My books weren’t entirely out of control, but I did have too many—too many I had never read, and probably never would. I had plenty of old textbooks with the same material in several of them. As much as I love Shakespeare, I don’t need three different copies of his sonnets. As with many things in simplicity, just one will do. Here is a before picture:And this is during:And after:
I gathered an entire box of books that I’m planning to sell to a used bookstore, and then donate the leftovers. Out of the 400 books I had at last count, I was able to free myself from about 50. Honestly, I feel 50 pounds lighter. That’s what decluttering feels like to me—losing a lot of unnecessary weight. And then falling in love again with the things I kept.