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Post by lozzylooloo on Jan 11, 2010 6:57:06 GMT -5
i am keeping an eye on this thread as this is an area i appreciate more insight and help with, and i just want to take a moment to applaud eternal and evelyn - thank you both for such excellent points, and input - just brilliant!
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Post by sporadic on Jan 11, 2010 8:26:21 GMT -5
What is more important to you - keeping a ton of books that are outdated or your unborn child? I know what the answer is. Make a goal of getting rid of 7 books a day for 7 days. Put them in a box and DO NOT go back into the box once the books are put in there. At the end of 7 days, drive the box to Goodwill or the library. You have no control over what happens to these books other than gifting them. Let them go rather than risking ruining them by trying to save & store. Save & store does you no good - it will just bring you down with MORE STUFF that you won't use, enjoy or cherish. You can't possibly keep them all. Why? It's not fair to your unborn child. Despite a perceived emotional attachment, you cannot physically and emotionally "save" everything from an uncertain future. Let go and be free from clutter. YOU CAN DO THIS! Some examples: Those are examples of how I would think of these categories of books. I hope that helps you with thinking about the books to get rid of some.
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purple57
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 74
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Post by purple57 on Jan 11, 2010 8:35:12 GMT -5
I know you don't need to know where to donate them, but how to make yourself do it, but here's what I did. I had to get rid of many books a few years ago, and again last year. Believe me it wasn't easy, because books are my most important possession, next to my pictures. I went through them and took some from each category, made one box for each category, cooking, crafts, decorating, fiction, etc. I then listed them on www.freecycle.org and saw all the people's pleasure as they came to get them and saw all the great free books. Seeing that made it easier. So I did it again. Soon I was left with a more manageable amount to keep. I have gotten many free items from freecycle that I wouldn't have been able to afford if I had to buy them. (I am now down to only 12 or 13 boxes of books in the attic, and that is good for me. I think they will fit on two tall bookcases. Now I need bookcases...)
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Post by minball on Jan 11, 2010 10:50:16 GMT -5
After moving to a new house three years ago, I realized I needed to sort through my library. I had many duplicates and books I was uninterested in reading again. However, getting rid of books is very difficult for me, and it was very important for me to make sure that these books went to people who wanted or needed them. Here is what I did: 1. First, I threw away books that were gross, bad-smelling or visibly moldy. If a musty-smelling book makes its way into your library, you are introducing mold, which could spread to other books. 2. Next, I looked up the required reading lists for the local public schools. (Our school district publishes this information online. If yours does not, you could call or write to ask for a copy of the reading list.) Then I emailed the English teachers and asked if they would be interested in having these books to give away free to students who needed them. A couple said no thanks. Most said yes. I boxed these books up and dropped them off at the school offices. 3. I looked to see what the textbooks were selling for online. Most were not worth much, but some recent editions and specialized texts were going for quite a bit! I listed those on half.com and put the money from my sales aside to ship some book donations to charity. 4. I separated out all the books that met the donation criteria for Books for Africa. www.booksforafrica.org/books-computers/donate-books.html # 15 years old or newer popular fiction and nonfiction reading books (soft and hard cover). # 1995 or newer publish date primary, secondary, and college textbooks (soft and hard cover). # 1995 or newer reference books such as encyclopedias and dictionaries. # 1995 or newer publish date medical, nursing, IT, and law books. # Bibles. I boxed them up and mailed them out. Shipping these books to the Books for Africa warehouse did not use up all the money I had made selling the textbooks on half.com, so I sent a check for the remaining amount to offset the cost of sending these books to Africa. 5. Next, I did some hard thinking. When I lived in Kenya, I met lots of people living in remote villages who were desperate for any kind of reading material. I knew they would be thrilled to have many of the remaining books, no matter how outdated or poor their condition. However, it is prohibitively expensive to ship books directly to these remote areas, and the mail service is so unreliable that it is unlikely they would have ever reached their destination. The only way to guarantee that the books would arrive would be to have someone hand-carry them. I felt uncomfortable asking any of my friends to carry crappy books, though. So I sorted through the remaining books and pulled out older editions of English-language classics and books by African authors. Whenever a friend of mine goes back to Kenya, I ask them if they have room to take a couple of books. These books are now almost gone. 6. The remaining books were mostly physically damaged or badly outdated. Even I could see that they were just junk, but I still could not put them out in the regular trash. So I cut out the pages with a utility knife and added them to my garden compost. For some reason, that felt more okay for me to do than sending them to a landfill. Since then, I discovered that my local library has a program where they supply racks of unwanted book donations to some bus and train stations. These books are free for commuters to take. Although I have mostly pared down my library to books I frequently use or really love, I occasionally come across something I am ready to pass along, and I give it to this program. So that's what worked for me - I am interested to see other people's solutions to the problems of too many books!
