The fact that both my sisters are Book Junkies contribute to a lot of book clutter in my home. There are books lying in every corner of the house with another 4 or 5 being added every week. Although I’ve never liked the fact that my sisters opt for paperbacks instead of e-books, I’ve gradually learned to co-exist with books in my house. But I’m slowly and steadily working towards decluttering them to make space for other important things in the house.
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Books, according to me, are the hardest to declutter. There are some books that have beautiful memories attached to them and there are others that helped you sail through a hard time in your life. I know people who can’t imagine their life without books and can’t even think about decluttering them because books are something they find themselves deeply attached with.
But even if books form a huge part of who you are, you must declutter them regularly to keep clutter in your home to minimum. It might be hard and overwhelming but can be made easier by asking yourself a set of questions while sorting through your books.
Here’s a list of questions that can help you declutter your huge collection of books without driving yourself crazy:
1. Have I Read This Book? Did I Like It?
Answer this question with utmost honesty and you will realize how much or how less this book is valued in your eyes. If you have already read a particular book and didn’t like it, there are chances that you won’t read it again or recommend it to someone else. Knowing an answer to this question will make it easier for you to let go of books that you don’t see yourself reading again.
On the other hand, if you loved reading a particular book and want to keep it with an intention to read it again in the future, consider setting a date for the re-read. Keeping books ‘just in case’ is only going to add to the clutter. You can instead choose to donate or pass it down to someone who might like them.
2. Was This Book An Impulse Buy?
There might be a book that you ended up buying on impulse because there was either a lot of buzz surrounding it or because a friend recommended it. But once it entered your bookshelf, it never actually saw the light of the day. Maybe you forgot that you even bought it or you just didn’t find it worthy of your time.
No matter how expensive a book is, if you haven’t given it a read in years, you won’t likely read it ever because there are always new books being introduced in the market every second that will catch your attention. Any book that was bought on impulse that you honestly don’t intend to read in future should be decluttered right away.
3. Was This Book A Gift
If you are a book lover and your friends know it, you might have received books in the form of gifts. These books may often don’t match your taste and end up collecting dust for years to come. It’s always hard to let go of books that you got as gifts because there’s guilt attached, but let’s just face the fact. No gift-giver is ever going to come over to your house and look through your bookshelf to see if you have kept their gift. So let go of the guilt first before donating away the book.
4. Would I Buy This Book Again?
Ideally, your book collection should only consist of books that you consider as evergreen. Ask yourself if you would buy this book again if you happened to spot it in a bookstore. If the answer is yes, let it sit in your bookshelf. If the answer is no, let go of it.
5. Can I Get This Information Online? Is The Book Available In The Nearby Library?
The cost of holding clutter is much more than how much you will spend on renting it at a library or on googling it. If you are holding on to informational books and manuals, feel free to let go of them because every piece of information that these books have is now available online. Also, take time to visit a library near your home to see if it has copies available for the books you already have. It would be easier to discard books with information that can be easily find online or at a library near you.
6. When Did I Buy This Book?
Books that truly mean something to you will always have a memory attached to them. If there’s a book that you are very fond of, you will most likely remember the place or the day that you bought it. If you are unable to identify when and where you bought a particular book, chances are that you aren’t very fond of it or may haven’t even read/liked it. Make sure that you don’t keep anything that was bought simply because you were in the mood to read then but never actually got the time to give it a go.
7. Are You Keeping This Book For Someone Else?
You might have bought a book and didn’t like it enough, but you are still choosing to keep it because someone else in the house might read it someday. Maybe you are looking to loan it or hoping to pass it down to your kids.
Keeping books for someone else is never a good idea. If you are holding on to books for your kids, remember that the cost of storing them for years is much more than the amount your kids will have to spend in buying them. You can also consider the option of calling your kids in and asking them if they want to take the books. If they are interested, ask them to take it right away. If they don’t seem too interested in reading a book, it has no purpose sitting in your shelf either.
I can resonate with you if you identify yourself as someone who loves being around books. My sisters talk about books and stories all the time and I absolutely love them for being so passionate about reading. But you must also understand that getting rid of books is essential to make space for the new ones if you want to keep up with your habit of reading.
I hope the above questions help you sort through your books just as much as they have helped me and my sisters.