Bordering on blasphemy: decluttering books

[Seasider]

I have reached the stage of life and homeschooling where the desire to be semi-minimalist/clutter free is colliding with my bibliophile tendencies.

 

If you have decided to seriously liquidate your personal library, how did you go about it?

 

I'm thinking about just getting rid of most everything, except things which hold great sentimental value. Maybe I should box them up first and see if I really miss them.

 

If you have done something like this, any regrets? Are you happy to have done it? Please share.

[Amira]

I got rid of most of our books about 5 years ago.  No regrets, but I wouldn't have done it without a good reason.  I never minded having the books around, I just minded moving them.  

 

I sold/donated about half, scanned and recycled most of the rest, and kept a few.  

 

I wouldn't have done it without ebooks and/or a good library.  

[Guest]

You're right. It's blasphemy.

 

Get rid of everything else but the books. You can even stack some in your living room, put a doily over it and call it a coffee table. Then you can get rid of your actual coffee table.

 

To be honest, I have regretted every.single.book I've ever gotten rid of, especially the books I read from ages 11-20 which are now no longer in print. So yes, box them up, hide them in cupboards, under couches, in the root cellar, anywhere...just keep them. Or send them to me and I'll keep them for you.

[Roadrunner]

 

Get rid of everything else but the books. You can even stack some in your living room, put a doily over it and call it a coffee table. Then you can get rid of your actual coffee table.

 

 

:rofl:

I know somebody who uses books under the mattress.  :w00t:

[Aiden]

I got rid of most of my books two years ago. First, though, I made sure they were available on kindle. I immediately bought the kindle versions of the ones I couldn't bear to lose. I made a list of the rest in case I missed them and needed the kindle version--my husband and I agreed that we could buy those on kindle without argument. If it wasn't available on kindle, I probably kept the hard copy.

 

I have no regrets. I love the feel of a book in my hand, but I love not having to move or store the books more. And for those particularly thick books, I love being able to hold the lightweight kindle rather than the heavy hardback.

[katilac]

I cull my book collection all the time, because we are buying new books all the time, but I would never consider a near liquidation. 

 

I've never counted them, but we have well over 1,000 physical books for sure. We like the serendipity of finding cool used books, and we like the feeling of being surrounded by books. We like having a nice pile of books to browse through and decide what we feel like reading. I feel like the kids in particular are more likely to grab something different off the shelf and try it, much more so than with e-books. 

 

We do have Kindles, and I do most of my fiction reading electronically, but I strongly prefer actual books for serious reading and note taking and my kids still prefer books whenever possible (which is funny, bc they're the youngsters who grew up with e-books!). 

 

Plus, our biggest bookcase is built in, so it needs to be filled with books! 

 

Where do you keep your books? How much actual space would you save if you got rid of them? 

 

[Pippen]

I have decluttered my library in stages.

 

Stage 1 was to let go of childrens' books that the kids weren't terribly fond of or that they'd outgrown and I didn't have emotional attachments to. I sold some at garage sales and donated the rest to the library booksale. I survived Stage 1.

 

Stage 2 was actually the hardest and that was letting go of books in my own library that I no longer read, needed, or had space for. This was probably the hardest for me, because I'd always felt that all my books were special friends. I happened to be at the library book sale when some college physics students came across my books. They were SO thrilled with the finds that it helped me get through Stage 2.

 

Stage 3 was to sell sets of childrens' books on ebay. This bunch did hold some memories because of the many hours we spent reading them, so I did feel a twinge. I needed cash to buy an instrument for one of the kiddos and it was a good trade-off because that instrument is still in use 5 years later and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have read The Magic School Bus at any time during that time period.

 

After that it was much easier. I did another decluttering after I was done homeschooling, and yet another of my own personal library. My kids have all sorted through their shelves, and sent the books they didn't want out the door. We saved childrens' Christmas books, and childhood favorites.

