‘Many people keep hold of certain titles because they feel they’re a reflection of who they are, but it’s important to remember that books don’t define you. Perhaps you wish you were the sort of person who enjoys reading old literary classics and factual text books, so you keep them on the shelves, in the hope that one day you might feel inspired to pick them up… or to dilute the extensive collection of chick lit novels that you actually enjoy reading. Be realistic about the types of books you’re holding onto It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it in the end’, says organizing expert Michelle Hansen, owner of Practical Perfection. It can be subjective, so in order for this to work, you need to be really honest with yourself. It goes without saying really, but any I didn’t enjoy, didn’t finish, or that I have no intention of ever reading, I also pass on – and quickly too. ‘My rule with books is that if I’ve read them at least once or twice, and I don’t plan on reading them again, I donate them to my local library. If you’re struggling to make decisions, establishing some set rules around what to keep and what not to can help the decluttering process – just be sure to stick to them, no exceptions. (Image credit: Getty images / Grace Cary) Create a set of rules – and stick to them Try and limit yourself to just one or two types of each book a couple of Thai-style cookbooks, or one South American travel guide, for example. They may not be exactly the same, but you’ll likely have cross over, particularly in certain genres travel guides, cookbooks, reference books and encyclopedias are all common culprits. One of the quickest ways to cut down your collection is by getting rid of duplicates. How you categorize is up to you, but we’d advise sticking to those categories when it comes to storing books and styling your bookcase, so make sure you’ve given some thought to that in advance. ‘Do you want to organize books alphabetically, by author? Do you have distinct categories, such as travel, gardening, memoirs and cookbooks that you want to group together? Maybe you want to dedicate an area to books that you have not yet read so it’s easy to choose your next read… there really is no right or wrong here’, says Lauren Saltman. Working through smaller groups of books is far more productive, and allows you more flexibility with timelines. It’s not something we’d recommend, particularly if you find decision-making tricky. Attempting to declutter an entire book collection in one go can be extremely overwhelming.
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