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Post by dtesposito on Aug 26, 2014 20:48:59 GMT -5
I’m taking the plunge. Well, at least for the next four months. Earlier this summer, I managed a major book purge, to fit my books into the space allowed for them. This was a big step, I’ve never been able to think about my books this way before. But, after that purge, I stopped thinking about my books and their storage space. The other day, I looked at the two baskets I keep in the dining room for new books waiting to be put into the proper place, and both baskets are full. How did that happen? Obviously the work is not done, I need an ongoing strategy, or I’ll be right back where I was before the purge. So…I’m challenging myself that from now until the end of the year, every book I bring into this place for myself, or for trading, will result in one book going out. (Sale books are not part of this, so theoretically I could increase the number of sale books I have—although that’s not likely.) I’m not sure how this is going to go, frankly, I’m very uncertain. I can handle the idea of one in, one out, on everything else, but I just don’t know if I can do it with books. I know I can’t now commit to doing it forever, but I’m doing a test run from now til the end of the year. If I can’t do it, I’ll quickly get out of hand again and I don’t want to go backwards. If anyone else has a category of stuff that needs curbing, please join me in trying this experiment til the end of the year. I'm going to come up with rules for myself on how to do this. Diane
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Post by papermoon on Aug 26, 2014 20:57:22 GMT -5
Excellent challenge, Diane!
I use this technique, but in reverse... one out first, then one in. I make the space for something new before I acquire it. The advantage is that I don't impulse shop anymore. New acquisitions are carefully considered beforehand.
I think it's easier to do one-for-one swaps if you have extremely limited space like I do.
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Post by papermoon on Aug 26, 2014 21:14:44 GMT -5
More on one out first, then one in... Try thinking of it as waiting for the other car to pull out of the parking space before you attempt to pull your car in.
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 26, 2014 21:31:34 GMT -5
Thanks Papermoon, you're right, if you have limited space you pretty much have to get something out before there's room to put the replacement in. Unfortunately, for me, books are small and I do have a large apartment--so they take over in no time. My book philosophy in the past has always been--if in doubt, get it--you don't want to miss out on a possibly good book!
I'm trying lately to think more in terms of--does this book sound good enough for me to want to sit down and read it right now. If I think, well, no, I'm not interested in reading it right NOW, but who knows when I might be in the mood for it....I'm taking that as a sign that it should not be taking up space here. It would be different if I found it hard to find books I want to read--but the opposite is true, I have hundreds of books waiting for me to read them. I don't need to get books that have a 10% chance that I'll like them.
I'm planning to do this weekly, so that at the end of the week I'll see what I've acquired and then get rid of the same number. If I try to do it with each book it'll be too confusing and I'll be spending more time on the process than I should. And since I get all my books for free, for really cheap at thrift stores, or by trading online, I usually have to make the decision to get them or not pretty quickly. I have not bought a book at a regular book store or online for at least a few years--so there isn't any chance to reduce that kind of considered purchase.
I'm starting this TODAY, and I have a few books coming to me from trades, so it won't be long before I have to put this into practice.
Diane
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Post by turkeyhill on Aug 26, 2014 22:08:42 GMT -5
Signing up for yarn. A finished object completed will count for those skeins of yarn used.
My old goal was to have a bookcase of yarn. Now I just want my work in progress, my bag of cotton yarn, plus a big skein in queue..my security blanket. I need maybe a pound or two yarn as a security blanket not a closet and room full. I need to let go of even having that but the anxiety is too overwhelming at the moment.
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 27, 2014 17:53:20 GMT -5
Turkeyhill-yay! So nice to have someone else trying this too! I can see where yarn would be a big temptation, it's so pretty. And has such potential! But not if you have so much of it that it just sits around getting dusty, then it gets depressing. I visited my sister today and on the train out to her house I thought about and wrote down my rules for this challenge: Any book I bring in from any source to my KEEP or TRADE categories, has to be offset by removing a book from either one of those categories. I'll try to do it from the same category, but if I can't do that I can mix and match those two--that will still keep the total number of those books the same as they are now. This includes any book currently designated a SALE book that I decide I can't sell and want to keep or trade--they are also considered books coming in that I have to offset. Taking a book out of the KEEP or TRADE categories means getting it out of here completely or moving it to the SALE category. However, in order to move it to SALE, I have to look it up first to see that it really can be listed for sale, I can't just create a new pile of "possible sale" books somewhere that will grow and grow because I'm not dealing with them. I'll keep a notebook by my computer and during the week keep track of any book I acquire, and on the weekend I will get rid of the corresponding number of books--this has to be done by Sunday night--no carry overs! If someone gives me books (which happens ALL the time) they don't count as acquired until I examine them and decide if I want to keep them--but I'm going to have to have a time limit on this so that I don't end up with a pile of THOSE sitting somewhere. I'll put any books like that on my computer desk where I'll see them every time I sit down, and I'll see how that goes--hopefully I'll be able to look at those by the end of the weekend too so they get out quickly. If that doesn't work I'll come up with another plan. And now that I've set down the rules and am all ready to start, I will confess that I just ordered two more books for myself via a trade site! So I'd better start planning which books to get rid of.....Oh, and my sister gave me a book too, but I'm going to carefully consider if I want to keep it--I'm leaning towards putting it right on the donation pile. This is going to be interesting! Diane
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Post by hungaryhippo on Aug 27, 2014 18:48:24 GMT -5
Diane - I'm VERY interested in this project of yours. I'm also working on my books but am still at the purging stage, although I've managed to stop buying any more.
