How are you all storing your books?

[11stoneTess]

I have hundreds of books. I'm feeling weighed down by them because I simply dont have space for them. They're piled up in every space I can find (on the shelf, in drawers, in boxes in the bottom of the wardrobe, behind the bathpanel, under the side tables etc...).

I'm so conflicted, I obviously love books, but I resent them taking over my home.

All new purchases are going on kindle, and, I have a library card. Will I regret giving them to charity?

You could try MusicMagpie if charity shops not accepting much at the moment.

You download their app onto your phone e, scan the barcode on each book and it will tell you he much they would pay you for it. Some will only be 13p or something random but others can be surprising. You’ll need boxes to pack them in - then you print out labels and arrange a free courier collection from your house.

The children seeing books in the home thing, isn't it the same if you make regular library visits (or reserve online and collect), there are still books in the home, books being read, just not owned. Or if you regularly buy second hand then pass on the books when you have read them?

So many different things I didnt know about! Thanks everyone. I think i'll try a combined approach and give some to each place. I'm feeling quite pleased with myself tbh. I've only rehomed 15 of the 50 so far, but there is momentum. I cant have them round too much longer or I will change my mind!

The next batch will be much harder. Some i've not even got around to reading. Seems daft to be so attached to something you havent even read. I'm reading every spare second, bit like all the junk food you can find just before you go on a diet.

On an actual decor note, being able to see gaps between things is so much better. I also took down some of the many pictures I have up, and extra wall space also feels like fresh air. Sometimes less really is more.

Join book exchange and give them away?

@Janeinthemiddle, what is book exchange?

Here's the one i read. It's brilliant.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0718080602/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aVVFFb0JXMCS3?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

If you do decide to keep some of them, I use DVD/CD storage shelves for my paperbacks. I have the Ikea Gnedby tower:

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/gnedby-shelving-unit-white-40277143/

They are only 17cm deep and 20cm wide with adjustable shelf height and the perfect size for paperbacks. They are so narrow at 17cm, you don't lose room space to them, you might even be able to fit them in a hallway.They also work well in alcoves around fireplaces etc.

I also have the "invisible" Umbra conceal shelves that look like your books are floating on the wall. They have small shelves that hold 6kg each and book towers that hold several metres worth of books.They are good if you want to turn your book collection into a feature rather than just a library

uk.umbra.com/products/conceal-shelf-set-of-3

My bookroom is now DC's bedroom, and it was full. When we converted it back into a bedroom, we had a cupboard made for the living room that is floor to ceiling, has a solid back and has very close together predrilled holes for shelf supports, so I can adjust for most book sizes without losing space over the tops. It was also as deep as three typical paperbacks, and so each shelf has three lines of books yet only takes up a 64cm x 40cm floor area. When filling it, I took photos of each line and there are printouts stuck to the cupboard doors, labelled with the shelf so I know exactly where everything is. The other books went into the sofa, which is a custom storage sofa from Nabru, and it all worked very well. Now of course the bedroom is filling up with DC's books...

I almost bought that book on decluttering recommended upthread, and caught myself at the last second.

I have space for one Gnedby. How many average paperbacks would it hold do you think? I'll not look at storage properly until the very end of the process.

I've rehomed 30 now. 20 to go from batch #1.

Its a shame there isnt a company I can give my books to, who then swap them for the kindle version for a small fee. Those books could then go to libraries worldwide. Some would not be useful i'm sure, but others would.

Thinking about what Plexie said, I wouldnt replace most of them if there was a fire. I'm keeping them because I already paid for them to retain the option of rereading them somewhere down the line. I also desperately wanted a reading room/nook, and thought I was just waiting for the day I could put them all out on shelves. Being surrounded by a smaller amount of really loved books would be better than shelves and shelves of read once and disgarded books.

@moonbells, how much did your custom cupboard cost? Like how oragnised you are s you can still find them.

