Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Robyn Devine.
It is unmistakably comforting to curl up in a thick chair with a tattered copy of a book you love, listening to the rain while you let yourself get carried away by the words on the page. I know – I used to hoard books. Don’t let the title “minimalist” scare you off – I have a love of books that dates back to my years toddling around with Dr. Seuss, a love that was handed down from my mother.
Until just a few years ago, books were stacked everywhere in my home. My two huge book cases were double-stacked with volumes ranging from children’s fiction to college text books, and piles had formed next to couches and the bed, not to mention on any available surface. I could not imagine my life without these friends surrounding me – the very thought of letting go of just one was enough to send me hurling at my shelves, attempting to wrap my arms around every book I owned in protection.
Today, I am the proud owner of approximately 20 books – six of which are craft books. To move from one extreme to the other took some serious work, and was not an overnight process. It started with the realization that I was not so much attached to the stories and words themselves, but the physical books sitting on the shelves. Once I had that realization, I began to let go of some of my books, and moved slowly towards a more minimalist reading collection.
The best way for any book-collector to tackle their bookshelves is by looking at one book at a time. When we look at the whole expanse of our book collection, it can be hard to imagine ever letting a single book go, but in reality there are volumes hiding on those shelves that we truly don’t need or want. Taking time to pull a book down off the shelf and truly look at it as an individual item will help you decide for that book alone if staying on your shelves is the best option.
Here are a few suggestions to help even the biggest bibliophile relieve your sagging shelves of stress:
1. Write It Down.
Sometimes, it’s the way a book made us feel, our connection to the story or a character that keeps us from letting go of the book itself. Take some time to write down those feelings, those connections. Maybe you’ll keep these notes on your computer or in a notebook, or maybe you’ll begin a blog for them. Once you get those emotions and thoughts out, it can be easier to pass the book on to someone else who you think would love the story as much as you did.
Tiny Action: Grab a notebook and start writing down your thoughts about each book as you take it off your shelves. If you can’t think of anything to say, you probably won’t miss the book if it weren’t there anymore.
2. Divide. Get ruthless with your “yet to read” pile.
My rule of thumb is simple: If it hasn’t been read in six months, it probably won’t ever be read. I went so far as to test this theory myself as I found books on my shelves I hadn’t yet read, but couldn’t yet bear to let go. I dedicated a shelf to “need to read” books, and noted the date. Any books that started out on that shelf on that date but were still there six months later I purged – I had discovered I truly had no desire to read them!
Tiny Action: Let go of any book you haven’t read yet that has been on your shelves for more than six months. Afraid you’ll want to read it someday? Make a note of it in your notebook – title, author, ISBN number even – so you can find it at the library if you truly want to read it later.
3. One of the best ways to make use of your book collection is to share it with others!
As you look at books, anytime you find yourself thinking “So and so would LOVE this book!” write that name down on a sticky note, stick it on the front cover, and set the book aside. After you’ve got 20 or so books in a pile, begin handing them out – drive to friends’ houses and drop them off, or put them in the mail (book rate shipping is SUPER cheap).
Tiny Action: Pick five books off your shelves that you’d love to share with someone else, and then send them off to their new homes. Today.
4. Set aside one shelf of your book case as your “desert island” shelf.
Most book lovers have books they know they will never let go of, no matter what. I call these “desert island” books – they are the books I’d want with me if I were stranded on a desert island, that I could read over and over again for the rest of my life. As you come across these books in your collection, add them to your shelf. Not only is it comforting to see those books being saved as you pare down others, you now have a physical boundary – you can have no more “desert island” books than will fit in this one space, so you are forced to think analytically about your collection.
Tiny Action: Clear off one shelf to keep as your “desert island” shelf. It can only hold one row of books – no double stacks or piles!
