the declutter drive: books

Last year, while leaving Sri Lanka, we faced a real weight crunch. My husband’s company was going to pay for a certain amount of cargo – anything that exceeded the designated weight limit we’d have to pay for ourselves. This meant we needed to get rid of a LOT of stuff.

In a previous post, I wrote about some of the golden rules I applied when decluttering our wardrobes. Another BIG project was getting rid of books. I LOVE my books, most of which are my parents’ home in Delhi. But I didn’t realize just how much they weigh and how much space they take up until I started moving from one small space to another! 

Like wardrobes, book collections too need regular organization. Reading junkies like myself end up buying new titles regularly, but we don’t get rid of old books. Even though I have only a part of my collection, my books definitely needed some tough love.

Top tips to declutter your books

CONSOLIDATE. First, pull out every book in the house and put them all together. My house has books scattered all over the place – bookshelves, side-tables, bathroom racks – so this is a key step for me.

ASSESS. When sorting through the books, consider the following points:

• Duplicates: If you have duplicates of the same title, give one away. I used to have a tendency to hold on to duplicates “just in case”, until I took that thought to its logical conclusion: just in case something happened to one copy, I would simply buy another!
• Rereading potential: Chances are you won’t reread the random mystery novel you picked up at the airport shop. Get rid of books you are unlikely to go back to.
• Gifts: I’ve been gifted books I would never buy myself. Some of these are great, but others I haven’t ever gotten around to reading. The only reason these would stay on in my bookshelf was due to sentimental reasons. Be practical – eliminate books that are simply taking up space!
• “Someday”: Ever thought, “I want to read that book someday”? If you’ve been thinking “someday” for many years, it’s time to take that book out of your bookshelf.

SELL/GIVE. Once you’ve taken out all the books you don’t want anymore, give them to an orphanage/old-age-home library. Alternatively, make a list (I use Excel), assign a price to each title and send out emails to friends/colleagues who would be interested in buying books. I managed to sell nearly 40 books by using Twitter last year. Selling also means that you make some money back and can use it buy new books. I’ve also become more willing to get rid of books because it doesn’t seem like “a waste” if you sell them!

Picture source: New Yorker