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Post by Script on Jan 11, 2010 11:40:02 GMT -5
Background: I am currently 61 years old. I have an 'honours' degree in English Language & Literature; with a minor in philosophy. I also studied French and History at university. I also have done MAJOR professional work in translating and writing (religion/philosphy) material. I also had a LOT of my brother's theology textbooks (MDiv level).
This is what I have done over a 5+ year period, probably getting rid of AT LEAST 1000 books:
*I gave a lot of current and popular fiction to Alzheimer fundraisers at my church (two years)
*I tossed anything that was ripped, smelly, defaced in any way. In our recycling box.
*the major disposal in Oct'04: I purged anything I was not prepared to re-read in my remaining lifetime. That was my sole criteria: "would you read this again?"
*I reminded myself that I was NOT the local library; that I was NOT in school anymore; that I was NOT responsible to re-read anything that I did not like no matter how 'worthy'----I got rid of Milton this way: I detested this at school
*I also reminded myself that MOST CLASSES now use far more up-to-date editions. Example: I am shocked when I see modern texts for Dante: excellent notes.
*I paid my brother $200 to take these boxes to the GoodWill book nook here.
*Then I put everything BACK in some kind of order.
*Then I contacted the deacon at my church about the theology books. He asked to see them first. He took them ALL and brought them to some conference: put on a table marked 'FREE'. All were taken by other deacons, local clergy, whatever.
I continue to purge books. Anytime I read something that I WILL NOT RE-READ: out it goes: to libraries, used book stores, GoodWill, whatever.
If I re-read one of my mystery books (e.g. Agatha Christie: old paperback edition) and it starts to rip or fall apart: as soon as I'm finished, out it goes.
It took me many many years to stop hoarding books and music. I am not sorry I didn't do it sooner: I wasn't able to do this. But now I can.
As for sheet music and hand-outs at workshops: I do not take ANYTHING ever. Period. Amen. It is the only way I can cope.
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Post by 60isolderthanithot on Jan 11, 2010 12:17:59 GMT -5
6. The remaining books were mostly physically damaged or badly outdated. Even I could see that they were just junk, but I still could not put them out in the regular trash. So I cut out the pages with a utility knife and added them to my garden compost. For some reason, that felt more okay for me to do than sending them to a landfill. I thought I was the only one who needed some sort of ritual good-bye to ease the pain! I have found similar comfort in burning books. I have given boxes of worn books and papers to homeless people too. It comforted me somehow to think the books were giving up their lives to promote human warmth. I still do it for myself and regret selling an outdoor fireplace that would have given me an "altar" over the holidays. I don't know why, maybe it's just an ancient human response - seeing flames makes me feel less lonely at night, less cold and alone. I sometimes thought SO MUCH about how I got each book, what it meant to me. It was like cremating a loved one as I sent its pages into the Light.
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Post by spacehappy (was readilygrey) on Jan 11, 2010 13:15:58 GMT -5
There are so many helpful ideas here, I want to make a really detailed response, but my toddler is making it impossible right now. I just transferred what I have so far to notepad and will be back to finish and post it later today. Thank you all so much!
-Alice
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Post by success19 on Jan 11, 2010 14:22:27 GMT -5
I love evelyns idea (and she had a new book I must read ). Anyway books are my friends - kept me alive during a difficult childhood and into adulthood. But I am trying to change my life bigtime as you know. So I began by throwing out the torn and dirty ones or falling apart ones. Books do tend to begin to decompose and they can have little buggies in them - that eat the paper and glue. Actually older books were better made. Now the cheap paper backs just fall apart. With a new baby in the house - do you want the mess and clutter - possible dust and mold? Maybe some of the books can be sold - hey more money for baby stuff. I know it is hard to do - but you are beginning a new chapter in your live (pun intended) with a new baby - so maybe getting rid of some books will make you happy.