5. Organize your non-fiction books by topic.
I found when I began to organize my non-fiction books by topic, I had overlaps in some subjects. For me, the largest overlaps came in religious studies (my major in college). As I saw where I’d doubled up on topic, it was easier to let go of a few books.
Tiny Action: Organize your books by topic and author. Begin to pare down where you see overlaps.
6. Look for multiple copies, and get rid of them.
You may laugh, thinking you would NEVER buy a multiple of a book, but trust me when I say I’ve found multiple copies of books on the shelves of almost every sentimental bibliophile I’ve met. Once you have more than a shelf or two of books (not a book CASE or two, a SHELF or two!), the chances of your remembering what books you own dwindles. Even if you love the book, there is never a need to own more than one copy of it!
Tiny Action: Every time you notice a multiple of a book, immediately give one copy away.
While going through this process, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Take breaks. When I first began paring down my books, I would get dizzy after 15 minutes!
- Take five minutes to step away anytime you begin to feel overwhelmed – this is a new experience for your body, and it takes some getting used to!
- Stay hydrated. I found I would get drained and tired as I went through my books – keeping a glass of water next to me helped keep me alert and focused.
- Set a timer. Sort through your books for no more than 30 minutes the first go-round or you will find yourself getting frustrated and overwhelmed.
- Honor your emotions. Your sentimental attachment to your books is not something to feel ashamed of or sad about. Acknowledging your emotions as you sort through your books can be the first step in helping you move past that attachment and towards a more minimalist reading habit.
- And above all, remember this: you did not acquire those books overnight, so you will not release your attachment to them quickly either. By spending a few minutes a week and by letting go of a few books at a time, you will find your feelings shifting towards the stories and the moment rather than the books themselves.
***
Wondering how to get rid of books? Consider donating them. Here’s a list of 20 places you can donate your books.
For more help with decluttering, see our list of 10 creative decluttering tips.
Hi, just wanted to tell you, I enjoyed this post. It was practical. Keep on posting!
My name is miss Lilian am giving a testimony on how a spell caster has bring back my ex boy friend. I meant a friend who directed me to Prophet Jakula at the internet who help people to solve their problem, then i explain my problem to Prophet Jakula he said i should not worry about that, that i should give he 2days for him to caster a spell after that 2days my ex boy friend called me on my officer line then he started begging. That is how my ex boy friend came back to me please contact prophetjakula@gmail.com……Lilian.
I am an literary book hoarder as well as art book lover, — was English & Art major in college decades ago. I’m getting my apartment painted next week and have begun clearing the shelves. What to do with my dusty, old classic hardcovers and out of print, hard-to-get books? I could bring them to the Strand Bookstore, give them to a library, Salvation Army, friends, etc.
But, I don’t know if I can part with them. I’ve read some of them more than once. I now own a Kindle, but a lot of these books are not available through Amazon or B&N. I haven’t bought a new book in a few years.
I am having a very difficult time parting with my books, I’m 60 now, and don’t read the way I used to. My concentration level is not what it used to be, so I don’t plan on re-reading these books.
Isherwood, Melville, Sinclair Lewis, HG Wells, Anais Nin, du Maupassant, Georges Sand, Dickens, Crane, etc, American & British Lit, serious stuff here. Film critique books, Hitchcock, Truffaut, art books, photography books…
I want to let go, but can’t…
I’ve pondered this same issue. Why do I keep books I’ve read? I never re-read them (well hardly ever, the only ones I have re-read are mostly reference books). I concluded they represent an accomplishment. A kind of trophy of sorts. “Hey look what I did! See how smart I am!” The only reason I won’t get rid of them now is because I have so much damn space in this monster house they don’t get in the way. The only thing that may motivate me to disgorge myself of them is the profit motive. Can I sell them? The collection isn’t growing because I own a Kindle.
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you are using? I’m experiencing some small security problems
with my latest site and I’d like to find something more safe. Do you have any recommendations?
