The following is a guest post about the hard task of decluttering books from regular contributor, Kristin at The Gold Project.
Over the past couple of years, I have been in nonstop decluttering mode. If I think about getting rid of something for too long, then out it goes. But, until recently, every time I moved to my book collection, my motivation stopped. In the back of my head I had the mindset that I am creating a library and I should keep every book I have read. But, the problem was that I really did not like some of the books. And, let’s be honest, I won’t read them again. If I didn’t like a book the first time around, then the second or third time is going to be the same result.
Side note: I have never been fond of reading on a tablet. There is something about having the actual book in my hand that makes reading a lot more enjoyable. I always purchase my books used from Goodwill, the Amazon Marketplace, or eBay.
This should have been an easy task because I never have a problem getting rid of things that do not bring me joy. But, I guess something from my childhood said not to get rid of books. So, I had to do some thinking and get myself motivated to part with these things.
The reason I am sharing this post is because I feel it could help someone that may be struggling with the same issue. Maybe your tough decision isn’t books. Maybe yours is dishes or jewelry or even a special collection of items that a family member loved, but you feel zero connection with.
Just like anything, I weighed the pros and cons.
- Pro: I read the books, so that was an accomplishment.
- Pro: I have a nice library started.
- Con: They are starting to take up a lot of space.
- Con: I don’t like a few of them.
- Con: I won’t read them again.
- Con: I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone.
So, the cons definitely outweighed the pros. And, above all, these books may bring someone else joy. Just because I did not enjoy a book doesn’t mean that everyone else will feel the same way. We all like different types of books, so it makes me feel good to know that someone else will benefit from a part of my book collection.
I went through all of my books and only kept the ones that I really loved, knew I would read again, or wanted to share with my daughter when she gets old enough to read them. My daughter is almost 10-years-old and she loves to read too.
Now, I am very happy with my collection and all of the books bring me joy.
How do you feel about decluttering books? Do you keep every book that you read? Or do you check them out at the library? Do you use audiobooks or do you prefer reading books on a tablet? I would love to hear all about your reading and book collection.
My name is Kristin and I am a middle school career education teacher by day and a mommy/wife/blogger by night. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have two loving children. We recently made a life-changing move to Arkansas, so our new house is always under construction. I get excitement out of finding new creative, functional, and cute ways to organize things! I also enjoy writing and documenting life as it happens. So, I put these loves together and created The Gold Project. With the help of my husband, I am attempting to turn our house into a home. So, check out this special place of mine and take this journey with me!
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Vivian Helena says
It is not the fiction books that are hard to separate from, it is the art books and creative idea books. Just found that some can be found for the Kindle. Trying that out for a craft book. Maybe separation will be a little easier that way.
Love my Kindle, and thankfully, can also read on my Ipad. Do you have a sign up for the blogs. looked all over for it, but could not find that area.