How To Decide Which Books To Get Rid Of?

Well as far as the kids books are concerned, I have started donating all of the ones that my youngest child has outgrown because we have no use for them. As far as my books go, I donate or try to sell the old ones that I know I will never use again. I have a hard time parting with my books and do not get rid of them often.

 

I have hundreds of books and I simply can't throw them away because I love 2 things: reading and writing.

But, I did recently get rid of old "textbooks" which were of no use to me. You can give them to underprivileged kids or sell them on amazon.

 

This has always been a classic struggle with me. I am that kind of person who has trouble throwing things away, because I always think that there will be that one time when I will need it, which of course never comes. When it comes to books, too though, is that they look nice so I really do like keeping a good looking bookshelf. It is a burden though when I have to move or reorganize.

 

Don't have kids and right now that's a good thing because the house would be filled with books. Unfortunately, one of my problems is that I go for a nice cover. Once I realize my mistake, I immediately list it on Amazon and price it to move, within reason. In recent, I've slowed down but just today I got my 3rd order of books in the past week.

 

I always kept books, regardless of my intent to read them again or not. They look good on a shelf lol. But now I don't like clutter of any kind, so I've kept the most important books and all else goes. I won't keep any fiction, even if I loved it. If I want to read them again, which likely won't happen, I'll repurchase and donate them when I'm done. Everything is easily accessible now, so unless they're rare (which my current collection is; from my grandfather, they're all more than a century in age) then I have no real reason to hold on to them.

 

I usually have a hard time getting rid of books and I love to look for new books to buy. When my kids were small, I had a big Rubbermaid tub filled with books that I would read to them or they would look at by themselves. I was able to part with nearly all of them since they had outgrown them anyway. I sold them, gave them to others that had small kids, and the more educational ones I donated to their school library. If it is a newer book and I know I am not going to read again, I will sell it on eBay or in a yard sale. If they are more of a classic book that I love, I will keep it for my bookshelves and possibly read it again. Sometimes, my books are like a part of my family so that makes it really hard to part with.

 

Looks like I am not alone in this Everyone seems to face this dilemma. Well, like I said, the only books that I have ever been able to get rid of are the textbooks. Mainly because I don't regard them as books at all - bad memories and all. If someone told me to get rid of even a single fiction or non-fiction book, I wouldn't be able to.

I don't ever like lending books to certain people because the books come back with folded pages and what not. That's not cool. I have an emotional bond with my books and can't watch them get even a tiny little scratch on them.

 

I usually donate my books to Salvation Army or Goodwill. These are usually books that I've read. I keep children's books because I like to read to my grandchildren. I'm not really a collector of books so it's easy for me to let go of them.

 

I'd say those Mills & Boons romance pocketbooks and books you don't read anymore should be taken out of your shelf to pave the way for books with more substance. Leave those whose plots you still feel like reading once in a while. Those that gave you good memories and remind you of those bygone days.

 

I have to really despise a book to get rid of it - and even then it's hard to part with it. I lived in a very small apartment for a long time and the books were like tribbles - every drawer you opened, a book popped out. They were wedged in every space, under the bed, in boxes behind other boxes. SO MANY. Now I live in a nice big house and half the moving boxes were books. It was ridiculous. My husband is a lot harder on his stuff than I am -- and before we got married he kept his stuff in dark damp places. His books are ruined - but rather than throw them away I just put those in boxes in the basement (that we now have). Books are like kittens. You just can't hurt them, but left unchecked they will take over your house.

 

I like to donate books to our local libraries for they help the community. Some here have donated to Salvation Army too which is great. To help get my family to donate I let them know and ask them what would they like to donate for I can't make money with the books. I let my family be in total control and they'll feel they are donating not only you, but the family is donating for the community and leave it up to them to choose what they'd like to donate. It works out fine for it's not a command it's a request with all the family working together to help the community. Family loves this and they donate willingly feeling to help the community. I hope this helps.

 

I am going through this right now, as I am trying to clear out a room which is full of books. It is very tough to get rid of them, even if they are outdated, or were read long ago. I am just donating what I can. I may exchange some of them at the library too. I haven't had much luck trying to sell books. No one wants to pay what they are worth.

 

One of the best ways of deciding upon which books to get rid of would be to re-read them. We read books at certain times in our lives, and that timing in correlation with where we are in life is often the reason why the book and its content has such a profound impact upon us. Then you walk around praising those books to anyone who will listen, until you read those books again years later and find that this book that you once love does not touch you in the same way anymore, thanks to the fact that you have grown in life. I have thrown out many books after re-reading them.