Decluttering/purging books?

[cloversandlions]

It seems to wrong even to consider it, but others mentioned purging their books, and although a few people gave more details, I'm wondering if others do it regularly. Or, if you hadn't/haven't done it regularly, but you have had at least one huge purge, what was your criteria for keeping or getting rid of a book.

 

We have books. A lot of books. If I were to put them in bankers boxes (who am I kidding? I already have loads of them in those boxes already - organized by theme, like American History, for example), I probably would have 70 or (probably) more boxes of books.

 

They're everywhere and it's at a point where I don't enjoy any of them because they are, well, visual clutter, and I cannot relax. We have a small house, and we *hope* to move to something larger (even slightly larger - like with a basement would be great), but we don't know when that might be.

 

I've culled so many of the baby books, keeping only those which were especially dear to my children when they were littles.

 

I have an entire box just of those early readers (stepping stones, etc., from levels 1 - 4). DS read a few because the topic interested him, but most of the others have never been read by my children (some were purchased used).

 

I have almost all of the Horrible Histories and Horrible Science magazines. DS loved them; dd1 has no interest and dd2 is too young yet to know. I also have an entire box full of Ladybug, Spider, Cricket, Click, Ask, Dig, Muse, Odyssey, Appleseeds, Cobblestone, and Calliope magazines. I love these magazines, and ds did, too, but again, dd1 seems uninterested and dd2 is still an unknown (but since they're boxed up, it would be harder to find out, of course.:001_huh:)

 

I have many Newbery award winners and other classics; I think I should keep these, but they're also available at the library (but then they're not "on hand" and we couldn't make notes in them, although we haven't done that anyway...yet).

 

I have several series (Magic Tree House, Magic School Bus, etc.) for the earlier grades. We could probably cruise through these and then donate.

 

I have a set of the Great Books by Encyclopedia Britannica (set of 54); they were "free" when my father bought a set of encyclopedias I begged him to get. (These have sentimental value; they're not on the chopping block, but they do take up space.)

 

Anyway...my point is, if you wanted to cull books, what would you plan of attack be? Would you even do it if your children were young enough that they might enjoy those books in a few months/years?

 

Lastly, would your plan of attack differ if your current library was tiny (located in a strip mall!) and only open 3 days a week?

[swellmomma]

It seems to wrong even to consider it, but others mentioned purging their books, and although a few people gave more details, I'm wondering if others do it regularly. Or, if you hadn't/haven't done it regularly, but you have had at least one huge purge, what was your criteria for keeping or getting rid of a book.

 

We have books. A lot of books. If I were to put them in bankers boxes (who am I kidding? I already have loads of them in those boxes already - organized by theme, like American History, for example), I probably would have 70 or (probably) more boxes of books.

 

They're everywhere and it's at a point where I don't enjoy any of them because they are, well, visual clutter, and I cannot relax. We have a small house, and we *hope* to move to something larger (even slightly larger - like with a basement would be great), but we don't know when that might be.

 

I've culled so many of the baby books, keeping only those which were especially dear to my children when they were littles.

 

I have an entire box just of those early readers (stepping stones, etc., from levels 1 - 4). DS read a few because the topic interested him, but most of the others have never been read by my children (some were purchased used).

 

I have almost all of the Horrible Histories and Horrible Science magazines. DS loved them; dd1 has no interest and dd2 is too young yet to know. I also have an entire box full of Ladybug, Spider, Cricket, Click, Ask, Dig, Muse, Odyssey, Appleseeds, Cobblestone, and Calliope magazines. I love these magazines, and ds did, too, but again, dd1 seems uninterested and dd2 is still an unknown (but since they're boxed up, it would be harder to find out, of course.:001_huh:)

 

I have many Newbery award winners and other classics; I think I should keep these, but they're also available at the library (but then they're not "on hand" and we couldn't make notes in them, although we haven't done that anyway...yet).

 

I have several series (Magic Tree House, Magic School Bus, etc.) for the earlier grades. We could probably cruise through these and then donate.

 

I have a set of the Great Books by Encyclopedia Britannica (set of 54); they were "free" when my father bought a set of encyclopedias I begged him to get. (These have sentimental value; they're not on the chopping block, but they do take up space.)

