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| Family Room Bookcase |
This is the "before" picture of the family room bookcase, taken in mid September. Five shelves with four of them filled with books and the middle shelf displaying four brass decorative items. I didn't pull out the trolley table with the inlaid work to take a better picture of the bottom shelf because it was too much work (the trolley table has a removable lower shelf and I've stored jars of jam and chutney on that shelf). The bookcase was sort of organized by categories of books. The top shelf held books on religion, the second shelf held crafts books (mostly knitting, quilting, and crochet), the middle shelf held decorative brassware, the fourth shelf held more crafts books and a few other non-craft books, and the fifth, bottom most, shelf held books about gardening and decorating.
I have a tendency to jump from place to place when decluttering, rather than going through one shelf or drawer and decluttering that before moving on. I am not sure why I do that, except, perhaps, I find it easier. Somehow, it doesn't seem quite so overwhelming to pull a couple of items from here and another item or two from there, knowing that, sooner or later, it will make a difference. The downside of that is, of course, I can never say I have completely decluttered one particular area or category of items.
However, when it came to this bookcase, I had an idea of what I wanted the top shelf to look like.
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| Top Shelf: Before |
I asked myself which books were most important to me and which books might I realistically re-read. Here is the end result of the decluttering of the top shelf:
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| Top Shelf: After |
I decluttered approximately one third of the books that were on the shelf. I might not keep this particular arrangement, but, I don't intend to add more books to this shelf.
I have started decluttering the next shelf, but, I haven't finished it. Here's the "before" picture:
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| Second Shelf: Before |
I will continue to declutter this shelf, and other areas of my house, in October. The October decluttering goal is 10 items a day for a total of 310 items for the month.
You seem to be doing the right thing one shelf at a time. I did declutter books some years ago, bags and bags full to the charity store. I suppose even the charity shops are overwhelmed with unwanted books now.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. Well done with decluttering your books when you did. Yes, I am sure the charity shops are full of unwanted books. The library has a cart filled with hardcover books selling for 25 cents each and even so, hardly anyone is buying them!
DeleteWe have many more books than you do. I do declutter them, but I do not force my husband to get rid of books he wants to keep. And that's almost all of them. :)
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has two big bookcases filled with books in her room and I am fine with that. I would like to keep all my books, too, but, I feel that I am just holding onto them because I like having them and not necessarily because I will re-read them or make new projects using the crafts books. It's definitely time for me to let go of a good portion of my books.
DeleteYour shelves are looking good! I got rid of lots of books a few years ago. I probably should go through them again. Yes, no one wants textbooks anymore. I had a lot in the office, most went to recycle bin. I left a few still relevant ones for my replacement. She's coming from India so I think she won't be bringing textbooks with her!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. Yes, text books tend to become dated very quickly these days, don't they? It's very kind of you to keep the more relevant ones for your replacement. I, too, don't think she'll bring many textbooks with her! :D
DeleteIt looks great, Bless, and you can really appreciate those beautiful vases. Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. :)
DeleteWell done on the book decluttering. I am now up to 72 items decluttered this month (up from 30 items yesterday!). I decided that I want to declutter at least 460 items this month, so about 15 items per day. I will treat myself at the end of the month with 1 treat if I get to 460, and with 2 treats if I get to 560. Wishing us all luck!
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! Look at you go! You are on a roll! You are doing great! I have no doubts you'll reach your decluttering goals! Especially since you have those special treats to look forward to!
DeleteCount me in the decluttering tribe. I am aiming for an average of 5 items a day, though in all honesty I will most likely do it all only one day a week.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you join with the decluttering, Anne! The more the merrier! An average of 5 a day is great, even if you do it all in one day a week. :)
DeleteYou did really well with the books. I will continue to declutter in October, inspired by your grand total!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. Happy to have you declutter with me in October, too. :)
DeleteWell done! So inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. :)
DeleteYou have jumped right in to October haven't you? Your goal is a hefty one - You are not messing around lol
ReplyDeleteYour approach to the bookshelf is a good one and I think it will bring you success. The top shelf looks great.
Oh...I'm so excited to read some more and see how it's going.