I totally relate to thinking about books that you think you're going to want to read in the future. Sometimes I'd buy a book because it was on a subject I felt I should read and educate myself about. And it was OK if I waited a few years to read it. But I look now at my books and some of them I bought over 15 years ago and I STILL haven't got round to reading them. If I'm honest, I probably never will. But I still find it hard to let them go, just in case....
I look forward to reading about your progress and hope I can learn from you. Good luck!
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 27, 2014 21:27:07 GMT -5
Hi HH, I certainly know "just in case". Just in case I want to read them some day, just in case I know someone else who might want to read them some day, just in case something happens in my life that makes me need that information, just in case I ever become housebound and can't do anything but read all day to amuse myself--yes, that thought has actually popped into my mind! It's a long process to change a mindset like mine, I've been seriously working on my apartment for several years now and it's only been in the last year that I've even considered including books in my purging efforts--even though books have always been my most problematic category of stuff. Besides actually keeping the number of books here from increasing, I'm hoping this effort makes me more mindful of how easily I acquire them. And makes me think longer about each addition, to make sure it's worthy of a place here. It feels sacrilegious for me to say this, but I'm coming to understand that just because it's a BOOK doesn't mean it should be precious to me. That's a new attitude that I need to internalize if I'm ever going to be able to get to where I want to be. Yes, books are more than "objects" because they contain knowledge--but until someone reads them, that knowledge is trapped inside a block of paper and ink. So the ones that I don't have a reasonable chance of reading need to go. Diane
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Post by lostchild on Aug 27, 2014 22:41:32 GMT -5
To stop the madness I now load many books from online and use the free reading sites. It has made a significant contribution to stopping the madness.
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 28, 2014 6:44:46 GMT -5
Hi lostchild, I know a lot of people have gone this route and are very happy with it. I tried an ereader and didn't like it at all! It was actually fun, but a totally different experience from paper books. Not to mention that the books I want would be too expensive to obtain that way, whereas I regularly find them on trade sites and even at thrift stores. It amazes me that publishers can often charge the same prices for an ebook as they would for paper, when there's the entire printing/distribution part that they don't have to do! I know there are a lot of free books available but almost none of them interest me.
However, if my eyesight ever gets bad, I'll definitely be turning to an ereader, they're wonderful for anyone who has trouble reading print books.
Diane
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Post by papermoon on Aug 28, 2014 7:10:30 GMT -5
I'm a total dork, I get large-print books from the library.
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Post by lucie on Aug 28, 2014 8:04:35 GMT -5
I use the same system as papermoon, thinking what will go out before I buy something new. And I only buy books that I repatedly borrow from the library. I would not buy a books before reading it first, I only buy books I want to read repeatedly.
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 28, 2014 8:36:55 GMT -5
what will go out before I buy something new
Lucie, do you do this with books?
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 28, 2014 8:49:06 GMT -5
Papermoon, I know there are large-print books, but I don't know what the selection is like--when I sorted books at the thrift store it seemed like the large-print ones were only the very most popular authors, but that could have been the only ones people were donating. I've actually bought a few large-print by mistake, and I honestly find the print so distracting that I can't read them! I'm sure I'll need them some day and be grateful, but I got rid of mine because those giant letters just looked so weird!
Diane
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Post by lucie on Aug 28, 2014 11:16:48 GMT -5
what will go out before I buy something newLucie, do you do this with books? Diane Yes, with books. I have to think about where will I put the book before I buy it. and I also think long If I really want that new book. It usually comes after many times I borrow it from the library. It has happen to me many times that the book was out of sale before I decided I really want it
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