Put down that book. Now, step away from the bookshelf nice and slow and no one will get hurt. I can’t believe you’d try that. Seriously, just because it is missing the cover, is possibly the worst book to ever be published and none of us will ever read it again, you want to get rid of a book? What is wrong with you? I admit it. That was me. The book hoarder. The “I don’t care if they found out the earth was round, this book about the earth being flat doesn’t deserve to be tossed out!” book hoarder. I plugged my mental ears when we covered weeding in collection development courses in college. I felt sad when I weeded books that hadn’t been picked up in two years out of the collection. And at home? I didn’t weed at all. 
Then, I took a hard look around my house, saw all the books I had and got ruthless. I designated one set of shelves for sentimental books, one set for home and garden books, one set for craft and art books and one for each kid. If it didn’t fit, it had to go. Once I decided on a specific amount of space for books, it was a lot easier to get rid of books we didn’t really need or want. I even dusted off my collection development skills to help me decide which books to keep:
- Medical books should be no older than five years. Drug guides should be only one to two years old. Even then, make sure you research anything that could have changed by making a call to your doctor or checking reliable websites. Even first aid procedures have changed a lot over the last hundred years, so grandpa’s first aid guide should probably be replaced with a new version.
- Encyclopedias should also be about five years old or less, although classic versions of Encyclopedia Britannica are worth keeping even if they are much older.
- Classic books can be as old as you want as long as they aren’t abridged.
- Kids’ stories are tough. I remember enjoying Little Golden Books when I was a child and have a big collection of them. They’re sentimental so I keep them, but most of them are not actually that well written and are hard to read at bedtime! If you love it, keep it. If you hate it, but the kids love it, keep it. Otherwise, even if it is a hardback that set you mom back $23.95, get rid of it.
Do you have a problem getting rid of books?
Photo: SXC
Post from: Blisstree