This task pains me….
As you probably noticed yesterday, I am not much of a shoe person. Books however, are my lifeline. I am the person who can never have enough books and I have raised my family to feel the same way. When we are bored, we go to the library. When we want to go somewhere for the day as a family, we make sure there is a bookstore nearby. I also have a Nook so I can store hundreds of books. My older children have Kindles. See? Books- I love them… and I want more of them. However, this is a decluttering challenge and I know I need to pare down my collection- especially if I want more books in my future!
Day 7: Books
Today we are going to go through our precious books and decide what to keep, what to part with, and how to organize them.
Assignment:
- Take your books down from your shelves and start sorting through them.
- Which books do you need to keep? Is there sentimental value with any? Are there books you read over and over again? Do you need to keep any for educational reasons?
- Ask yourself these questions when deciding whether to keep a book: Do I love it? Will I read it again? If you can answer yes to those, then keep the book. If not, it may be time to pass it on.
- Unless they are in poor condition, put your unwanted book in a donation box by your door and take them with you the next time you leave the house. Other people will be blessed to have them!
- When you know which books you are keeping, begin to organize them. You can arrange them alphabetically, by genre, by color, or chronologically.
- Put the book back on your shelves and pull them to the edge of each shelf. They look neater that way, and you can arrange them standing up with their spines out, or stack them in neat piles.
I thought this was a neat DIY you can use to make more room on your shelves if you need it:
Phew! I am glad this task is over with!
Did you have a hard time getting rid of books, like me? How do you arrange your books?
12 Comments
Erin | A Welder's Wife
July 7, 2016 at 2:28 pmI have such a hard time with this! A couple of years ago, I fell in love with reading! When we downsized, I made it a goal to downsize to one book shelf. It was incredibly hard to do, but I honestly do not remember what I let go of at this point. It is hard, but I feel free from the books that I probably would not have read. Someone is reading them and enjoying them now, so that makes me happy! I have also tried to stop buying so many physical books, unless I need them for reference, college classes, or I find an incredible deal on them compared to ebook form. Good luck! I know it is tough!
terryn
July 7, 2016 at 5:54 pmThanks Erin! One book shelf…wow. With 8 of it in the house, I could never do that but I have gotten rid of a few boxes. It does feel good knowing that someone else can enjoy them and make memories like we have.
Marette @ Floradise
July 7, 2016 at 2:35 pmI decluttered books recently and I kept the classics and ones that make me happy or were gifts. I tried to arrange them by color for a nice display.
terryn
July 7, 2016 at 5:51 pmYes, I will always keep the classics! If I keep nothing else, classics and the Bible. <3
Anna-Alina Geveliuk
July 7, 2016 at 8:01 pmAh thanks for tips! Do you want to be friends with me on bloglovin? If yes, just follow me and I’ll follow your blog back ASAP!<3 http://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/anna-alina-3947784
Chrissa - Physical Kitchness
July 7, 2016 at 10:04 pmEveryone has their vises, right?! At least books look pretty stacked! My vise is kitchen gadgets. Not so pretty to display or attempt to look organized 😉
terryn
July 7, 2016 at 11:40 pmLol, yes, very true! I would much rather read than cook 😉
Susannah
July 7, 2016 at 11:05 pmI am such a book hoarder! I need to do this challenge!
terryn
July 7, 2016 at 11:39 pmI know the feeling! I feel like I could live on chocolate, coffee and books! It will feel good when it’s done though 🙂
Greta
July 8, 2016 at 3:11 amI admit I’m a book hoarder. I hardly ever get rid of any of them! I still have a lot of my textbooks from college. Great tips!
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
terryn
July 9, 2016 at 1:01 amMight be time to get rid of those 😉
Amberly
July 8, 2016 at 3:55 amI needed this post! I’ve been working on decluttering our house and just did the bookshelf yesterday but I didn’t feel like I got rid of everything I could have.