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Post by dailystruggle on Jan 11, 2010 14:22:41 GMT -5
My husband and I are gamers. We play one night every week, and one of the other gamers' daughters watches the kids for us. We have the problem of getting core rulebooks and modules that we intend to Dungeon Master (DM) "one day". Unfortunately, many of the other gamers in our group get the same stuff. It's kind of useless to DM a game when all your players know what's going to happen. We have trouble getting rid of old D&D books because we do play the old versions sometimes. What you might let your husband know is that a lot of the older core rulebooks and modules are online and distributed through peer to peer sites. He'd have to be careful about malware being embedded into some of these, and about copyright laws. Also, some players have made modules that are quite good, but they're not published; they are also available online. The other gamers aren't so good at finding those. . My husband has so many books, that he can't remember what he has and what he doesn't. He ends up buying duplicates. He buys them at normal cost, so it's costing him a lot of money. He rereads stuff often, so it's hard for him to part with things. He did sell some books to keep his bills paid before we were married, but it was painful for him. He's been better about books lately, because he only buys a new book when he's finished reading an old one. I taught him that. He used to buy several at a time, and he'd forget where he put them. I read books, and I give them away to people that I think would like them, like my mom. I'm hard on books, and they'd just get destroyed if I didn't give them away. If I want to reread them, either my mom still has it or I go to the library and check them out. I rarely reread them though. I do keep some of my favorites, but I've limited myself to 10.
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Post by dailystruggle on Jan 11, 2010 14:34:16 GMT -5
Another helpful bit of information, kids are hard on books, and they are crafty. I constantly catch them climbing onto shelves and trying to pull books down. I came out of the bathroom when my oldest son was two and found him coloring on one of my favorite books, with a permanent black marker. I imagine that your cat would be happy to shred some books. My mom had a mean siamese cat that did that. So, if your children and pets get ahold of them and tear them up, are you really saving the books or dooming them to a horrible death? Not meaning to offend you or your children, but they don't know the difference between reading books and coloring books. Also, I recently had a rodent problem. The mice love books for nesting material. I wept because my hubby loves his books and I had to throw out a lot of his books that the mice ate. Just food for thought.
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Post by shopgirl on Jan 11, 2010 21:01:29 GMT -5
I am also a book lover. I got rid of 300 books before I moved. Lovely books. Hardback biographies. Big expensive art books. Fun books. To be able to get rid rid of books, here are the steps I recommend: 1. Fall in LOVE with your Public Library. Use it. Take out books, DVDs, and music CDs. 2. Pay your Library back for all the pleasure it has provided you by donating your books to it. Public Libraries sell your book donations for a dollar apiece. This is one way they raise money to stay open. My Library has a little used book store, and it is always packed with fellow book lovers happily buying books. My tiny little underfunded Library in Virginia had a book sale 4 times a year, and the librarian told me she snagged some of my big art books for herself, she couldn't believe her good furtune when she got them! Giving to your Library is a great way to clear a lot of space in your home. I was able to give away one empty 5 foot x 7 foot bookcase to friends before I moved. Also if you itemize, this is a tax deduction, one dollar apiece for hardcovers, 25¢ for paperbacks. It has always made me feel happy to be able to give back some love to my Public Library. I've never had a regret. Every time I walk into my Public Library, I feel love for it, and am always looking forward to giving more.
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Post by success19 on Jan 11, 2010 22:04:21 GMT -5
My local library says they are full up with books that have been donated. So tonight I tore up some old ones and tossed them. I want a new me. I want a career, travel, money, fun, adventure, to be respected. I have used up this geographic area and it is past time to get out of dodge. I am watching hoarders and getting ready to put several bags of things in the dumpster. Thanks for this thread.
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billsbabe
New Member
Joined: September 2009
Posts: 15
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Post by billsbabe on Jan 11, 2010 22:20:52 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this is really a solution, but it's working for me in the long term.
I'm a bookworm and book addict from youth. I too saw that I had a ton. I've donated countless boxes (cases) of books.
To save money and indulge my habit, I joined paperbackswap.com . I do not have all my books posted, but at the highest, I had over 170 books posted. All you have to do is pay for postage to send out your books. You get a credit per book you send out (2 for listing your first 10 books). This way, I was able to get rid of many books. I now have about 80 credits. I order a book a week or so for free, and found that I really enjoy my "new" books and have a small backlog of them. It costs less than one of the penny books on Amazon.
You'd be surprised at what some people want!
You can't post duplicates, so I have a small stack of books that are waiting until the first book get requested.
