De-cluttering question

[Blueridge]

We are currently purging our basement. I have hit a roadblock and need a little help. When I go through hundreds of good books, should I keep them all and just box them up since I am a book lover, or keep just a few and donate the rest? Also giving me trouble are the lovely toys that my girls have outgrown. Do I get rid of them all, or keep a special box of the really good ones for future grandbabies? :D I need to do this, but it's hard to let go of books and toys.

[Xuzi]

I have a hard time giving up books too, but I try to run them through two criteria: Are they books I know I'll want to re-read sometime in the near future? and Does my library carry them?

 

I have given up some books that I read and enjoyed, but still aren't the type of book that I could see myself reading over again, and if I *did* ever find myself suddenly wanting to re-read them, I know my library has them so I can just check them out.

 

I've really cut down on the amount of books on my shelves by doing this (and it's still a lot). Every book on my shelf is a book that I *love*.

[Parrothead]

Save the best of the toys and books. Box up and label the next best. Put a date a year from today on it. If you can't remember what is in there in a year, toss the box without opening. Donate the rest to the library and Goodwill.

[ChristusG]

I don't like boxing things up just for the sake of boxing them up. If they are just going to sit in a closet or something, it's just moving the clutter to another location in the house instead of getting rid of it. I usually keep books that I know I will want to re-read, or really good ones that I hope my children will read one day.

 

As far as outgrown toys....if they were favorites of my kids, I try to keep a few so that they can pass them on to their children one day. If they were not favorites, I usually sell them on craigslist.

 

I just really hate clutter.

[Tardis Girl]

I HEAR YOU!!! I totally feel for you. My plan is to keep a few select toys for future use. Maybe you could have a defined box (or two) and limit yourself to that as a max. If your kids are older and you're just thinking grandkids, I would do something similar with books. Pick the ones that have special memories for them or a nice little selection for visitors; designate a certain amount of space and limit yourself to that.

 

But I am very interested to hear others' opinions!