Recently, my wife and I presented at a Simplicity/Decluttering Workshop. We were excited to have 100+ people from every stage of life show up for our 90-minute conversation. It was wonderful in every regard. Special thanks to Journey Church in Gretna, NE for being our hosts. If you are interested in doing the same, you can find more information here.
As part of the workshop, Kim and I wanted to offer practical help in common problem areas (clothes, sentimental items, kids’ stuff, and books). And as part of the preparation, I asked Twitter for some help in addressing the specific topic of decluttering books.
I asked a simple question, “Have you significantly decluttered your book collection? If so, what was the most important step or decision you made in the process?”
Responses began flooding in almost immediately (they are, after all, a pretty sharp crew). The answers I received were experienced, helpful, and taken as a whole, quite comprehensive. In fact, the responses were so good, I decided to organize them and pass them on to a larger audience.
So then, if your book collection has become too cluttered, you’ll find help here. If you ever feel burdened by your books, you’ll find inspiration. Or if you are just looking to create some extra space in your home or office, you’ll find plenty of practical steps here to help you unclutter your book collection and finding more space in your home and life.
12 Helpful, Practical Steps to Decluttering Books
1. Decide to do it.
After all, just like everything else, it always starts with the decision to get started.
@joshua_becker Most important: deciding to do it. Here's my story: http://t.co/0KB1CmV72u
— heather andrews (@wildsheepchase) November 11, 2013
2. Realize books do not define you.
Books add value. They contribute to who you are. But they do not define who you are.
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@joshua_becker also accepting that the books on my shelf (or lack of) don’t define me as a person.
— Hannah (@becomewhour) November 10, 2013
class=”twitter-tweet”>@joshua_becker Realizing my book collection did not define me as a person. Also admitting I was prob. not going to read most of them again.
— MicheleStitches (@MicheleStitches) November 10, 2013
3. Remove scarcity thinking.
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@joshua_becker letting go of the “what if I need this in the future?” scarcity mindset– i.e. self-trust! Over 200 books sold/gone so far.
— Hannah (@becomewhour) November 10, 2013
4. Determine to make room for the new.
An optimistic point of view is advantageous in every endeavor.
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@joshua_becker Removing books I’ve already read, makes room for books I have yet to read!
— Brian Knoblauch (@GLMotorSports) November 11, 2013
class=”twitter-tweet”>@joshua_becker My goal is to keep reading and learning, so I would usually choose new books anyway. — Jessica S. (@jessicaschreyer) November 11, 2013
5. Go digital.
The free Amazon Kindle App is available for almost every electronic device. There is no need to own an actual Kindle to use it.
Switching to kindle RT @joshua_becker: Have you significantly reduced/… your book collection? If so, what was the most important step..
— Foreign Geek (@ForeignGeek) November 12, 2013
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@joshua_becker Anything available on Kindle went. I only kept OOP or coffee table books.— Tina Lender (@TinaLender) November 10, 2013
6. Give yourself permission to keep your favorites.
Less is different than none. Identify your favorite books and keep them close. Find freedom in knowing all decisions are coming from you and nobody is forcing them on you.
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@joshua_becker went from ~400 to 80 or so. Picked absolute favs to keep 1st. Let go of anything I owned for at least a year but never read.
— Adam Bouse (@adambouse) November 11, 2013
7. Set up reasonable boundaries for your collection.
Boundaries help us quickly delineate the “most important” from the “somewhat important.” They are helpful in countless other pursuits—use them to your advantage. Choose one and give it a try. You can always adjust later.
class=”twitter-tweet”> @joshua_becker I read a lot – iPad and hard copy – but keep very few. I have one bookcase and give away the rest. pic.twitter.com/8qs0ylhSPY — Sarah Labelle (@labelle_sarah) November 10, 2013
8. Remove unused or outdated reference books.
While the Internet may never entirely replace reference books for your line of work or personal preference, it can almost certainly prove to be an efficient replacement for many of your reference books (starting with a dictionary and thesaurus).
