I'm going to tell you a secret: I have not read that book about decluttering that everyone seems to love, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. That being said, I personally think I, myself, have a tendency to be a slight hoarder, especially when it comes to the thing I enjoy the most: books. And I don't think that's a good thing, so I'm working on it.
After having moved into my own place, I've very much made an effort to not have too much stuff. If I can't fit it in my apartment, I don't need it. I don't need to start collecting things for when "I get a bigger place" because what happens is that you move into said bigger place, and then start collecting even more things for an even bigger place and one day you're old and drowning in things you don't care for and don't need.
Wow, that escalated quickly. But you know what I mean.
Getting rid of stuff, I do with most of my other things naturally, but I've had to force myself when it comes to my books. I think it's because I put more value into a book than say, a shirt. I used to keep every single book I'd ever bought and/or read, even if I didn't like it or had lost interest in it. And I still do this to a certain extent, but here's why I think none of us should: books are supposed to, in my mind, invoke inspiration and joy. They're supposed to be something to appreciate and rejoice in, something you look at, think about, and it makes you happy.
And you know what doesn't make anyone happy? Keeping that edition of that one classic the teachers made you read in school and that you hated with a fiery passion in your dark, teenage heart.
If it doesn't make you happy, if it doesn't bring you inspiration or joy, what is the point? This is what I tell myself when I come across a book on my shelf that I simply do not wish to keep. Now, books I've read and didn't like, I've gotten pretty good at getting rid of. However, there's a lot of books on my shelves that I haven't read, books I've had for years that I still have not picked up that I feel unsure of giving away, and I think part of this is because I don't like unfinished business (which is ridiculous in this particular situation). These are the books that fill a lot of space in my shelves, space I could use for other books, or just space I could have free for the sake of free space. Why keep a book you know you're probably not going to read? It induces much more stress than it's worth, at least it does for me.
So, I've started getting rid of a lot of them. Old YA books I bought when I was younger, classics I have no interest in really reading again, poetry books I didn't like and novels I hated. I peruse my shelves, scoop them all up, donate them to charity, and hope someone else can give them some love. And it makes me a lot happier than having all these things I don't want or need.
All this being said, I do still own about a ton of books. But most of them invoke happiness in my little bookish heart, and the ones that don't, I try my best to weed out, let go and I feel more peaceful. It is, after all, just a thing.
What do you guys think? Do you get rid of books or do you keep them all?
After having moved into my own place, I've very much made an effort to not have too much stuff. If I can't fit it in my apartment, I don't need it. I don't need to start collecting things for when "I get a bigger place" because what happens is that you move into said bigger place, and then start collecting even more things for an even bigger place and one day you're old and drowning in things you don't care for and don't need.
Wow, that escalated quickly. But you know what I mean.
Getting rid of stuff, I do with most of my other things naturally, but I've had to force myself when it comes to my books. I think it's because I put more value into a book than say, a shirt. I used to keep every single book I'd ever bought and/or read, even if I didn't like it or had lost interest in it. And I still do this to a certain extent, but here's why I think none of us should: books are supposed to, in my mind, invoke inspiration and joy. They're supposed to be something to appreciate and rejoice in, something you look at, think about, and it makes you happy.
And you know what doesn't make anyone happy? Keeping that edition of that one classic the teachers made you read in school and that you hated with a fiery passion in your dark, teenage heart.
If it doesn't make you happy, if it doesn't bring you inspiration or joy, what is the point? This is what I tell myself when I come across a book on my shelf that I simply do not wish to keep. Now, books I've read and didn't like, I've gotten pretty good at getting rid of. However, there's a lot of books on my shelves that I haven't read, books I've had for years that I still have not picked up that I feel unsure of giving away, and I think part of this is because I don't like unfinished business (which is ridiculous in this particular situation). These are the books that fill a lot of space in my shelves, space I could use for other books, or just space I could have free for the sake of free space. Why keep a book you know you're probably not going to read? It induces much more stress than it's worth, at least it does for me.
So, I've started getting rid of a lot of them. Old YA books I bought when I was younger, classics I have no interest in really reading again, poetry books I didn't like and novels I hated. I peruse my shelves, scoop them all up, donate them to charity, and hope someone else can give them some love. And it makes me a lot happier than having all these things I don't want or need.
All this being said, I do still own about a ton of books. But most of them invoke happiness in my little bookish heart, and the ones that don't, I try my best to weed out, let go and I feel more peaceful. It is, after all, just a thing.
What do you guys think? Do you get rid of books or do you keep them all?