I don't have books in my house at all, I'm a huge reader too and it horrifies my friends that I just don't display any. I read a book and then give it away. I used to keep them but realised I never re read any, it was very liberating giving them away.

The author of Decluttering at the Speed of Life has a blog A Slob Comes Clean and does podcasts if you don't want to get another book!

Have I not seen adverts for book buying companies?
I'd filed away that idea for future use! Our charity shops don't want anything right now.

I am getting rid little by little. I was going to buy more shelves but decided against it.
I have my bookshelves and have to edit them if I want to add any. My kids are not into reading what I like so that has helped me discard some I was hanging on to just in case.

we have a lot of Ikea billy bookshelves.

Most books I buy are 'read-once-and-donate' books so I regularly give them away, especially children's books & novels.

Others are 'keep' books like reference books or out-of-print books that I've inherited.

And having books in the house definitely helps kids read more. We re-arranged the living room to have a small shelf with kids reference books (e.g. lift-the-flap science etc) and my kids will often pick one up to read for 5-10 mins. When the books weren't in the living room, they didn't bother.

I have just got shelves on the wall with the books on. Not freestanding shelves but wall shelves. I live books but I am have a clear out now and again. I don't want to get rid of them as they are important to me. I am also a minimalist which is ironic.i would rather get rid of other things which don't give me the same pleasure that books give me.
Maybe have a clear out of any books that no longer float your boat and get rid of other things in the house to make room for the books y out want to keep.

It cost quite a bit because it was made by a fitted bedroom furniture company to match another one (which is full of DH's board games!) and has a solid back and they built it on-site (good job too - and it was just short enough so it could be raised into position without jamming on the ceiling!). A standard plain 30cm deep IKEA Billy with doors is now £85 with a really flimsy back that pushes off easily.

Wonder if I still have the receipt somewhere. I have a feeling it was about £300 including building and bolting to the wall so it can't fall over.

I've just counted for you @11stoneTess! There are 50-60 books per Gnedby but most of my paperbacks are quite thick (3cm) as there are lot of non fiction/academic books. The ones that I think of as "average paperback size" are more like 2cm, so you could probably fit more than that. Each unit can fit 8 shelves with 16cm of space per shelf when the shelves are set at 24cm apart. They are designed to hold 88 DVDs.

Culling down to only 20 books full stop (if that's your end goal) is quite a ruthless requirement.

I have one short bookcase that's about a metre wide (I reckon it takes 120-140 books), a billy that's hidden out the way that's only 40cm but I stack everything two deep (so would take about 72 paperbacks) and then an extra shelf in the kitchen, one in the living room and probably about 15-20 books around the house which includes borrowed ones and library books. So I probably have 250-300 books and definitely don't feel like I have lots of books at all - and I use a kindle and the library as well.

I suspect this is caused by my parents who have 2x tall bookcase, 2x sets of half height built in shelves, books along the stairs and another bookcase upstairs...

Obviously living somewhere cluttered isn't something you want, but I wouldn't necessarily set your maximum at 20 books if you want more than that.

I have wall mounted shelves that sit in pride of place in my living room and make my book hoard look like a design choice. I dont want to dilute the effect so I'm now operating a one in one out policy between that and the pile of unread books by my bed. If I'm not going to read it again but I think someone else might enjoy it I feel ok about giving it away.

Do you have a specialised charity books & music shop anywhere near you? I find it very easy to give books I won't read again to my local one because I know they will make the effort to sell them for a good price and so they will go to someone who will appreciate them. They only sell in bulk to internet resellers after they've tried and failed to sell in the shop, and the only stuff that goes to the tip is in such bad condition that even the bulk resellers can't use it.

(Mumsnet seems to be a bit of a breeding ground for weird anti-charity shop myths. They are there to generate income for the charity; they aren't going to bin good stock for no reason.)

@ILoveShula

Global Educational Trust www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46511256

I can't find the link to the charity itself but it's a charity that runs shops where people can wander in and have 3 books.

Linky here. There's one in the next town so that's my weekend sorted!