class=”twitter-tweet”> @joshua_becker (1) Will I read this again? (2) If it’s a reference book, do I actually use it or just go online? — Christy King (@SimpleWhiteRab) November 10, 2013
class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” lang=”en”>@joshua_becker I ask how often I reference each book, how much info it contains, and if the book/info is available at the library/online. — Roman (@RomanAngeloS) November 12, 2013
class=”twitter-tweet”> @joshua_becker just 2 shelves left. My deciding factor: had I re-read/referred back in the last year or thought I would in the year to come — Thaddaeus Moody (@Thaddaeus_Moody) November 11, 2013
9. Remind yourself books are not the memory.
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@joshua_becker Deciding to give away all the novels I read. “The book itself is not the memory.”— Ezzentie (@Ezzentie) November 11, 2013
10. Give away books you do not intend to read again.
This step was, by far, the most common response to the question.
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@joshua_becker yes. 1) made list of books to give away. 2) posted list on FB & Twitter. 3) Gave them away.
— Andrew Tatum (@andrewtatum) November 10, 2013
class=”twitter-tweet”>@joshua_becker I had to make peace with the idea that I don’t really read books more than once anymore. After that it was easy to pare down.
— Adie Lashley (@adielashley) November 10, 2013
11. Think of forwarding good books as an act of love.
I really do love this mindset and hope people find it helpful.
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@joshua_becker Keeping a book that I didn’t cherish or regularly pick up & re-read meant I was keeping it from someone else. Share the love!
— Maggie Olson (@maggiebolson) November 11, 2013
12. If all else fails, choose to lend them out.
A proper bookkeeping system will be helpful if you are ever in the need to find the book again.
class=”twitter-tweet”>@joshua_becker I read it, then I lend or give it away.
— Rodrigo Afonseca (@rodrigoafonseca) November 11, 2013
For further reading, I recommend Breaking The Sentimental Attachment To Books.
And in closing, are there any important steps or decisions you would like to add that others might find helpful when decluttering their book collection?
As a writer, I am sometimes concerned about relying on the internet for dictionary or thesaurus functions – because meanings are always changing, and it’s too easy to update the electronic source without keeping track of changes over time. As a Gen-Xer, the word “awesome” is a perfect example. Prior to the early ‘80s, this word was used only in the sense of: “the awesome power of water to carve the landscape.”
During the 80s, it was a very hip colloquialism that kids used to differentiate themselves from adults. Now, that meaning of it is fairly standard.
But one can’t write a story set in the 70’s with the modern usage of “awesome.” You’d probably use “groovy” or “far out.”
So, I guess I don’t entirely dismiss the value of holding on to outdated reference books.
Lost count of all the books I’ve donated in more than a year. From five bookcases, I’m down to one. Still planning on getting rid of some from the remaining ones, though. Have gone back to e-books as sub for some books I gave away. Reasons: (1) Less stress in keeping a humongous collection, and, most importantly, (2) LESS TERMITES =). It wasn’t easy letting go at first but you’ll find it addictive along the way, eventually.
I like that you mentioned that forwarding books is a good way to get rid of olds ones. I plan to buy a Christian fantasy children’s book for my son in order to jump start his faith development at a young age. Once he grows up, I’d like his books to still be useful for other kids.
The books I keep in p-form must be ornamental as well as useful or entertaining and be those I read once a year. I decided to keep five of my overflowing stacks. The Holy Bible NIV in leather binding, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, Sarah Orne Jewett: an anthology, and Gift from the Sea.
If I want more there’s always the library. And I have over 300 on my Kindle PC.
I’ve just finished culling the smallest one of my 5 bookcases- One I hadn’t read for ages, but loved and WILL read again – ‘A Gift from the Sea’ Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
I have (temporarily) kept SOME of the books to give to a book fair in a year, if I still have not read or re-read them.
2 cartons are all ready to send off to the next book fair.
I am in New Zealand and my local library wheels a bookcase outside everyday- with free books they no longer want! The librarian was outside scanning library users Covid passes when I headed over to this trove of books the other day.- He laughed when he overheard me say: ‘ NO Joanna you are NOT looking at books!” I need to talk sternly to myself.