 

I'm due another big clean out because almost all reading I do now is on Kindle. I didn't think I'd like to read ebooks, but apparently it's become my preferred format for all but a few old friends.

 

Good luck with the decluttering.

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

I often go through books and get rid of them. I got rid of all of our homeschool books a few years ago. As for my personal books, I'm of the firm belief that books are meant to be read. If a book in my home has become a decoration (no one reads it regularly) I get rid of it. I've sold some on eBay and Amazon and local boards, given some to my local friends of the library and sent others to the thrift shop. I also gave some to friends or family.

 

I kept a few cookbooks that I use often. If I only used a small number of recipes, I copied those and got rid of the book. We kept a few classics plus the Harry Potter series, and some garden reference books (specific to Florida gardening). The rest are gone and I'm not at all sorry. It's nice not to have books collecting dust (and silverfish) and it my hope is that somewhere someone is enjoying the books I let go. 

 

Now, I've never been one to feel like I had to own my books anyway, so maybe that's why it doesn't bother me so. I usually borrow books from the library. Once I got my Kindle I gradually started reading all of my books on it, and now I can't tell you the last time I read a physical book made of paper. Even with the Kindle I still get most from the library, so my Kindle shelf isn't cluttered either.

 

FWIW, I am and have always been an avid reader, so that has nothing to do with my culling of books. Some people think true readers can't bear to part with their books. I disagree. 

[Mergath]

I've culled out quite a few books over the last couple years. First to go were all the cheap mass market paperbacks that are available on my kindle. I also got rid of any non-fiction books that were seriously outdated and most of my cookbooks, since it's so easy to find recipes online now.

[Stacia]

I often go through books and get rid of them. I got rid of all of our homeschool books a few years ago. As for my personal books, I'm of the firm belief that books are meant to be read. If a book in my home has become a decoration (no one reads it regularly) I get rid of it. I've sold some on eBay and Amazon and local boards, given some to my local friends of the library and sent others to the thrift shop. I also gave some to friends or family.

 

I kept a few cookbooks that I use often. If I only used a small number of recipes, I copied those and got rid of the book. We kept a few classics plus the Harry Potter series, and some garden reference books (specific to Florida gardening). The rest are gone and I'm not at all sorry. It's nice not to have books collecting dust (and silverfish) and it my hope is that somewhere someone is enjoying the books I let go. 

 

Now, I've never been one to feel like I had to own my books anyway, so maybe that's why it doesn't bother me so. I usually borrow books from the library. Once I got my Kindle I gradually started reading all of my books on it, and now I can't tell you the last time I read a physical book made of paper. Even with the Kindle I still get most from the library, so my Kindle shelf isn't cluttered either.

 

FWIW, I am and have always been an avid reader, so that has nothing to do with my culling of books. Some people think true readers can't bear to part with their books. I disagree. 

 

I'm somewhat similar. I'm an avid reader, but I rarely re-read books. There's not a lot of point in me keeping books I've read. Once I realized this (quite a few years ago), I did a big culling of my own collection of books. I have kept some books through the years, but not many. I belong to two library systems (my local one, plus I pay an annual fee to belong to the county next to mine; the other county has a much bigger collection w/ more books that appeal to my reading style) & read the bulk of my books that way. I do buy books sometimes (when I can't find them through the library) but will then often pass them off to friends, through PaperbackSwap, the library, etc... when I am finished with them.

 

My dh does not read as much or as often as I do, but he does read some. He also tends not to re-read. He'll usually buy the book he wants to read, read it, take it to the used bookstore to trade it & then find something else to read. He has a few (very few) books he's saved over the years (including from his childhood). Yet, even with so few books, he still always has at least one book in progress & one more waiting in the wings. I am impressed by the simplicity of his system & have tried to be more like that, but I'm not there yet.