Letting go of books is a real challenge. I’ve seen houses completely cluttered by piles and piles of books – shelves, drawers, even the floor! I’ve always been quite detached when it comes to “things”, however, I can understand how books can feel comforting, how you sort of end up seeing them as friends… A de-cluttered house brings harmony and peace to your life though! I therefore think it’s important to be selective with your books and dispose of the ones lying around your living space and gathering dust. It’s a good idea to recycle your books and donate them so that other people can actually enjoy them and make good use of them.
On the other end of book minimalism. Due to several overseas moves, my books are now spread throughout the globe and my most recent move had me move without a single physical book to my name, into an apartment that has built-in shelves in the living room AND wall to wall shelving in the bedroom.
I don’t have “stuff” to add to the shelves, I just brought clothing and our electronics: I don’t feel comfortable buying things just to put on a shelf. How can I make these rooms look lived-in and not so empty?
Bits of nature that you pick up in your neighborhood and that can be returned to the wild whenever… piles of flat rocks, autumn-colored leaves, shells? Chinese take-out fortune cookie fortunes? I’ve just recently started looking at minimalist blogs, so don’t know if I’m being heretical.
Depends on what you want on your empty shelves. If there are a lot of them close together, pick up wildflowers outside and put one or two with long stems in a small mason jar with water. Put them a flower decoration on every other shelf, in a staggered way, so there is plenty of space between them. In the autumn after the frost, use acorns or leaves. In the winter pine cones that aren’t too tarry.
If the shelves are pretty far apart, you can put the natural ornaments on every shelf.
If you want to grow your own herbs, you might use the shelves for a small indoor herb garden, provided there’s enough direct sunlight. That way you can have ornaments and seasoning for food.
I am in the middle of this right now. A month ago I the though of giving away any books would NEVER happen; I love my books but here I am looking at a stack of books that are to goodwill. I have knocked down my paper books down to 10. I do have some textbooks left, but my kid often uses them. I have about 500 books between my Nook tablet, and my kindle app. I have only read about half of them.
I wouldn’t trust anyone who only had 20 books in their house.
Good idea! Of course, having 3-4 televisions reveals a lot, too.
I’m struggling with this. I’m a writer, and some are for research. Some are just personal interest. But I looked at my (cheap) paperback Jane Austen editions and I KNOW if I read them again (and I will) that I can get them for free on my phone or any future tablet. I will give those away, as I will just download the free editions onto something electronic, and then have them with me on the subway or a plane.
But the others? Oh, I struggle.
I can embrace (to an extent, I am not an extremist) all aspects of minimalism, but books and collections of books are like a really personal work of art for me. By looking at a persons book collection you can tell so much about a person (if they are UNread -=pretensious/horder/procrastinator…). They are like a map of my life. Although minimalism simplifies life, I don’t want there to be nothing in my apartment that is personal and shows something about my personality. I would rather have a bookcase than a piece of art on my wall.
I only have multiples of the Harry Potter books. Two langauges and two editions. Because I speak two languages and have read them in two (or three) of my life stages.
I feel no guilt in owning books (Books are SEXY).
I decided my boyfriend was the man I wanted to be with when I saw his book collection. Nothing like seeing someone with similar values displayed out in the open. I agree wholeheartedly. We just moved cross country and 75% of the weight of our goods was books.
anyone else find it hilarious that in the margin of this article, there are links to buy books about minimalism?
I am a ‘collector’ of audio books. Greener yes, but still a source of anxiety as I feel tiny pressure to listen a lot….so I can ‘get through’ them. Some of these tips in the article can be transferred to digital books as well. There is still the attachment that says, “reading/listening makes me a smarter, more well-rounded person”…even though a lot of books are just ridiculous. Just because it’s published doesn’t mean it will bring something great into MY world.