 

Anyway...my point is, if you wanted to cull books, what would you plan of attack be? Would you even do it if your children were young enough that they might enjoy those books in a few months/years?

 

Lastly, would your plan of attack differ if your current library was tiny (located in a strip mall!) and only open 3 days a week?

 

 

Like you I have bankers boxes in my basement holding books by theme. 2 things I have recently implemented to help tame the book beast here are a) if my theme box is full I do not start another box, I weed out what I have in there and keep the best of what there is only, the rest get donated or sold at the homeschool store depending on their condition. This has helped limit a great number of books from even entering my house. b) If it is a standard kids book, like all the Franklin titles etc I had I donated them. The library has them and I am not using the program I bought them for anyway. Most of the children's books I have that do not pertain to a specific theme are very easily found at the library and that has freed up some space too.

 

I have a very long way to go. I have 20 boxes currently sorted in the basement, 5 bookcases over flowing and then I filled my bedroom closet with piles of books. I have cleared a lot out in recent weeks following the top plan, and stopped myself from buying anymore while at thrift shops etc.

 

ETA my town library is pretty tiny and only open 3 days a week as well. However they are connected to a larger system so I just order books in and pick up on Thursdays(that is the day they get their books in from other libraries). For example, this week my youngest 2 have a camping theme, the week after dd has a princess one and ds has a cars one. I just go online and search for books suiting those themes and reserve them. Some are titles I got rid of a few weeks ago, others are ones I have never heard of before. It has saved me a ton of money and space to simply borrow them for a couple weeks and return them.

Edited August 11, 2011 by swellmomma

[stripe]

Get rid of the readers. No one will use them.

 

Get rid of anything else like that, that no one wants.

 

Start rotating through some things. Like, get out the old magazines, five at a time, and start using them. Start reading those Newberys!

 

I do think one often gets more out of a smaller number of books. I've acquired a lot of books, and I think I am now readyto get rid of the less desirable ones. And I think It willbe a good thing.

 

And consider selling them or donating them. There are others who will find them so helpful.

[Jennay]

I'm dealing with the struggle to purge books as well.

 

If a book is easily accessible at a library (Magic Tree House, Beverly Cleary books, Henry & Mudge, Boxcar Children, Amelia Bedelia, some magazines, etc.) I don't keep them around unless they are scheduled in our main curriculum (Sonlight and FIAR).

 

Eventually, as my children get older I plan to get rid of everything that isn't a "keeper" for grandchildren and isn't hardback. Paperbacks will eventually yellow and fall apart.

 

Right now I'm at the point of culling the board books since we are pretty sure we won't have any more babies. And if we do, I think we could handle a few months of getting board books from the library. I just can't keep it all just in case.

 

I LOVE books and my kids do too so this process can be hard.

[Elizabeth in MN]

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/2010/08/09/breaking-the-sentimental-attachment-to-books/

 

That article helped me purge nearly 700 books from our home :D

[elegantlion]

I purged some before we moved. My bookcases and some of my books are still in storage but I miss them. I occasionally feel the clutter vibe, but it's because I don't have them completely organized. I plan to have a large book collection, it's one of my passions, so I'm pretty stubborn when purging. However I do have some criteria.

 

1. non fiction get more consideration than fiction. I do refer to random books quite frequently, which I didn't realize until some of them weren't here. :toetap05:. I like having the information from a range of perspectives, history especially, so I keep a lot of non-fiction.

 

2. books that are outdated. Computer manuals for anything software I now longer use, decorating and craft books from items that I would no longer put in my house. catalogs, magazines. I even purged my collection of Coastal Living magazines. It was painful, but I went through and pulled out my favorite articles and pictures and recycled the rest.

 

3. I often have two copies of books we use for school, mostly literature I've picked up cheaply. I like to have my copy and his copy as I write all over my books. Once we are done I usually keep only one copy, unless it's something ds may want for his personal library someday.

 

4. I've picked up a lot of textbooks very cheaply (like .89 each). I often read through them and compare to other texts on the subject. I'll purge the inferior text.