 

With kids books, I've had them go through their own & decide what to keep or not. (My dc are teens.) I figure it should be their decision as to what books touch their hearts & not my sentimentality overshadowing it. They are much more prone to re-reading & want to hang on to certain books & that is fine. (Dd loves all her books & rarely parts w/ any. We joke with her that eventually her bedroom floor will buckle from the weight of books.) Ds is more selective & has some books he saves, but others he will let go. I ask him to go through his shelves about twice a year.

 

I'm not much of a kindle person, so buying the electronic version isn't really something I'm interested in. I guess if I ever regret letting a book go, I can always buy another copy. I haven't had to do that, though.

 

I feel like I still have plenty of books & I don't regret what I've gotten rid of. Realistically, I read about 50-75 books a year. I have a small, funky curved bookshelf that holds about 50 books. When it's full, that is about a year's worth of reading for me; more realistically, it is a few years' worth of reading considering that I get most of my books through the library. Even w/ culling my collection, I still have a more than will fit on the small shelf. I'm w/ Lady Florida in the belief that books are meant to be read, not hang around on a shelf to be a dust-catchers or decorations. Just sitting there does not equal it being read. The stories &/or information in them only mean something when someone is reading them, so I am happy for anyone to be reading them (it doesn't have to just be me).

 

[katilac]

I kept a few cookbooks that I use often. If I only used a small number of recipes, I copied those and got rid of the book.  

 

I definitely need to do this - I've done it for a few, but I'm sure I could easily clear a nice chunk of shelf space if I made a point of it. 

[Farrar]

We did a huge book cleanse a couple of years ago. We must have ditched at least a thousand books. Since then I think one time I wanted a book and realized I had given it away. Once. In other words, totally worth it.

 

We still have a lot of books, but they feel more under control now. I kept the books that were special to me, the books that would be hard to replace, and the books that I thought we might one day want in homeschooling. Everything else went.

[RoughCollie]

We did it, and we gave the books (5,000 boxed books) to Salvation Army.  The kids went through the books first to make sure I didn't get rid of any personal favorites.  Thanks to that brilliant plan, we ended up keeping all of the picture books, and I kept all the books that had a doll theme and those I would actually use or read in the future.  The kids also kept whatever they wanted of their personal books which they keep in their bedrooms.

 

I have not regretted doing that, although at the time it was difficult.  The books simply sat on the bookshelves; no one read them. If I feel a tug toward a particular book, I can buy it again. 

 

My husband had a much harder time.  He is a pack rat with books, ties, and sweaters.  I am the anti-Pack Rat, the one all the pack rats run away from.

 

98% of my books are stored on the cloud at Amazon or on Calibre.

 

 

[MeaganS]

Oh yeah, I hate having books everywhere. It is clutter to me. I try not to buy books unless they are something I know we will use repeatedly. The books we have are especially nice, classic types or favorite series that have been reread already several times that I want for my home "library." Mostly these are books like the Harry Potter series in hardback, Chronicles of Narnia, Little House books, Dickens, etc. Books that I know will get lots of use. We also have our picture books. We had a ton of church books and we got rid of them because they are now all available online and we were only using them that way anyways. We move every few years, so it gives me the opportunity to go through them and cull them regularly. I stopped buying cookbooks a while back. Almost all recipes I get are from online anyways. I am a big fan of my Kindle and especially if it is a book I'm only going to read once, there is no point in buying it and having it gather dust for years. That's what the library is for. I did pick up a paperback at a used book sale last week for $.10, but I plan on tossing it once I'm done reading it.

[Guest]

I've been doing it in stages . 

 

When I started, we had over 2000 books and we had to move.  I took tons (probably almost truly tons) of books to my son's private school, and they chose what they wanted.  The rest I took to HalfPrice.  

 

Then I looked at all the books I had left that I could get free on Kindle, and got rid of them.

 

Then I looked at all the books that I knew I was never going to read/read again (I'm 58, and there just comes a time when one has to admit that Dickens will never be on the nightstand.)  Got rid of those.  