I can’t believe I’ve done it. I went through ALL of our reading material, including our homeschool stuff, and picked out half of it to sell. We are keeping less than 300 items, but getting rid of 350! With four kids homeschool age from 4 to 17 years old, it is a little worrisome to me. We will have to repurchase some, or borrow them, but keeping them for years and years waiting to reuse them makes no sense when we have yet another move across country to make in the coming year. I felt like I was only keeping the books I really liked or would need all these years homeschooling, and to find out I still had 650 was shocking. When I say I kept 300, that still sounds way to high. We’ll see.
I had a big book collection, spent two years rearranging it, gave out most to friends, sold some to book shops, sometimes just walked around the street and gave the books to strangers (some people may refuse to take my books, but most were happy about the new gifts).
Now, I had less than 5 books of mine on my shelf, I simply borrowed other books from libraries or bought them on Kindle.
being minimalist is not the same as being godfearing. Some of us are happy to have lots of books. I love my shelves full of books.Even the ones I’ve read and might read again. Ones which are out of date, but interesting. Ones I plan to recommend to people and maybe even lend them a copy. Cookery books with recipes I’ve never used. And by lining the outside walls of the house with bookshelves, I have added insulation. To live my life devoid of anything which is immediately useful or functional, is a life devoid of life itself! You can keep your minimalistic home, painted in pastel shades with only basic items. I like my home to be full of mementoes, things which are important to me, which give me pleasure to own and look at. I love my bright colours and patterned wallpapers. My home tells people about ME. And, minimalistic homes, devoid of all but the basics, show a human devoid of emotions.Minimalism was a style invented by someone with a personality disorder, for, people with a personality disorded.
Minimalism doesn’t imply that it’s bad to have any books; just not so many to the point it defines you and makes an area seem cluttered. Everyone has their own opinions and tastes (I’m neither of the following), but it sounds like the extreme opposite of minimalism is materialism.
All good ideas that I will forward to my other half as we look to downsize a bit more. Number 11 really resonated with me. When we had to sell our home a few years ago and move to a townhome, there were a lot of choices to be made. For me, it was the piano. This mindset helped me.
Little Free Libraries are a great option too (lots of info online about them). We made a community event and had ten families say they wanted these Little Free Libraries in their yard, all in our neighborhood. So we have our own library system of all our favorite books-kids and adults alike. Freely take and freely give any books
This is a great list. I’m a compulsive reader and read hundreds of books each year. I actually get anxious if I finish a book and don’t have another book ready. When that happened, I would grab a book that I had already read, just to have something to read until I got a new book.
I decluttered my book collection with three main steps:
-Started using my library. This was intended to reduce clutter and cut my book spending.
-Gave away all but my absolute favorite books.
-Got a kindle. The kindle eliminated my “I don’t have a book to read” anxiety, because I can keep a bunch of books queued up and ready to read. It also helped me get rid of even more physical books, because I own them digitally. Bonus: my library has a kindle book collection.
I still have a bookshelf full of books. I intend to slowly eliminate most of them, saving my favorite gardening reference books, my favorite fiction novels, and my favorite cartoon collections (like Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes). The rest, including my embarrassingly large collection of decluttering books, can go.
We had a LOT of used Bibles and Christian literature and couldnt bring ourselves to throw (especially Bibles) away. I found an organization called Love Packages in southern Illinois) that ships the books overseas where they are scarce and so greatly needed.
Why are they so greatly needed? Surely reading material would be the priority. Sorry — but this smacks of colonial missionary work.
Because they are scarce? Like she said. There are a lot of people in living in poverty who actually want these items. And many of them are in other countries. In my life, the Bible has been a lifesaver, and while you may not consider it a need, there are many who do. I’m okay with throwing lifesavers to people who want or need them. That is not a judgment of them. I doubt she is doing it to colonize a foreign country. Missionary work doesn’t mean colonizing and isn’t evil. You may not want to know that God loves you, but many do. It is okay to share.
I get books from the library before buying them. It saves money and space. If I buy a book, I tend to either donate it or give it to a friend when I am done with it.
