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?
Kelly says
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.
Bituin says
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!
Carl says
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.
Hannah Ransom says
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.
Kat says
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.)
kendy says
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.
pinkangelgirl says
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.
Sue says
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!
Sherry Shifflet says
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.
Bev says
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.
Jan says
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.
S says
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’. :)
S says
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.
Shannon says
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!
Lynn F says
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!