 

5. Novels that I read and didn't enjoy get purged. If I think ds may read it, if I enjoyed it and may use it again in the future, I keep it.

 

6. I have a soft spot for antique books. My mom recently gave me a 1896 copy of Dante's Inferno (illustrated by Dore) that she bought at an auction. It was the best thing that happened to me all month. :D

 

7. Font size can be an issue with some books. If the font size is small enough to need a magnifying glass I will purge. I sometimes make a note to find another copy.

 

8. Bad translations. I'm finding that as I get into more high school level reading. I look for translations suggestions here. Exceptions include Ancient Lit, as I have 3 different copies of the Iliad and 2 of the Odyssey. We'll use them for comparison.

 

9. If I have an interest in the subject that I plan to pursue later (like when school is over..for the summer, when ds graduates...those somedays) I'll keep them. For instance I want to explore the King Arthur legends in depth. I collected some books to do that and then didn't have the time to read them all. I'm saving them.

 

10. If a title is out of print and I would not be able to find it again in the future I'll keep it.

 

 

I'll probably do another purge once I get my bookcases all here and after dh builds me some bookcases. Our previous house had a ten foot and 18 foot wall of bookcases, they were full. Here I'll never get that space, but I can get very creative. I'll probably purge each year of high school as well, but still with strict criteria.

 

Our budget is such that I may not have the money to rebuy books if my interests piques again. So taking up space in the basement is not a sacrifice.

[swimmermom3]

I don't know what it is for me about that half a century mark, but since I am only two years away from it, I have become much more ruthless about what I keep in my life and as much as I love them, that applies to books as well. Many of the children's books are gone. My youngest is not a huge reader. The hundred or so Newberrys from his older siblings have primarily gone unread. Fortunately, we do have an excellent library system, I can still get them there. I do wonder if I will be able to share favorite books with grandchildren, or will they look at them like my kids looked at our old turntable? But fear is not a reason to hold on to something. Oddly enough, my nonreader seems to have a penchant for many of the OOP books that Eliana has recommended to us. So his shelves hold primarily elderly, musty, hardcovers from 30+years ago. He does not seem to be lured by bright and shiny covers, unlike his mother.:tongue_smilie: Many self-help books from the years I was trying to adapt to being a SAHM are gone. Beautiful new curriculum that I either ran out of time or desire for are on their way out the door.

 

I am day by day trying to fill my life with more beauty and value, not just "stuff."

[Rosie_0801]

Last time we purged, we got rid of a bunch of books that no longer mesh with our beliefs. Some of dh's Christian books, some picture books featuring Santa, and cookbooks I would no longer cook from.

 

Rosie

[SkateLeft]

We purged a lot of books two years ago, when we moved from California to Minnesota. Even so, 75% of our moving boxes contained books. (I won't say how many that was... but ugh.) Our move was paid for by my husband's company, but we still had a budget, so we had to pare down quite a bit.

 

My finished basement is currently lined with shelves filled with books arranged by subject, but since the spring, I've gradually been donating more and more. I used to love having loads of books and never saw them as clutter, but now I'm finding all the books irritating. I'd love to reclaim that basement space for other things, and my kids are getting older so I have lots of curriculum that I know I'll never use.

 

My plan is to keep the history and science shelves, but donate or sell off everything else (once I figure out how people calculate shipping on the swap board). I've migrated the classic literature to the Nook and donated all those books. The rest is on my list of things to do this winter.

[Tabitha]

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/2010/08/09/breaking-the-sentimental-attachment-to-books/

 

That article helped me purge nearly 700 books from our home :D

 

Nice article. I checked out her minimalist knitting info as well. I need help in both areas! :tongue_smilie:

 

I am just now doing my first big curriculum/homeschooling book destash. There were things I just couldn't let go of. I finally just took the plunge, and it's amazing how taking them off the shelves and then straightening up the shelves lead to a nice stress release. Now, to find new homes for all of them. That will take some time, but until then I have them set aside and OFF the shelves, and it feels great.