I’m transitioning to a minimalist lifestyle, and I saw the title of this article and hurt a little inside. To me, my life IS defined by my books. I don’t buy all the books I read (thank you local library), only the ones I rate 8 or above on a scale of 1-10, but even that’s well over 200. Reflecting on this, there are only two things that I collect and will refuse to be rid of, and that is sheet music and books. I could wax poetic about it, but I keep books not only for myself, but for my friends and family, and for my children especially. Fortunately, I recognize my passion for books and plan accordingly; I have built-in bookshelves all over my house, so books don’t become clutter. I was wondering if I’d ever transition to full minimalist, and this post convinced me that while I may incorporate a lot of minimalism, I’m not going to be able to be completely minimalist, if book purging is required.
I give all our books (and dvd’s) in great shape that we no longer read (or watch) to our local library. If one of us does get the desire to read a book again, we just check it out from the library.
I love this post, Joshua! That’s one of the greatest hurdle of ours, how to get rid (or at least minimize) our book collection! Lately, I’ve been keeping our book collection at bay by having this rule: non-fiction books will only be bought from Kindle and fiction books will still be bought paperback. Non-fiction/reference books are easier to refer to in Kindle because of the search function and it’s easier to take down notes there.
I still opted to buy paperback novels because nothing beats the sensation of flipping the pages of a book in anticipation of what happens next in the plot! I just make it a point to lend or give it to a friend after I’m finished with it :)
But I really have to deal with our collection someday and thanks for the tips!
I think one of the best ways to deal with book clutter is starting a book-sharing club or a book-sharing library where you live. In my building, we started a book-sharing library with about 100 books. Pretty simple…bring a book, swap it for one in the library. Come back and do it again. That way you always have new reading but fewer books.
I LOVE my Kindle. Not only am I able to keep thousands of books on one small device, one of my favorite features is the highlights. In my physical-copy books, I sometimes make highlights and dog-ears but that isn’t a very efficient way of tracking quotes or passages that I like. Kindle makes it really easy to highlight and then search for particular words on my Kindle profile. It’s beautiful. Also, you can easily rent books from the library which I think is fabulous. No late fees, no walking to the library. It’s instantaneous. I never buy physical books anymore.
I really dislike having books, but I do keep some for reference. One thing that keeps my collection small is getting most books at the library in the first place. When you have to return them, you do!
If I really want to read a book and it is not at the library (many books that I want to read professionally fall into this category) I will buy a used copy on amazon or abebooks. If it’s not a book I will reference for work I get rid of it.
One thing to keep in mind: Ask your library if they will use the book before donating! My mom works at a library where they will often THROW AWAY books if they only have one copy and don’t have it in their system, because it’s too much work to put a new book into their system. This is really sad to me because of the amount of books I can’t find in my library systems. I would think if they didn’t have it yet that would be all the more reason to use them, but that’s not how it works.
I am amazed by the passion for getting rid of books! Especially from writers! They don’t have to take up a ton of space or cost much, and they can bring hours of delight as well as enlightenment, some of them can also be used as wall art, and in case of disaster they can be burnt to provide heat, what is not to love? I can think of few things I would LESS want to eliminate from my life or home, regardless of my minimalist leanings. If minimalism is not about deprivation, then purging books makes no sense in my life. (Except, of course, those I do not want to reread or refer to during projects, but it doesn’t take much genius to know those should go.)
Kat
I agree. I have so many books and think that they will be the last thing I would ever part with. I actually read many of them each year. There are so many other things that I can part with. I also don’t like the idea of relying solely on electronic storage of books. Maybe I read 1984 one too many times.
That is my issue also with decluttering books, that alot of them are health books related to my work that i can not replace or find easily if i got rid of them.So i am trying to figure out and take note of how often i actually do refer to each book and if it is possible for me to just photocopy some of the key info, file it and let the book go. I have managed to purge quite alot of books over the past 2 yrs but still feel i have more than i would like so with the remaining non reference books i am reading one by one and if i find myself not even interested in re-reading then it’s time to go.
I’m so glad you wrote this. I’m going to forward to some friends who I know have a hard time letting go of books. I was that person once. As a sustainability specialist, I find that keeping a book that I won’t read or re-read is a waste of resources and someone else can use it, enjoy it or learn from it. I pared down to about 5 books now. I get most of my books online or in the library. I actually read way more without the clutter of so many books around! Well done!