I love books but think they belong in hands and not on shelves. Donating to any library and if they deny the donation, there is always the ‘night drop’ drawer. They are heavy when boxed to move, nobody is ever really that impressed with your colorful life by the titles on your shelf. As well, life is too short to just sit and read fiction and how much self help books have really helped us? How much do we really retain and we have the computer when needing research. I keep the Bible and all my medical books and the rest I pass it on.
How rude to drop books in the night drop if the library refuses the donation. Our small town library accepts donations, and if not shelved, then they are sold at library book sales. However, if a library will not accept books, there are plenty of places that will. It’s unnecessary to dump your discards off on someone who has said no. But then people never cease to amaze me.
I use my books (don’t have a clue as to how many) in many ways: homeschooling reference materials, enjoyment, to keep my children busy & out of trouble, and so on…. Purging? I never thought of books as something to purge. I could at least count them to know how many there are. I do have to say, for the most part, they are contained to the area we call the library of our home. I have been purging in every other area of my life; I’ll have to sleep on this thought for a little while. Thanks for challenging me to think out of the box, as usual.
I have read about 1,000 books since I retired 16 years ago, and I have a journal entry on each one. On my computer, I discovered ‘librarything’ where I am able to enter the books that I have read with descriptions- where I read it, where I bought it, as well as a review. Also it has tags so I can bring up all the books I read on one subject or one year. In this way, I have access to all my books and get great pleasure scrolling through and tapping into the memories. Of course, it takes hours to enter all the information. But, once again, it is a wonderful trip down memory lane.
I culled my personal collection, giving away anything that wasn’t wonderful. I put the books that I have not read in a bin. I am usually busy with 3 book clubs each month as well as traveling with ‘Bookwomen’. But when I have extra reading time, I love digging through the bin for a book to read.
Twenty books is not enough to have for the desert island! Maybe fifty! Wonderful books cannot always be replaced. Because I journal on every book, I know which ones were great to read and will not part with them. Perhaps we should have one for every year of our life.
“Perhaps we should have one for every year of our life.” LOVE that idea! I can remember my favorite books I had at different ages. I’m sure I would love to have them all again on that desert island! :)
Keeping the files on an amazon kindle or electronic is still having stuff. Being minimalist is about eliminating the distractions in your life to do the things you want, not necessarily having more room in your house. If you are still moving files around, collecting things and generally wasting time on it, you are still sentimentally attached and you just replaced one thing for another. It’s mildly an OCD trait to act like that, so don’t think by making things electronic or substituting a collection of notes for a collection of books is being minimalist because your brain has to let go. Being minimalist means having stuff in one location, and being able to move at the drop of a hat with only a suitcase full of stuff, donating all the rest never to think of it again, and not excessively organizing everything around you. I’ve moved across the country several times b/c I’m minimalist, but I know I need to get stuff for cheap or free off craigslist once in my new spot, but when I move I have no problem just giving it all away again.
“Being minimalist means having stuff in one location, and being able to move at the drop of a hat with only a suitcase full of stuff, donating all the rest never to think of it again, and not excessively organizing everything around you.”
That’s what being a minimalist means TO YOU. Not everyone will have the same minimalist journey.
I agree with Nichole. For me, being minimalist means having balance, simplicity, and getting rid of things I don’t need or don’t love. I love my books and I am glad I have made room for them in my life by getting rid of the things I truly do not need and love. :)
Writing down a passage from a book you have read is not OCD. You are leaving the whole book behind, the hours it took to read it, and culling out only what means the most to you. On a smaller scale, it’s the same practice people do with their households when they are minimizing. Everyone needs external cues to inspire, to remind, or to make them smile. If these cues are simply words on a laptop, where’s the harm in that?
I agree with Nicole and Happy Annie, Ms/Mr Jolo. What you seem to be doing is trying to force your own idea of minimalism on others. Keep it up and you will turn more people away than will be attracted to your rigid one suitcase and derogatory name calling approach. You want to do it your way. Everyone else gets to do it their way, too. Lighten up!
