Getting rid of lots of books!

[awakenedsoul]

CathyA,

When I first read Your Money or Your Life I added up what I had been spending on books. It was over $100.00 a month! Boy was that eye opening. I started using the library instead. When I was working in Broadway shows touring Europe, I had a suitcase full of clothes, and a suitcase full of books. I love my books! When I moved into my cottage, I sold most of them on Amazon. I was surprised that I got buyers for all of them. Good prices, too.

I think it's nice that it's nice that you're donating them. Other people can enjoy them that way...

[CathyA]

This is funny.......but it's so me. For some neurotic reason, whenever I get rid of a bunch of things, there's one thing I focus on, and obsess about. It's really separation anxiety. What can I say? I just neurotic. haha
I've gotten over it for the most part. But this time, I started missing an old "All about Tomatoes" booklet. There's really nothing new in that booklet, but I got it when I was just starting to garden........almost 40 years ago.
Anyhow........I went back to the Library and explained things and asked if I could get it. The lady said probably not.........she said it was too hard to sort through all the donated books and they've never let anyone into those rooms. I must have looked like a sad puppy, 'cause she finally called down into the bowels of the library and talked to someone and then said I could go down. I went down and the nice lady showed me where the 2 rooms were, and said I was welcome to look, but she doubted I could ever find it. Well, it took me about 1 minute to find it!! Hahaha............A mother knows her children, right? hahahaha

Anyhow.......on the way out I told the woman I'd probably donate it again sometime. haha

[mira]

I loooove getting rid of books at home and at work (I work in a library). I no longer buy books unless I need them for reference purposes. My husband, on the other hand, buys tonnes of sci-fi but donates it once he's done. This is still wasteful in my eyes but not all of what he enjoys reading is available at the library.

Everyone assumes that librarians' homes contain overflowing, wall-to-wall bookshelves...

[catherine]

I have a lot of favorite books, which are accommodated within about 30 linear feet of space on 3 different bookshelves in my home (rough estimate). The rest of them I give away. My favorite books are collections of my favorite topics, like simple living, environmentalism, history, Buddhism and Christianity. I also have some sentimental books given to me by my father and mother. I have a decent number of "how to" books, and I've even kept a couple of my favorite college texts (art and linguistics). I also have in the basement almost a complete collection of Folger edition Shakespeare plays. I have about 4 coffee table books--my favorite ones are a book on the background of America's slang terms, and a great book of maps of New Jersey.

I went to a party once--the host's home was literally wall-to-wall books. He had built-in shelves (the kind where you put up the metal rails and you can then adjust the shelves to any height you want, from top to bottom in his living room, dining room and halls (I didn't see his bedroom). There must have been thousands of books in that house. I kept thinking, this man really identifies with books, and wants everyone to know it! I love books, too, but looking at them every day would make me think of how often I have to dust them, and what a pain it would be to move them.

[ToomuchStuff]

I currently have too many books. This in part due to hours when my employer had some medical issues, and in part, due to last year, my mom, the garage sales queen, finding a lot of my type of stuff. So I am trying to get back into working my way through them, and then pitching them if no one wants them (at .25 each, it would cost me more to dust them)
I should use the library more, but know how I used to be when checking a book out, and for a few years pretty much only looked at reference books (that I may need to go back to). I like my Nook, and since a lot of my books get released digitally when newer versions come out (creative common's license), I try to use that for reference material now. Otherwise, it is cheaper for me to find them used and build up a list on someplace like Amazon, buy, read and pass along them. (in paper format, rather then digital)
I remember going into one friends home (about the same size home as mine) and books were EVERYWHERE. (had to move them off a table to set stuff down) I've feared I would let myself get to that point.

[Blackdog Lin]

I have 100-200 of my old children's books still in my library, and lately it has occurred to me that it's time to let them go. If I can even get anyway to want them. I'm talking 60's children's books, and probably most of them are too brittle to page through anyway. But it's hard to let them go, I was gonna read all of them to my (nonexistent) grandchildren. Life didn't cooperate.

I need to declutter useless stuff. Yes indeed. Okay. After the "Great Garage Cleanup of 2014" is complete, next job is finding a home(s) for the children's books, if they are still readable.

I understand completely the inability to cull books. They were my friends. They were great friends.

[frugalphil]

I don't know if this is the best place to ask this question, being new to the site, but, any advice would be much appreciated.

I have Real Simple magazines since the inception issue to the current one, that I'd like to sell. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

Frugalphil

[pinkytoe]

Ah...books! They are on my list of pre-retirement decluttering. We don't have an excessive amount but seeing their titles when I pass the bookshelf reminds me of all the phases of life we have been through - fixing up old houses, new age mumbo jumbo, simplicty, gardening, sci-fi. I only get books at the library these days so at least they are not growing. My tactic is baby steps - I will donate or take to Half Price books if I absolutely don't want particular ones anymore. Strangely, the ones I find hardest to part with are those I culled from my childhood days-old classics.

[mschrisgo2]

For many years I have referred to it as "my library" and, in fact, a "living library." I have 6 rather large bookcases: they extend the length of a 15 ft wall. Every few years I've gone through and taken out books to give to friends, sell, or donate to the public library sale. I'm a teacher, but what I teach has changed over the years, and books have come and gone. I still have a few from my undergraduate years, I was an English major in the days when I could buy a whole semester's worth of books, new, for $45. Lo and behold, I just pulled one of those poetry anthologies to use some selections with my fifth graders! Looking towards retirement in 2-3 years, and moving/downsizing, but my library is alive and well and will almost all go with me.

[mschrisgo2]

Real Simple magazines: eBay, or Amazon.