donate).  Display your books so you can enjoy them. Wipe off your books with a damp cloth and put them on a bookshelf somewhere that they will be seen and enjoyed. If you tuck your books under your bed, in a closet, or packed away in boxes, it’s likely that you will never see them (and therefore, never read them). Display your books! Show them off! Read them! Here are some ways to display your book collection: If you have lots of books, you can also make some labels for your shelves. That way, everyone in the house knows where to put their books away. |
Next week I am going to show everyone how I did with de-cluttering our book collection, and will post the next de-cluttering challenge.
If you de-clutter your books this week, please post in the comments and let everyone know how and what you did. 
More from this series:
- De-Clutter Your Toys (Challenge Complete)
- De-Clutter Your Books (Challenge Complete)
- De-Clutter Your Recipes (Challenge Complete)
- De-Clutter A Cabinet (Challenge Complete)
- De-Clutter Your Coupons (Challenge Complete)
- De-Clutter Your Email
credit: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3
pj – Oh, I know what you mean! Darn those yard sales.. always making me buy crap I don’t need.
the worst is that in spring is when all the used booksales and garage sales are held! i purge…and their cousins find their way back on to my shelves!
teachermum – Haha, yep, I definetely think it’s time!
What books we do have are organized fairly well, by category and yes, labelled so other family members can find things. But purging…that’s the tough one! I’m at max capacity now, so need to go through again…add homeschooling to the mix and there is a whole ‘nuther dimension to the issue! I’ve still got a few years’ of curriculum left that I didn’t get to…but dd has graduated with her BA and ds just finished his second of three years of college…think it’s time? LOL
Susan
LPC – I didn’t know that!
Linda – That’s a great idea as well. Unfortunetely, I don’t have that many books (YET!), so right now, I just organize by height.
Great challenge! Oh, I see a copy of The Bermudez Triangle! I heard it’s a good book.
I organize my books by genre. However, I’ve just re-organized / decluttered my home library, and I gave away the books I didn’t want anymore to a library book sale. I’ll sit out of this challenge, but it’s a great idea to put all the books together in one place. =)
The type of book I have trouble parting with are craft books; knitting, quilting, sewing, soapmaking, etc. I’ve donated a lot of my books to the local library thinking that they would be there if I ever felt the need to consult them. Alas, with book donations, unless the books was published in the last five years, they put them in their yearly book sale to raise funds.