 

I liberated all the kids books that we had from homeschool which were relatively cheap paperbacks.  The glue won't hold until my son has my grandchildren, and so they might as well be enjoyed now.  If there was a book we loved, I had already bought it in hardback and recorded the dates we read it inside the cover.  

 

THAT said, most of our books are my dh's and so we ended up moving a lot more than I wish we had.  

 

Now we are going through them and I have set up an Amazon bookstore.  On the advice of a friend, if a book won't sell for more than $5, I take it to HalfPrice.  I get about $10 for a box of books.  Not really very much but it's $10.  The rest are going into the Amazon bookstore and we shall see how they sell.  Because my husband has bought quality books over the years, some first editions, I have about $1000 worth of books on our first listing...so that is definitely worth selling  

 

Anyway, that's what I am doing.  I have to say it gets easier as you get older to get rid of stuff.  You don't have the time to mess with it anymore (speaking in terms of years left) and you don't have the physical ability to move all that junk anymore.  

 

It also helps that we downsized from total 5600sf to 2500.  THAT takes some doing.  

 

[WTMCassandra]

I, too, am finding myself trending more toward minimalist tendencies that war against my staunch bibliophile state.  I have waffled on what to do. I have culled homeschooling K-8 books and kept only favorites (although that is still a couple of bookshelves worth *sigh*). I have culled picture books down to one shelf that I hope grandchildren will want.

 

I culled fiction a long time ago but ended up buying some of it back (favorites). I have a Kindle Paperwhite and use it when I don't have access to a paper book, but it's still, by far, my second choice. I was about to do another big round of culling about a year ago when I discovered that you don't actually own Kindle books and that they can rescind them any time. This gave me pause and caused me some consternation. I've felt kind of stuck, since.

 

So, I'm currently in limbo. I think I need to do some more culling. But it's painful. I'd rather cull almost anything else (and have).

[Guest]

Books are just paper.  If you really love the information in the book, you can always buy it again or get it from the library or in digital form.  There is just no reason to keep all the books.

[elegantlion]

I am a book keeper. Since our homeschooling days are over, I've been culling them. I have a huge stack still sitting in the garage waiting to be donated. 

 

One of my challenges is I don't feel like my bookcase system is ideal. I'd like to replace a few junky cases and then try to cull to fit what I have. I also may move in the next few years and don't want all of the moving truck to be books. 

 

I do refer to many of my books again. I have a lot of non-fiction that I use for reference. I'm also focused on a certain period of history for my studies and this is a field where people tend to write books instead of journal articles and more than a handful have made their way into my library this semester. 

 

I do have a huge selection of literature I've not read (mostly bought from library sales). This is part of my "I'll never be bored in retirement" plan. I also am trying to buy better copies and get rid of any mass market paperbacks or those with tiny fonts. 

 

I also have a good selection of antique and OOP books. Those aren't going anywhere. 

 

IOW, I am culling, I'm doing it slowly with no aspiration to get a minimal level. I do have books stored on one shelf in my pantry. With two people in the house, I don't need that much pantry space. 

 

Intentional about the books I keep, that's what I'm trying to be. 

[MIch elle]

I have decluttered my library in stages.

 

Stage 1 was to let go of childrens' books that the kids weren't terribly fond of or that they'd outgrown and I didn't have emotional attachments to. I sold some at garage sales and donated the rest to the library booksale. I survived Stage 1.

 

Stage 2 was actually the hardest and that was letting go of books in my own library that I no longer read, needed, or had space for. This was probably the hardest for me, because I'd always felt that all my books were special friends. I happened to be at the library book sale when some college physics students came across my books. They were SO thrilled with the finds that it helped me get through Stage 2.

 

Stage 3 was to sell sets of childrens' books on ebay. This bunch did hold some memories because of the many hours we spent reading them, so I did feel a twinge. I needed cash to buy an instrument for one of the kiddos and it was a good trade-off because that instrument is still in use 5 years later and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have read The Magic School Bus at any time during that time period.

