Decluttering books?

[nellyflora]

I need to declutter and sort out house. Basically need to get rid of study/ playroom for extra bedroom as boys fighting and need splitting.
We have an office/ study outdoor room so have moved majority of books there.
The issue is cooking books I have loads but never use them I look up on line for anything specific. Is it very wrong to get rid? Also generally overloaded with never opened books, in this day and age do we really need them ????

I really want a clutter free tidy home help!

Books are my downfall - they're like friends to me and it also feels good to have them in the event of an Internet or power failure - so I'm watching with interest.

It's not wrong at all to get rid of books you don't use/need or have no sentimental reason to keep. You can always rebuy them (assuming not rare).

These are all books given as gifts btw I have a few go to cooking books I will keep. But nobody needs 30 cookbooks do they???

No, unless rare. I assume these are just mainstream stuff?

I don't practice what I preach btw.

I've given cook books to charity shops. I can't throw books away but will pass on. I've got a lot of younger children books looking to ask school if they want them or find a children's group, failing that charity shop

Cook books are definitely fair game to pass on. Keep the few you use and ditch the rest - as you say you can always look up a recipe for Boeuf Bourgignon online if you need it in a hurry.

I think I'd feel better about letting some/most of them go if I felt that they would go to a good new owner. The charity shops near me, though, all seem to stock only pretty new or glossy titles while many of my own books - while ones I cherish and occasionally re-read - are perhaps a little 'aged' so these days, it's pretty well my shelves or the bin.

You could always ask if your local library will take them. Ours takes them, if a bit tatty they go in a box of books they sell on.

My own local library seems to be more geared towards IT these days. The book stacks are deserted but there are queues of people waiting for computer access. (And a bank of computers.)

Have you looked at the KonMari threads. Great way to get started on Decluttering.

Do you have a 'free to collect' facebook page near you?? Just a suggestion, theres a local one to me and people give away stuff all the time on it or maybe a 'free' ad on gumtree.

I tend to go through cookbooks I've had for a while and tear out any recipes I like and put them in a self adhesive photo album, then ditch what's left. Any book that I don't use any recipes from goes to charity.

Giving them to charity will raise money for a charity, allow others to gain cheap new books and give you space. Start giving away your books.

I have written down my favorite recipes and put them in a recipe box, and gotten rid of many cookbooks.

Bonus-the recipe box becomes a fun family heirloom.

Oh, and I used to have a gazillion books, and I lowered that number to a kajillion or so by only keeping books that I feel are "must-reads", really terrific books, in other words.

We even have a special bookshelf in the living room where we have all placed some of our favorite books.

I'm having exactly the same thoughts as you, There are 2 which I'll keep, and the rest are being car booted