Books and magazines
Books are beautiful things. There is nothing quite like the smell of a new book, freshly opened and I love the anticipation of losing myself in a different world for a short time. I’m not a fan of Kindles although if you do get on with them, they are a great way to squash the space taken up by your physical books.
Do you need all of your books though?
This is my decluttering books checklist, I ask myself:
- Did I enjoy it?
- Will I ever read it?
- Can it be replaced easily and cheaply?
- Do I need to keep it for reference or can I find that online easier?
- Does it contain out of date technical info?
- Will I ever finish it?
- Is it making me feel like a failure because I haven’t even opened it?
- Does it bring up good or bad memories?
- Is it nice to read – is the print clear?
I’m slowly getting rid of my cookery books, apart from a few old faithfuls because I generally turn to Google before looking at them.
In 5 minutes you can sift through a book pile and pick out the books you clearly don’t need any more. You can do the same with magazines:
- Will you ever cut out and file the bits you want?
- Can you find the information on the internet instead?
Just 5 minutes for 5 things. It’s easy.
If you start with the books that you obviously don’t need in your life you will start to see spaces on the shelves. My strategy for not filling the spaces back up is to work on a book in, book out principal.
Happy reading!
