The Decluttering Project : Books

What are the hardest thing for you to get rid of at your house?  I’m willing to bet one of the top three things at our house is a huge source of don’t-wanna-get-rid-of-that at your house, too.  We love our books.  We can always say, “Well I might need that book when I…”  So we hang onto them.  And we hang onto them.  And we keep bringing more books into the house.

I’ve been trying to find a solution for all of us with our book clutter in this segment of The Decluttering Project.  I was at the county library on Monday.  The solution suddenly blew me away.  I hope this new perspective helps you, too.

1.  You can always sell your books to used bookshops. They give you store credit which is super cool.  But then?  You come home with more books.  I love taking books to used bookshops.  But I only give them books that I have no attachment to.

I need to get rid of more books.

2.  You can sell books online. Some people seem to have really good success with selling on EBay, Amazon, Abe Books, and other sites.  They’re a lot of work, and decluttering your book collection this way takes a long time.  When I declutter, the stuff has to get out of the house (otherwise I might change my mind!).

3.  You could donate to your local thrift shops or hold garage sales. These things kind of work.  But they sure don’t get me to give up my copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends.

4.  You could give some books as gifts. If a book has really touched you or prepared you somehow, pass it on to someone taking the same steps.  Send a little surprise in the mail with super cheap media mail postage.

5.  And best of all, you should give your books to your community. I got a library card; I couldn’t find a single book by one of the authors I was looking for.  It’s not my library’s fault.  Many libraries are underfunded.  Others are trying to support such a small community like mine that there’s no way they could offer many books.

I talked to my librarian about donations and lack of library funding.  Then I came home, realizing how many of the books Martin and I have left in the US that we could GIVE.  We could always check the books out at the library when we want them.  So could anyone else in the county.  What a gift!

If you live in a county that has such enormous funding that you can find ANY book at your library (like I could in Denver), box up your books and drop them off at a county library outside of the city the next time you head that direction.  It’s the greatest gift you could give a library trying to support a small population.

Or give your children’s books to elementary schools or programs that redistribute books to needy children.

I have a little story for you from my favorite librarian.

Okay – it’s my mom.  She’s a teacher and elementary school librarian, and you will be hard pressed to find a single book from my childhood that is suitable for children at her house.  They’ve all been donated.  Here’s why:

She used to work in a school where many low income students went.  Many students’s families couldn’t afford lunch or clean clothes.  Some students were bouncing between foster programs, grandparents, or anyone who could help them.  One little boy’s family was getting kicked out of their home for not paying rent.  He was being sent to live with his grandparents.  The boy had checked out a book.  My mom didn’t know if the boy had lost it or just had so much going on that it wasn’t being returned.  She was so torn at the end of the school year – should she submit paperwork to the school to fine this boy?  Or should she let it slide?  Something told her that that library book may have been one of the only things that boy had.

I hope that helps you part with some of your extra books today.  What are some that you think you will be ready to pass on?

(Images both from Flickr)