How has this helped my squalor? It motivated me to get organized (well, to a degree) - I have all my listed books in 4 plastic containers. It was 5 containers until about 3 weeks ago, and I managed to consolidate one box! I was thrilled.
It's not a quick fix obviously, but in a way I like it because it's less agonizing. And you can always request a book that you sent out that you decided you couldn't live without after you sent it. I have a much more 'open' attitude towards my book possessions.
It also allows me to indulge my book passion at a **much** lower cost, and it's a warm fuzzy that someone actually wants a book that I regretted buying.
If anyone here does join, let me know and I can gift you a credit!
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Post by spacehappy (was readilygrey) on Jan 11, 2010 22:52:41 GMT -5
I've come up with a plan inspired by many of the suggestions people posted. It's helpful to read how people worked through these issues, because I really need to retrain the way I think about giving things away. It took me forever to be able to get rid of anything (I used to hoard junk mail because I couldn't throw out mail that wasn't opened) and this is proving hard because of the importance I place on books. I tend to regret a lot of what I give away, but it is true that I need "space" more than I need so much stuff in my house. So here's what I'm going to try: I'm going to set up certain areas for books and then limit myself to those areas. One bookshelf in our bedroom for stuff I don't want the kids to get a hold of, we have a lot of horror novels and movies, ect. Plus Dailystruggle is right, my toddler has already destroyed a couple . The hallway is lined with media shelves, for CDS, DVDs, video games, Manga and paperbacks. I want to make a spot for cook books in the kitchen (I have very few current ones, but I really need to learn. This might encourage me to actually cook). I have an old military metal case with glass doors that would be a great spot for really old books. Lastly I want to build a bookshelf in the hall for hardbacks. Unread books. I didn't seek these out, I might never have bought these books if I went to pick out something from a bookstore. I can trade the vast majority in and get trade credit to get books later, when I have time to read them. "Not reading the blurb" would probably help with this. Otherwise I would convince myself that I would buy it. Reference books. It's true that this information will mostly be out of date when (if ever) I need it. I could probably look this stuff up online or buy a new book if I really need more detail. Duplicates. Some of these were hard to find and I'm afraid that if my copy is damaged I could never replace it. But since they are hard to find, maybe I should stop being greedy and release my extra copies so that others who want them can find them? If I took better care of my stuff I wouldn't have to worry about things being ruined so much. I may have to work on this one a bit. Old books. I could probably reduce my collection quite a bit. Some of these I find really fascinating, but others I think I'm just keeping because they are so old. Other people would probably appreciate them more. DH's gaming books. He's agreed to go through them. I like the suggestion of high shelves in certain rooms. We were actually planning to build some to display all his action figures and statues and since the gaming books are related to a lot of them, they could be displayed together. I used to go to games with him (we don't have an evening babysitter right now) but never got as into it so I'm not really sure what he can part with. Our local used bookstore is easy to give books to. They accept almost everything for a small amount of trade credit and what little they don't they have a free bin in front of the store (I would know, I've gotten enough things out of it in the past ). I will probably have someone else take them in for me, maybe in exchange for some of the trade credit, because it would just be too stressful for me to watch. To prevent this in the future I should get something like Kindle, the only thing that makes me hesitate with that is the electronic books seem to be more expensive than paperbacks which seems really backwards to me. Half the reason I hoard is because I'm a miser . Some of the other donation ideas sound interesting (and some a lot more ethical) but I think I'm going to start with what is easiest/fastest until I get better at this. I did separate out 2 boxes of books that I think I can part with. It didn't make much of a dent, but it's more than I think I've ever gotten rid of before. I'll post my progress on this as I go. It's hard to actually do this, but I do feel a lot more motivated. Thank you again for all the wonderful suggestions! They help me see things in a different way.
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Post by spacehappy (was readilygrey) on Jan 11, 2010 23:11:22 GMT -5
Yearning4order I couldn't help but laugh when I was reading your post about the wool and other craft supplies. It sounds so familiar... I worked in a call center for 6 years and took up just about every crafty hobby known to man, and with them amassed an incredible amount of supplies. It's been years since I've worked there and it's been just as long since I've used any of them. Currently craft supplies take up most of my closet space. But since they are not taking up any space in the middle of rooms (like the books are) it has a lower priority on my de-cluttering list. I bet there are a lot of people on this board with craft-supply-issues. I've noticed a lot of people with squalor/hoarding issues tend to be interested in a wide range of creative/intellectual pursuits. I see the most intriguing items in "before" pictures .
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