If your point is that minimalizing can become its own distracting obssession, I don’t disagree. But minimalizing is a process, and if taking a few minutes to journal about the objects you are getting rid of (books or otherwise) helps you along, I don’t see anything wrong with that. A slim journal or a file on your computer takes up no space at all next to all the stuff you can release once you’ve thought through why it does (or doesn’t) really matter to you.
Isn’t point #1 about writing down what you felt then keeping it in a notebook just as bad as keeping the book itself? I mean, at that point you will just be “keeping” the notes on the books, you aren’t really letting go of your attachment to something, at least in terms of any zen type minimalism on the topic. I mean, decluttering is one thing, having things and not being attached to them and not being upset if they disappear is another. You will start to think you have less stuff for moves in stuff if you know you can let things go at any moment.
Some people learn and retain by writing. Visiting an idea from a book several times that was valuable to us lets us get rid of the big, thick, clutter while keeping something of value until it becomes permanent within us. Some attachments are good and should not be let go of just for the sake of some idea of how things ‘should be.’ Words can be powerful and activate things within us that need touching–and sometimes more than once. I have journaled books I was reading and usually, there are only a few pages through the entire thing that I wanted to keep and highlight within me. When you find a book that does that on lots of pages–too much to journal–maybe it should just be a “keeper”
In the process of moving a few times in 3 years, I went from 600 books to less than 300. Looking back, I’m not happy about it. I have been a minimalist for over a decade, living comfortably in a small apartment with my daugther and kitty. Every minimalist approach I have taken has been successful except the decreasing of my books.
They are now the one thing I do not part with. There’s actually nothing else on that list.
I went through the books I hadn’t read and checked for the reviews on Amazon.com. If the book had three stars or less, it was easier to part with it. I donate books to the Salvation Army or give them to someone I think will enjoy them.
that’s a great idea. thanks for sharing.
Writing down about the feelings that a certain book or a character in a story evoke certainly helps in loosening my connection with the book as a physical entity. I then find it easier to pass on the book to somebody else because I know that a part of the book will always be with me.
Often I also just write down sentences and passages from a book that move me—a description of the falling rain or the design on a kimono so beautifully penned that it breathes life into the object or an analysis of some feeling or an emotion so insightful and intriguing that it forces me to ponder every time I read it. This way I can keep going back to these words that even if I don’t have the book with me. It of course helps that I also immensely love the mere physical act of writing.
Right now, I am taking down these notes and/or copying passages in a notebook. I plan to keep these notes on the computer next; after all, there will never be a dearth of a book that will move me and a text file takes up less space.
I used to collect boxes, and at one point had about 600. I now have about 15 and use them. I collected antique evening bags and still have about 6. I collected antique lace and used most of it in projects.
Books are the hardest things for me and my husband to release. They are our best friends. He left a lot of books when he moved to Kauai, as I did. If you don’t open books here, they mold and bugs lay their eggs in them, so that’s a good measure of how often you use them. We further had a house fire, and divested many more as we moved to a much smaller home. Even though they were smoke-damaged, many people bought them at our sale. I was down to 100 books (from 600) by the time we moved, which made many of my fellow book-lovers very uncomfortable. 7 years later, I probably have 50 more, all craft-related.
I get books from the library and from the free cart at the hospital – to which I return all the books I want to share with others.
I still love books, real books you can hold in your hands, that smell like ink. I’ve pretty much made this bargain with myself – if I minimize all my other “stuff”, I can have as many BEADS as I want.
I “bargain” with myself too. I tell myself that if I minimalze everything else I can have as many wonderfull clothes and books as I want! I think it is perfectly fine to minimalize some aspects of your life and not others to the same extent. I do get rid of clothes that don’t fit, books that are rubbish etc., of course.
My fascination for minimalism was actually fuelled by my love for clothes. If I buy/maintain lots of everything I can’t invest as much as I would like in the areas I like.