Two things that have helped me is 1) having a defined area where books “go” in my home. I have two small bookcases that total 5 shelves. My collection must fit on there. (truthfully, I’m working to get to that point, but I’m nearly there). After I succeed in containing it, if I keep a new one then something will have to go. and 2) a friend of mine once moved overseas and then moved back again. She indicated that books are very, very expensive to ship because they’re so heavy. So now when I cull something, I look at it and ask “Would I pay to ship this to __insert far away destination here____?” If the answer is no then it is much easier to get rid of.
I like this tactic! Thank you! I have a hard time letting go of books, because most of mine are rescues from the library discard pile and they are unwanted…but this should solve my problem pretty well. My husband and I are getting older and even if we do not move, we do not want the kids to have to deal with my massive collection once we put off this mortal coil.
Excellent point here. We are old and our children live far away, one in another country. We are decluttering everything possible so that when the time comes it will be easy for them to clear the house. We have asked them what in the house they would want in the future, and it made a very small list !
The upside is we have a much safer, easier to clean house. We have donated furniture, books, and boxes of other stuff to charity. We are happy that the charity can raise money from it, and that other folk perhaps in more difficult financial circumstances can buy good quality items. It’s a win win.
I have reduced the number of books we have by a huge amount but kept ones that I think I, or my family, will read again. However, I think children’s books are different. I have given away the books that they don’t like or have completely outgrown but although we have a lot, my kids still enjoy them all and we read together every day. I think having books in a home encourages children to read in a way that kindles etc just can’t. It encourages imagination and seeing the world in different ways. And for those interested in minimalism and anti-consumerism, you should read ‘Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish’. :)
Also, meant to add that we don’t buy new books regularly, usually only for birthdays and Christmas and we get our ideas for these from the library which we visit every every couple of weeks.
I am working toward this – but as a homeschool mom of 4 I feel like I need to hold onto a lot of our books for the next 2 little ones coming up! Many of my favorite ‘living books’ for science & history ARE available at the library, so I’m working on my emotional attachment to books & finding other ways to be frugal & not re-buy things. Thanks for the list!
We homeschool as well and I understand the feelings you have about keeping books for future grades. I don’t feel guilty about holding on to resources I know we will use but at the end of each school year I clean my shelves. I have found sites like homeschoolclassifieds.com and theswap.com to be good outlets for the books I am finished with. I have also donated chapter books we’ve outgrown to an inner city school for their classroom libraries and the school’s library. They really appreciate the extra resources. Finally, we are blessed to have a homeschool resource building in our city with its own lending library. I’ve donated some of our ‘living’ books there so I know I can borrow them when I need them and other families can benefit from them as well!
You asked your Twitter followers.
You asked on Twitter.
You did not ask Twitter, because Twitter (the noun) is a company.
Two words: Interlibrary Loan.
I agree with the post in terms of a personal library. What is particularly challenging for me is I need to maintain a professional library. I have purged and regretted and even had to rebuy. Most of the books I use, or reference works on my shelf, are not available outside a seminary, nor on the kindle. I would be interested to hear Mr. Becker’s thoughts on decluttering professional resources, book or otherwise, especially in light of his pastoral vocation.
I am with you on this as well. Josh, as a pastor, how do you deal with the professional books you have? Between my husband and me, we have quite the library of program books, children’s story (faith) books, counseling books, and biblical reference books, as well as polity and history books for our denomination. We have gotten rid of the duplicates, but our pastoral situation necessitates our books in our home rather than a church office. Thoughts to share?
I’m in the same boat. I have a small house on an acearage. (they are scarce and most are more expensive then mine) My books are my “cluther”. I have rare theology books that are not available to me to borry or ready if I did not own them. I have a church vocation and need to study. I also have my professional library in case I have to go back to work. I don’t have alot of furnature, what do I do? Oh yes and real small closets.
I don’t think of these books as clutter — do you? Nor do I think of items associated with my hobbies as clutter — is your piano clutter? Your knitting needles? I don’t knit so I got rid of my knitting needles that were given to me by well meaning relatives, but you get the idea. I AM a scrapbooker and the tendency is to hoard things like paper. But I regularly purge. I have law books and I need these for work. This is not clutter.