 

After that it was much easier. I did another decluttering after I was done homeschooling, and yet another of my own personal library. My kids have all sorted through their shelves, and sent the books they didn't want out the door. We saved childrens' Christmas books, and childhood favorites.

 

I'm due another big clean out because almost all reading I do now is on Kindle. I didn't think I'd like to read ebooks, but apparently it's become my preferred format for all but a few old friends.

 

Good luck with the decluttering.

 

This is what I did - in stages.  This took me over 5 years because it was overwhelming.  I'm still slowly releasing books but now I have room on my bookshelves for things other than books!

[MEmama]

I've done it a few times with no regrets. Now I rarely buy books but wouldn't mind purging the few I do purchase.

[Guest]

I had to do it fairly intensely this summer because of mildew.

 

We almost lost a 100+ year old copy of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz that belonged to my grandmother because the "B"s were on an exterior wall in milk crates, boards, and the floor.

 

That kind of put "Our Sixth Grade Sugar Babies" into perspective.

 

It made me sad to get rid of ALL my Beverly Cleary paperbacks, but they don't have any special memories and were easily replaced with digital editions.

 

No regrets so far. The books I value as actual physical objects are much safer and easier to find and we used the resources we had for the best balance we could do between additional bookshelves and digital replacements for some of the paperbacks we couldn't keep.

 

In a perfect world, my house would look like a library, but this is my landlord's house and it has a finite square footage and mildew issues and I am an old lady with a month to month lease and a bad back.

[katilac]

Books are just paper.  

 

*gasp* 

 

I suppose you also think the Velveteen Rabbit was just a toy . . . 

[nd293]

I'm in the process of doing this. My children are 15 and 8 and a lot of the books are kids books. For books dd15 has read I've asked the question: Do I really want ds8 to read this? If the answer is a resounding YES! then I keep them. For books ds8 has already read, I asked dd15 if she could imagine wanting to read each book to her children (in the far distant future!). I also asked myself if I'd be saying "I wish we still had that book about..." down the line. That has easily halved the book collection, and I'll repeat periodically.

[mamiof5]

I am a book keeper...but, don't own thousands like some numbers I saw in some of the posts. Yes, we have quite a bit...bit they get read...and I just like them. A tablet or electronic devise is just not the same for us

[Seasider]

Thanks for all the feedback, I will continue to read more.

 

I have gotten rid of literally hundreds of books the past 5 or so years. I probably still have 5-600, I'm guessing? I have space for them, but that space could be used in other ways. I'd say maybe 100+ are collectible/sentimental. The rest I've just kept because, I suppose since they're a sunk cost, why not? Some of the things you've said above are resonating with me - like, are they being re-read regularly? A few. Are they available from the library? Most. Out of prints? Some. But I'm thinking I will really begin to do some serious thinning.

 

Still musing. Thanks again.

[PrairieSong]

I'm in the middle of this now. Our youngest is 16. I am donating most of the books we've accumulated over 20+ years of homeschooling: non-fiction, project books, children's literature, most of my craft books, etc. I've given away eight boxes and have ten more boxes filled up, and will eventually fill up a few more.

 

I'm keeping just our favorites, especially anything rare and hard to find. We will still have plenty of books!

[PrairieSong]

I got rid of hundreds last year, but it still left me with over 4500. It would be like letting best friends go!

Well, mine are not all my best friends. Some are ones I used to be friends with but we have grown apart. Others are acquaintances. I'm keeping the very best friends.

[Tita Gidge]

I was inspired by the whole Marie Kondo movement, and tackled my books more easily than I thought I would. 

 

Easily, 1/3 did not spark any sort of joy so those were gone.  Most of those were cheap, easy finds and reads for my days of more frequent travel - books easily found, and left behind, such as popular paperbacks and bestsellers.  It was easy to let those go because they're still so easy to find should I decide to get around to reading them today.

