Thursday, October 13, 2011

31 Days {Day 13} Boring Book Post


One of my favorite quotes...

"I don't lend people books.  My library is full of books people lent to me."


Today I reluctantly joyfully cleaned out my bookshelf/linen closet upstairs.  My dream was that I was going to have a lot of extra space to actually use it as a linen closet.  That did not happen.  There was progress though because now you can see the floor of the closet.

Before
After
You probably can't tell, but the before picture has double stacked books on all the shelves which is why there isn't a dramatic difference.  I culled many, many books and threw some things away.  I also tidied up all my wrapping paper which may be another organizing project in the future.

There are so many places to donate or sell books that I considered what I really wanted to do.  I listed a few on Amazon but I wanted to donate the rest.  In this month of simplifying I don't want to be left with piles of books laying around while they all wait to sell.  (One already sold though!)

I thought about doing a book exchange at a used bookstore but decided against it because I don't buy that many books anymore.  Almost everything I read comes from the library and I like it that way.  I don't feel guilty for not reading the book if I don't like it, and I don't have to store it forever.  Books are expensive and I need to save my money for my Chipotle addiction.

So I brainstormed where I could donate the books, and decided to call the volunteer coordinator at the hospital.  I want people to enjoy them without having to buy them and I thought it must be the perfect place.  Fortunately they have a little library and glady accept donations.  If you have some books to donate, you could also try Friends of the Library and of course Goodwill.  Giving them away to others is always my first choice but not if I have to go around begging others to take them.

I love books but I've never dreamed of having a "library" like some people do.  
This is not my cup of tea


These are the shelves in our living room.  Sorry for the bad pictures taken with my phone.




On either side of tv

I generally don't want to see my books unless I decorate with them.   I got these book just because the colors match my decor for $1-2 each.

Well guys I know this isn't the most riveting blog content!  It would be a lot more fun if I could come over to your house and help you throw out things too.   I know that I would never consistently declutter for this many days in a row if it weren't for this blog.  It's too easy to walk away when you are not accountable.  I feel really happy with the outcome and may revisit the books another time to let go of more.



Total Tossed Jennifer:  44

23 Books to the hospital
6 Wedding Magazines
1 Preparing for Marriage Book
7 Books to local charity
1 box cd set to local charity
stack of magazines to local charity


Total Tossed Gustavo:  0

Total Number of Fights about Books:  1

6 comments:

beingFab said...

Wow, that's a lot of books!! I am currently in the process of purging all my old magazines. They've been lying in a corner occupying valuable floor space AND collecting dust. Here's to more space!!

Fiona Ferris said...

Totally not boring. Weeding out and donating the books that were only so-so to me, or worse, made me feel guilty for not reading them left all my favourites happily lounging on the shelves, not having to elbow their way to the front to catch my attention.

The Vivenne Files said...

A few years ago, we sold HUNDREDS of books and CD's, and helped fund an international move with the proceeds! It's a wonderful, liberating process, and I'm glad you're sharing it with us all.
big hug,
Vivienne

Juhli said...

Great job! This must be book purging week. I have donated 32 books so far and have 9 more to discuss with my husband. None of these would have been read again by us.

Stephanie said...

I'm always cautious about giving advise on books, whether to keep them or not. It's a very personal thing. I personally don't like keeping mine unless they are an absolute favorite. I donate the rest to the Friends of the Library. I look at it this way, books are very heavy and take up a lot of space, to me it weighs me down when I see a lot of them just hanging around not getting used.

The Closet Therapist said...

Being Fab-Oh, I've had my issues with magazines too. They are so hard to get rid of, aren't they? Amen, to more space!

Fiona-You are right. I really could have purged more because I don't look at them. They are just books that I always loved. What is it with books?

Vivienne-Wow! That is so inspiring! I can see that raising money for your dreams is way better than some books!

Juhli-Good for you! It feels good doesn't it! Meanwhile, mine are all in the back of my car. Got to get to that soon!

Stephanie-Always the voice of reason-books are heavy and it sounds like something in feng shui. If I had to look at mine all the time, they would be gone because some how they also feel like a burden to me if they are not being read.

Our Trip to Rosemary Beach, Florida

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