One thing I think may help people get over the mental hurdle of “but what if I ever need that book again!” is to look at the used book markets online. If it isn’t out of print or a first edition, chances are you can buy a used replacement for pennies anytime in the future. Used books are a saturated market where nearly anything can be found for almost no money. So discard at will, and if the day ever comes where you change your mind, you’ll be okay!
My husband and I also read aloud to one another, especially when travelling. We buy most of our books used and really enjoy finding old anthologies. This introduces us to authors we may not know, and we can then check out library books to sample even more authors.
Michelle, I confess I find this so romantic!
When I got the Kindle, it was the best. It helped me to minimize my book collection yet still own all of them.
After that, it got a bit pricey so latest step? Library. Love it. Borrow it for FREE, read it, then return it. If I really love a book enough to add it to the collection, then I will but that’s it. I’ve limited to max 20 books in my collection.
Hooray for libraries! I’ve heard your sentiments echoed numerous times throughout the interaction with this post.
For me, the pivotal moment was realizing that getting rid of books doesn’t get rid of the knowledge I gained from them. I accumulated a lot of big, heavy textbooks when I was working on my Master’s, and I felt like I had to keep them to prove what I’d accomplished. Once I realized that I had the Master’s degree regardless and no one was going to audit my bookshelves, it made it a lot easier to get rid of those books. Others followed: the classics, the popular novels of the moment, the books I thought would impress others. I still buy more Kindle books than I should, but I don’t feel so bad about that because I read way more on my Kindle than I ever did in paper books, and 1,000 e-books don’t take up any more space than one.
I read this blog every time it comes in my email in box. I like this post. A minimal library is best. I lost most of my books to a house fire and used that opportunity to start a new tradition. Now I give away every book I read and keep them listed in a life book list. Every book I’ve ever read (since the fire) is in there. Every time I read a book and add it to the list I get to review the list and take a walk down memory lane. It’s wonderful. I wrote a few blog posts about it in more http://www.sailingsimplicity.com/books-part-one-of-a-three-part-series/
Thanks Teresa. If you haven’t checked out goodreads.com yet, you probably should. As Ken commented earlier, it allows you to do the same things you are doing, but also allows other people (if you set it up that way) to find good books based on your recommendations.
Great post! I always feel better about parting with books if I know that I’m helping someone else discover a great book in the process. If you liked them, someone else will, too!
Check out http://www.bookcrossing.com to register your book and send it off into the world. You can keep track of it using the assigned ID number to find out where it went, who read it, and what it is up to now.
http://www.littlefreelibrary.org is a great one, too. You can also donate them to your local library, school, or book club.
The best part about reading is sharing!
When I had my allergy testing done my allergist asked me how many books I had. Whoa! Fortunately my church was getting ready to host a book sale so I had a good outlet for those many bookcases of books. I still can’t believe how much my allergies improved when all those books went away.
Great point… or at least something for allergy-sufferers to consider. Sounds like you’ve got a pretty sharp doctor there.
Once you have decided which books to let go of, donate them to a charity shop. I work at Save the Children, and our bookshelves are like a revolving door, as people tend to return them for re sale once read. Everyone wins.
I donate mine to the local library. Some they keep for library shelves; the others are sold to help fund library programs.
I love books, and have all those that I’ve read listed on http://www.paperbackswap.com to swap. That way I give someone else my books and get new to me books. There are some I still end up buying, but as soon as I read them they are listed to swap.
So excited about that website. Going to be getting rid of all the books I read now on that site for others to read!
I had always enjoyed looking over my collection as a way to remind myself of how much I had read, and the enjoyment I received from them. What really helped me part with the physical books was to establish an account at “GoodReads.com” where I listed out all my books, past/currently reading/future reads. I now have the same satisfaction looking at my on-line book list (which includes cover art, reviews, 1-5 stars, date read, etc.), and it also is a good place to keep my list of books to read in the future.
Nice. Thanks Ken.