 

A second 1/3 sparked immense joy and were keepers.  They have enjoyed their more spacious digs on the shelves that are no longer stuffed tight and overloaded.  I find myself more likely to actually reach for these books now that I can do so without offsetting an avalanche of precariously perched siblings.  Less became more!

 

The other 1/3 is tricky.  They didn't spark joy but I wasn't yet sure if I could part with them.  So I boxed them up with the intention of "doing something with them" after the Christmas holidays. Well, I had a free weekend and decided to go back through them this weekend instead.  Of that 1/3, I was able to finally part with 75% of those books.  I'm keeping the other 25%, for now, but with the exception of two books they're going back into the box for me to "do something with" on some dreary day in February when we're iced in.

 

It's too soon to know if I'll regret getting rid of this most recent bunch, but I'm not feeling tremendous anxiety yet.  I've tagged about half to give to other homeschoolers. It makes it easier for me to let go of these, knowing they're going to good homes where they'll get used.  The other half I've set aside to donate to a local animal rescue group that is hosting a garage sale next weekend. Again, feeling like it's a good cause helps me get over the phantom chest pains I feel just thinking about letting these go.

 

I don't own an e-reader, and never plan to.  But what's hard is that I love the thrill of the hunt.  I spend hours just pecking through the shelves at thrift stores and used bookstores, with my (falling apart paper copy!) notebook of what-I-own-what-I'm-looking-for lists.  It's what I do for fun, and culling books is kind of a buzzkill in that regard!

 

Good luck with your project, whichever direction it takes :)

 

[Guest snappymilli]

I immediately bought the kindle versions of the ones I couldn't bear to lose.

 

[Mergath]

 

I don't own an e-reader, and never plan to.  

 

Have you tried one? You don't have to pick only one or the other, you know. ;) E-readers are great for traveling. Or really any time you're going somewhere and you want a selection of books available without having to pack your purse full of thirty pounds of paperbacks. Or if you want to read The Stand or The Riverside Shakespeare anytime, lol. I'm as diehard of a bibliophile as they come, and I love my Kindle. It's also much easier to read in the dark. Regular books aren't backlit. 

[Guest]

Have you tried one? You don't have to pick only one or the other, you know. ;) E-readers are great for traveling. Or really any time you're going somewhere and you want a selection of books available without having to pack your purse full of thirty pounds of paperbacks. Or if you want to read The Stand or The Riverside Shakespeare anytime, lol. I'm as diehard of a bibliophile as they come, and I love my Kindle. It's also much easier to read in the dark. Regular books aren't backlit.

This is all so true! After reading in bed on my phone for a long time, I tried to read an actual book. I had to keep my lamp on which annoyed DH and real books are heavy! I much prefer to read on a device at night.

[Bluegoat]

I have to keep an eye on books, because otherwise I really start to run out of room.  I finally this year decided to be brutal with the kids books and get rid of anything that wasn't actually good - even if it was a gift from grandma or the kids likes it. 

 

I also now get rid of a lot of novels, unless I am likely to reread them or they are classics.  Others, even if they are fun books, I pass on.  If I need them again there is the library.

 

I've recycled a few things as well.  My dh has quite a few technical books that should be recycled, but he won't let me - a lot are old programming manuals and stuff for languages no one uses. I keep telling him that the reality is these books are no longer useful to anyone and they don't need to be taking up our shelf space.

[katilac]

 

I've recycled a few things as well.  My dh has quite a few technical books that should be recycled, but he won't let me - a lot are old programming manuals and stuff for languages no one uses. I keep telling him that the reality is these books are no longer useful to anyone and they don't need to be taking up our shelf space.

 

Just a note to check with your recycler - most of them can't handle the adhesives and other binding materials, and they will throw away any books in the recycle bin. 

 

If you are super ambitious, you can rip the pages out books and recycle those, or, better yet, have your kids do it. 

