Decluttering and organising bookshelves

Do you remember my three desks?

I decided to get rid of the white metal one to make more space in the guest bedroom/ study.

Which meant I had to declutter some of my books yet again.

Before

getting messy - see how I just jammed some books any which way?

After
front

and side views

this bag with 5 books is all that was actually decluttered - the rest is pure organising which goes to show

you don't have to be scared that you have to get rid of your stuff if you want to
organise your home

Organising is NOT a once-off activity

Remember all the books I decluttered during the August Declutter Challenge?

You might think that that would be enough decluttering for a few years.

Sorry, that's not true. Especially if you love reading.

You see, I'm a reader and as such, I gather books all the time from a number of different sources:

• library
• bookstores
• friends (as gifts)

If I didn't do anything with those books (well, except for returning those belonging to the library), I'd soon be inundated.

So I have to go through my bookshelves regularly and decide which books I'm going to "release" into the world again :)

Do you remember my rating system for decluttering my bookshelf?

This was in January....

and this was a few days ago, a mere three months later. 15 out - yay!


If you're not a big reader or gatherer of books, you might only need to do a serious declutter once a year.

For me, it looks like every 3 months is about right.

Consider your lifestyle and then decide on your own decluttering plan of action.

Do this for every area of your life - clothes, kitchen stuff, paper (!), receipts, etc.

If you go to the shops daily, you probably need to clear out your wallet daily. If you're like me and only go to the shops once a week, then weekly is fine.

When was the last time you decluttered your bookshelves?

Mmmm, can you smell the lovely smell of paper. But out they must!

Entries are still open for the messy, disorganised office competition. Don't be shy - I want to help you :)


Books can be really, really hard to declutter, especially if you're a book lover like I am.

I've shared before about my book organising system but basically here's how it goes:

I only keep books that are 8, 9 or 10 out of 10 on my rating scale. I don't keep all of them but those I do have are either an 8, 9 or 10.

This week I decluttered these three books...to the secondhand bookstore. (If you're in Johannesburg, I like Bookdealers or Books Galore)

I usually take the credit they give me rather than the cash and when I run out of books from the library (when they just don't have any good ones), I'll use my credits for some secondhand books, like these.


Here are some more posts on decluttering and organising books - enjoy :)

Organising library books
Decluttering piles and piles of books

expectations
This week I've been feeling really lazy so I "broke loose" and didn't do a thing in my business except lead a call for my Gold VIP Inner Circle and get out my organising tips newsletter, so I suppose you can say I decluttered some of my own high-achieving expectations.

This might seem like nothing to some of you but it's huge for me to do nothing :)

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Now for this week's challenge

Please link to the post on your blog where you show off your pictures or talk about what you decluttered this week. If you don't have a blog, tell me in the comments about ANYTHING you decluttered this week.

It can be anything - physical, electronic, mental clutter or even the need to be a certain way. Like perfectionism! :)

What did you declutter this week?

P.S. I've been thinking about doing this challenge a little differently next year. How about we have a specific area every week? It will be something small and manageable....what do you think?

August declutter challenge - day 27

Before I get to today's challenge, I want to discuss something with you.

Do you think it would be a good idea to continue doing the decluttering thing on a weekly basis? Say a weekly roundup where you post what you decluttered on a Friday (like Menu Plan Monday)? I think this will help to keep the momentum going but I'm keen to hear what YOU think. Yes, you!

Tell me yes or no, and what can I call it? I'm not the most creative with names and such so I need help!

Okay, now that business is out of the way, here's today's declutter!

This was one of the books I got at this HUGE BOOK SALE over a year ago, also only read recently.

It's about a woman who battles depression and who tries to commit suicide.

I think I'm done with books now, but I may be wrong ;)

What did you declutter today?

August declutter challenge - day 21

More books!

I read these while recovering from my operation and like the others, they are joining their friends at the secondhand bookstore.

What are you decluttering today?

August declutter challenge - day 16

I don't know what's going on - this photo displays the right way up but when I upload it, it goes sideways.

Anyway, this is what I decluttered today - back to my sister-in-law. I've had it here for MONTHS because I have to be in the mood for intense books. I finally read it and also decided I can't do these kinds of books anymore - life is serious enough :)

What did YOU declutter today?

August declutter challenge - day 14

Today I'm getting rid of books. I don't keep anything unless it's definitely an 8 or 9 out of 10, and then only if it touched me in a deep and meaningful way.

So these are going to the secondhand bookstore to exchange for book credits :)

Have you started on your bookshelf yet? I'm betting that there are at least 20 books you can get rid of!

What are you decluttering today?

Organising library books

We are BIG readers in this house. I bribe the librarians with donated books so they let me take more than the standard 6 at a time. Now you know there's nothing I won't do for books.

I've shared before how I am weak when faced with book sales but for the most part, I buy non-fiction and get fiction from the library.

This little table is next to my main desk in the study.


My stuff is on the left and Dion's is on the right.

1. When I get home from the library, I unpack the orange bag and stack all the books on the top.
2. As I finish reading, the books go back in the orange bag. The idea is that by the time the books are due back, all of them are back in the orange bag, ready to go.
3. Of course that never happens but at least I know immediately which ones I have to renew and which can be returned.
4. This system works beautifully for me!

As for Dion's pile, I have no idea what his system is :) Incidentally, we bought his bookbag (folded under that blue book) at a bookstore called Collins at the Sydney airport for AUS $2.

Do you take books from the library? What do you do to organise your books?

Tackle-it Tuesday - decluttering my bookshelf

My bookshelf has been bugging me for a few weeks so I decided to tackle it.

When I finish reading a book, I rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. I only keep 8's and above. But then I don't keep all 8's either.

So I have to go through this decluttering process every so often because I refuse to expand my collection to other parts of the house.

Before - from the side

and from the front (I had to sit to get the whole thing in because there's only 1m to work with)

After

these are the 10 books that were decluttered

Look at this section on the bottom shelf. Do you see how I layered the books on the left so they fit in nicely? And I like how that Keri Smith book sticks out. It says "play is the most important element in discovering who you are". Those orange post-its are marking the good bits as I mentioned before in this post.

And this is that same section from the front - now you can see the spine of Keri Smith's Living out Loud (thoroughly recommend it, by the way)

What did you tackle today, or what do you need to tackle?