Mr. Becker, I just recently found your blog, and purchased your book “Simplify.” Prior to that, though, my family learned we were losing our home — a home housing 30 years of marriage and child-rearing accumulation. I made the decision to “downsize,” “purge,” and “SIMPLIFY” at that moment. I must admit, I immediately wrestled with the horror of what to do with my extensive book collection, telling myself it would be okay to reduce everything EXCEPT the books. This blog entry is quite timely, and has encouraged me to include the books in our endeavor to unencumber our lives. I have always said, “the more you have — the more you have to maintain!” But have never done a thing about it; rather, becoming quite the complainer about all that I “have to maintain.” Now is the time. This will be a “restart” for us, but I already feel liberated in anticipation of the task before me. Thank you for sharing your own experience and guiding others to Minimalism, whatever that looks like for them. I’m sure this will be an evolving journey for my family.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Donna. The first step is always a decision to begin or “Be Convinced” as I write in the book. Sorry to hear about your home, I’m sure it is difficult. But those who approach it from the right perspective, find great freedom in owning less. I hear from many people who regretted being forced into a simpler lifestyle, but discovered a new joy after looking at the situation differently. And please, call me Joshua.
Oh Donna, I’m so excited to hear about your endeavor, would love to hear more! My husband and I have maintained a “live simply so others may simply live” lifestyle through our 34 years and still find ourselves with plenty to downsize and purge — I’ve read we are at the age when the brain naturally unfeathers the nest in preparation for the next stages of life. If you see this…. there don’t seem to be that many of us “crones” commenting! I’ll be watching for you!
Thanks for another great post. I have reduced my books significantly but still a few I hold but not sure I have a good reason. Classics of Jane Austen, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Harry Potter Series- these I think I will read again… but I need to re-think things :)
The very best trick my mom taught me about de-cluttering was to put give-aways in a box and put the box away. In a few days or a week, I come across the box and look through the contents. If I missed the items, or if I see them in the give-away box and realize I just can’t part with them, then they go back on the shelf. But most of the time, most of the items truly are ready to go – or they end up going in my next clean-out wave. It’s a really good way to gently let go of things and be really sure you’re done with them.
We did this on several occasions while simplifying our home (especially kitchen stuff), it worked great.
May I add one?? I started decluttering my book collection when I found out about this group: http://www.littlefreelibrary.org. I sent my husband to the hardware store and he built me a library! There are now 6 in my city and I’m excited to see them pop up all over. Maybe you all could consider one!
Too fun. Thanks for the tip. I had not heard of that before.
What a great suggestion, DJ! I’m now interested in putting up one here in Manila :)
Oops! I read the text only version and didn’t see at first that someone already suggested the 1+ year rule. So I’ll give another one instead – imagine you are in Fahrenheit 451 and are responsible for memorizing one book in order to preserve it (or Book of Eli if you haven’t read that one). Which book is so important to you that you think it would deserve to be preserved if you could only choose one? Then do this with the remaining books until you get to the ones you don’t find as valuable.
Dear Zen. Too utilitarian for me. Reading for me is a joy, a love, an escape to another world, another experience. I love Joshua’s blog and the bit of Joshua he shares here — but I feel like such an old person here! I can assure you, I have kept books much longer than a year and re-read them! Hemingway, the Koran, the Peculiar Institution come promptly to mind. I am able to recognize books I won’t read again however, and those I send to the library, a used book store, or a charity. We all have our vices, I’m afraid books may be one of mine! Love to you Zen! Wonderful reading your ideas, and I confess, I have not read Fahrenheit 451! :) My husband is the scifi guy in the house! XOXO Mary
If you have books that you bought but have had for 1 year+ and haven’t read, you’re not going to read them. If you haven’t had time to read it (aka cared enough about it/ were interested in it enough to prioritize it) in a year, in all likelihood you won’t. If you’re worried about being able to access it later, call the library and see if they have it.
Maybe – when I culled through all my books and found some I hadn’t read, it was just because I’d forgotten I had them. Put them in a pile to read and they have now almost all been read (and then given away). So this one probably depends on your personality.
That’s a good point, if you need to declutter then that means you have too much, so especially if you’re an out of sight out of mind person you could forget stuff.
Thanks for the interaction you two. It’s a helpful reminder that what works for one person might not work for another. But it’s also a helpful reminder to be getting our thoughts out into the world where others can benefit from them.
Instead of calling the library to see if they have it, look online in the library catalog. It’s much easier.
That’s a great list of ideas. Forwarding to a bibliophile in my life….
I agree. They came up with some really comprehensive thoughts on the topic.