[Kim in Appalachia]

I've been doing this. An hour from our home is a wonderful used book store. I've been taking books there. I've gotten rid of 3 bookshelves in the past year. I'd like to get rid of 2 more. Somedays, I just want them all gone. I find myself shocked that I am in this place, a place where I don't want to be surrounded by those books, but I've arrived and I want them out. Tired of the clutter and dust. I really want a more minimalist environment.

[Guest]

Have you tried one? You don't have to pick only one or the other, you know. ;) E-readers are great for traveling. Or really any time you're going somewhere and you want a selection of books available without having to pack your purse full of thirty pounds of paperbacks. Or if you want to read The Stand or The Riverside Shakespeare anytime, lol. I'm as diehard of a bibliophile as they come, and I love my Kindle. It's also much easier to read in the dark. Regular books aren't backlit. 

 

I've read about 10x as many books since I got my kindle.  I wake up in the middle of the night and can read right there in bed.  In addition, I can make the type whatever size I need for however my eyes are doing at the moment.  We have a copy of Dune (paperback) that I was intending to read for a group I am in, but the type was wayyyy too small.  I'm to cheap to buy a new copy on Kindle, but am on the Hold list at the Library.  Library checkout on the Kindle has also enriched my reading because I am too cheap to buy a book that I know I will only read once...  :0)  

 

Love my Paperwhite.

[Melissa in Australia]

Books are just paper.  If you really love the information in the book, you can always buy it again or get it from the library or in digital form.  There is just no reason to keep all the books.

 

:svengo:  :svengo: :svengo:  

 

No Books are not just paper. they are priceless getaways from reality.

[Mergath]

:svengo: :svengo: :svengo:

 

No Books are not just paper. they are priceless getaways from reality.

Stories are priceless getaways from reality. A book is just one means to share them. :)

[kiwik]

You're right. It's blasphemy.

 

Get rid of everything else but the books. You can even stack some in your living room, put a doily over it and call it a coffee table. Then you can get rid of your actual coffee table.

 

To be honest, I have regretted every.single.book I've ever gotten rid of, especially the books I read from ages 11-20 which are now no longer in print. So yes, box them up, hide them in cupboards, under couches, in the root cellar, anywhere...just keep them. Or send them to me and I'll keep them for you.

 

I still feel bad about the time I got rid of a bunch of books because I had no way of taking them with me.  Don't do it.  Build another bookshelf.

 

i do use a kindle a lot now but our library system isn't compatible with kindle and I can't buy too many books so I need a good supply at home.

[Χά�ων]

I have been struggling with this as well. I have sold hundreds of books already but there are still shelves that need to be cleared out. I have a good idea of what is next on mu purging list, I am just afraid that I may need them one day.

[Pippen]

I never parted with books that I would have problems replacing in the future. Of all the boxes of books I purged, there were only two that I regretted and I just bought used copies down the road.

[Wheres Toto]

I'm currently working on culling some of my books.  This was prompted by the realization that we have NO space in our tiny house (kind of already knew that) and that there are quite a few I haven't read in a very long time.   I decided we really couldn't afford the space taken up just to be able to have a ton of books around. 

 

I used to read a lot of horror so have almost all of Stephen King's, Clive Barker's and quite a few Anne Rice in hardcover.  I haven't reread them in at least 10 years and they take up a lot of space.  I know if I really wanted to read one, they are easy to find at the library.  I'm also getting rid of a lot of paperback SciFi but only those that are easy to replace. I have some that are harder to find and I won't get rid of those.  I also won't get rid of the ones I do reread (JD Robb, Mercedes Lackey, a few others) until I have the money to at least get them electronically. 

 

I still haven't worked out the best way to get rid of them.  We had a garage sale but didn't sell anything.  I may try online groups but have to get organized to do it.  Paperbacks I don't mind donating but I have a couple dozen hardcovers in Like New condition and I feel like I should at least try and sell those.

 

I don't have an ereader but I have Nook and Kindle on my PC's.  Eventually I think I'll get a Nook since I prefer that format and most of my current electronic books are on there.