That is how I use/abuse minimalism anyway:)
RIGHT ON, SISTER BEADER! I SAVOR THINKING OF HOW MANY BEADS CAN FIT IN THE SPACE OF AN EXTRA DICTIONARY!!
Wow. I truly connected with this piece.
Whilst I’m definitely a good way down the path with my book collection, and other collections, I found some great ideas to help me through the next stage.
Thanks
Excellent tips. It is a soft spot on my decluttering efforts — books. Especially those titles that I truly loved and want to share with my kids “someday”. I really like the writing it down tip. I already have a notebook for so many other goals and wishes that adding a section for books I love would be natural.
The book collections by an author can be tough, but I’ve finally cracked that nut. I only keep the ones I really felt inspired by and pass the others along without guilt, let’s face it even a GREAT author can’t touch you with EVERY book they write!
Lately I moved away from my home with a huge built in bookshelf. I am happy to report that the thought of buying a huge shelving unit for the new place had me editting my book collection mercilessly! I donated a huge quantity of them to my kid’s elementary school library (they were really happy) and others went to a charity thrift shop. I have 1/3rd what I did.
This article was a good refresher for me. I used to be a hoarder of all things, but mostly books. There is actually a large row of books I’d like to get rid of but can’t due to their topic and relevance to my occupation. I rarely use them, but my boss would probably not forgive me If he ever found out that I got rid of them.
Ben, I am somewhat the same…
I am a writer/editor, so many of the books are great reference material. Lots of Norton/Penguin/Oxford/Cambridge books, many manuals of style, several on craft, lit /crit theory, quotations, etc. It isn’t the same flipping through on kindle and some aren’t worth that much, but quite rare and not available on kindle. I don’t really have a problem giving away fiction or non fiction books, but many I know I will need for my work and research so, it kind of comes with the territory. It’s definitely not a sentimental attachment.
Hello Jolo,
I understand your concern, but I don’t think that is the point of Joshua’s article. What the article is about is to get read of the books you read once and are never going to read again, or the books you keep in case you want to read them. Mostly it’s leisures books, from which we have sometime a huge atttachment, but if we are truly honest, even our favorite books are just a one-time reading, and even if we keep good memories about it, we don’t need to actually keep them. I for once keep all the books I have read, even though I am never going to read them again.
That though is very different from books you regulrarly use, for your work for instance. These books are not superfluous, because they are needed on a daily or weekly basis. These books are okay to keep.
As always with minimalism, it is not about getting rid of everything, but get rid of things that are not needed. If your work or passion implies that you have to go regurlaly through 200 books, then these books are essentials to your life and should be kept. The other books that we keep because we liked them and don’t want to get rid even if they are of no use, these are the ones that can actually go, because the fact they are there is not as useful as we think. And they take space that could be used for something else.
Hoped that helped, and thanks Joshua for the article & the blog in general.
Have you ever heard of the INTERNET?? you don’t need hard copies of reference books you in-denial emotioal twit!
Golflin Gortenats, name calling is never helpful. I am sure Jolo’s reference books are full of personal notes and ideas and insights that would not be found on the internet. The Internet is not the answer to everything. Some people are further along the minimalist journey than others. I have hundreds of books. I used to have thousands. To me, a house is not a home without books. Now I keep lists of books I want to read and see if I can get them at the library before I buy one. Sometimes, after reading a library book, i buy it anyway because i love it. I have a kindle, but I don’t enjoy reading on it. I give away books that I no longer want, and work on my emotional attachment to others. For instance I have a very rare, complete set of Funk and Wagnalls encyclopedias. They belonged to my grandmother. She had very little money and that set reminds me of how much she scrimped and saved to buy the books and how much she valued education for my dad and my aunt. I don’t read them often, they aren’t current. But, I doubt I will ever part with them.
Excellent and classy reply to someone’s unnecessary anger. Truly the results of being a life-long reader!