 

I have many, many more books I need to do this with. Baby steps. I need to tame my yarn and fiber stash too. I have already started knitting Christmas gifts. I am hoping this gets me off to a nice start in that minimalist dept. as well. I feel stressed seeing so many things around. Having less feels better.

[nd293]

We've moved many times over the years, including two international moves, so I have certainly culled books. My advise is to be cautious. If possible, pack the books away for several months, then look through them again. Now that we are semi-settled, I have come to regret losing books that had sentimental meaning to me - usually books set in places we've visited, occasionally books that really touched me when I read them. They're seldom books by very well-know authors, and are more often unexpected used book finds. One of my "resolutions" for this year has been to locate copies of some of these books, and every couple of months I buy a few from Abe Books. It's been so wonderful, and has really made me feel like we are in Australia permanently (even though I am sure we will live overseas temporarily again at some stage).

 

My criteria for kids' books is a littel different. I simply keep books I love, and would buy all over again if we had another child. I like to think I'll be able to hold onto them until I have grandchildren (a long time away, hopefully). I tend to only buy children's books that are unusual and difficult to find in the library in the first place, though, or books that I really loved when we did borrow them.

[hsmomof2boys]

Books..... I love them! They are so hard to part with. I have been sending so many books to my granddaughters, and donating many more books to our local thrift store. I have kept most of the books from my homeschooling days, and trying to decide which ones to say goodbye too is what I am going through. So I am slowly going through and clearing out our bookshelves. We had 14 bookshelves full, and have pared that down quite a bit. Even got rid of 2 of the bookshelves. My huge old favorite library bookshelf went to a very nice homeschooling family who are just starting out. That made me feel good. We hope someday to move across country, so we need to pare down.

 

I am keeping quite a few that I love so that my grandchildren will have plenty to read when they come to visit....

[Ewe Mama]

I really enjoyed the article. Now I have to actually try using my newly gained knowledge. :glare:

[amyable]

So many great ideas here!

 

We live in a small house too - no garage, an unfinished area that will become a bedroom if we stay, and an open floor plan that is not conducive to having many bookshelves. I've started getting ruthless with books, even though I love them.

 

I'd say the two biggest ideas that help me are:

 

1) knowing and being "who we are". I tried for years to get my kids interested in picture books a la Five in a Row and similar. Nobody cared but me. Granted, my kids have a few favorites, and those stayed , but no one but me is missing the others! I have stopped (I hope) trying to force my children into something they are not. I can still educate them well without picture books. Even Miss Rumphius (I kept that one as MY favorite :lol:).

 

My children are also 10x more likely to want to look something up online or watch a science video than finding our book on the planets, etc, to get the same info. They retain better from the video. Why am I keeping the book? (we have Netflix/library/discovery streaming to help this along).

 

2) knowing it's OK to grieve for an item you gave away, and that doesn't mean you need to get it back! Grief is a *normal* response to losing something you cared about. It's not necessarily an indication that you *need* that item. See if you can do without it. Like a PP said, if you decide again later you need it, it's usually there in the used book market.

 

 

I'll add a 2 and a half: (nobody shoot me) Realizing that truly, books are just things. I can't take 'em with me when I die. If they are causing problems in your life (too much visual clutter, too much to take care of, etc) they can ALL go and your life will not end. Of course, we have to educate our children, but it doesn't take 1000+ books, esp in this day of libraries and internet. Of course I'm only talking to those that want to purge, not people who collect books as a hobby or anything. :)

[stripe]

I think also thinking that books can cycle in and out. So maybe lots of picture books now, then save only favorites.

 

I've recently found so many nice paperback children's chapter books so inexpensive that it makes sense for me to buy them vs get them at the library. But when I'm done, some of them can go.

[Jeannie in NJ]

Amy, I loved your post. I have always loved my books way too much but no-one in the family does and we have way too many books. They clutter up our home and I am wanting a non-cluttered home. Getting rid of books has been the hardest. Also realizing that my dc do not have the love for books that I do. So I am letting go. I have had some books for 30 years or more.

 

My dc are 16 and 14 so at least 10 years or more before any children they have would be interested in books (hopefully, they will be) and I will keep a FEW books for that time but not the 3,000 plus that I had before I started purging them.