[katilac]

 Paperbacks I don't mind donating but I have a couple dozen hardcovers in Like New condition and I feel like I should at least try and sell those.

 

 

Bestseller type books are almost impossible to sell. You can check each one on Amazon if you want to make sure there isn't a rare one hidden in there, but generally Stephen King and friends aren't worth the trouble. 

[Wheres Toto]

Bestseller type books are almost impossible to sell. You can check each one on Amazon if you want to make sure there isn't a rare one hidden in there, but generally Stephen King and friends aren't worth the trouble. 

 

Yeah, that's what I figured.  I belong to a couple of local sale boards and I was just going to try there for garage sale prices.

 

I do have an autographed Clive Barker that I may hold on to.

[KungFuPanda]

I started with the books that I knew nobody in this house would read again.  I kept the really good children's books for little visitors, but unloaded the so-so ones.  I also store our board games in bookcases, so reorganizing them to get rid of several boxes combined with my limited book purge was enough that I quit and was satisfied.  

[Guest]

My sister sold a bag of books for $7 at her last garage sale. She loaded the bags and stapled the shut--so it was grab-bag special. She sold almost all her books that way. Didn't make much money but it was more than nothing. And the books were gone.

[pehp]

I got rid of about 50% a few years ago before a major house renovation.

 

Now I'm on a second pass, and this time I have two words for you: Marie Kondo.

 

I'm a believer.  

 

This time (which will either be next week or the week after): all the books in the house will go in the schoolroom and I'll just start attacking pile-by-pile, using the "does it spark joy" criteria. I'm interested to see how it goes (will report back if there are relevant findings).  

 

I didn't regret it the first time--I loved the energy that came from less stuff, even if it's less books (and I'm an affirmed bibliophile!).  

[Tanaqui]

Boxing them up and seeing if you miss them is not a bad idea.

 

I'll tell you what I do when I get rid of books - I write down the titles. (If you have lots of books to go through, you might consider getting a barcode scanner for cheap.) That alleviates my worry that I'll give away a book, want to read it several months later, and not know what it's called. So long as I have the title I can always order a new used copy off Amazon or wherever.

[Seasider]

Boxing them up and seeing if you miss them is not a bad idea.

 

I'll tell you what I do when I get rid of books - I write down the titles. (If you have lots of books to go through, you might consider getting a barcode scanner for cheap.) That alleviates my worry that I'll give away a book, want to read it several months later, and not know what it's called. So long as I have the title I can always order a new used copy off Amazon or wherever.

Good idea! I've decided to make a list of titles in a box to tape on the outside of a sealed box, but didn't think about not remembering titles I've given away. I'll have to make note of ones I really enjoyed but still don't feel the need to keep.

[Stacia]

For those wanting to track titles they've read, want to read, etc..., you might want to set up an account on Goodreads (if you don't already have one).

 

For years, I kept paper lists of books like that. I wasn't sure I'd like having it online, but I really do. I'm a visual person & one thing I love is that I can look at my lists of books while it shows the cover art.

[Guest]

If you have done something like this, any regrets? Are you happy to have done it? Please share.

 

I got rid of half our books about 18 years ago and have regretted it ever since. (and am still working on replacing some of them!  ...books I bought at bargain basement prices aren't all cheap now... and public libraries have discarded their copies.)

 

I went on the assumptions often cited in these types of threads about getting things from the library... and found that public libraries don't keep that many books. 

 

...and that I can't use the public library the way I use our personal library.  ...and that, for my kids, there has been an enormous value in having an in house library.

 

 

I *do* declutter our books, but I don't do it to decrease the volume, just to ensure that we don't keep books we don't really want.

 

 

...but that is me and my reading habits, and my children and their reading/learning habits.

 

The caution I would offer is to be real with yourself about how you use your books, and how your kids use them and then craft a system/approach that works for your family's patterns... rather than assuming mine or Stacia's or anyone else's will work for you because it worked for us.