On Reading: Can Books Become Clutter?

Upon learning that I am a professional organizer, people just feel the need to confess to me about their clutter. I’m cool with that.

“You should see my closet,” says one.

“You can’t imagine my kitchen countertops,” says another.

Still a third leans in and whispers, “I don’t have clutter. I have books.”

This is where book-lovers may bristle.

My response is “Books can be clutter.”

As an organizer, I’ve helped clients declutter and in doing so have unearthed lots of books. I’ve see books they meant to read, started reading but didn’t finish and books they totally forgot that they bought. I’ve seen one, two and three copies of the same book.

Clutter, by my definition, is anything and everything that gets in the way of what you really want to be doing. Too many books and too unorganized books can indeed keep you from really enjoying reading and from finding a peaceful spot in your home to read.

When we sort clutter, I stick to a very simple list of questions. Ask yourself if you love it, use it or need it. If you don’t love it, use it or need it, why do you have it in your house?

This same simple list of questions can help you get your books organized. Begin sorting them by asking if you love the book, use the book or need that book. If you don’t love it, use it or need it, then why do you have it in your home?

Allow yourself to feel good about the books you are ready to let go of by making sure they end up doing good in their next life. Swap them at a trade-in store to stretch your book budget. Donate them to the local library for their annual fundraising book sale. Take them to a thrift shop so that the sale of them can benefit the homeless or the abused. Pass them on to someone who can’t afford to buy books.

Once you’ve sorted out the books that you don’t love, don’t use and don’t need, here are some basic tips for organizing your books you wish to keep.

• Divide your books into ones you have read and ones you have not read.
• Establish one spot in your home for books you wish to read. This might be a shelf, a box or basket. Anytime you bring in a new-to-you book, it goes to this one spot. This way you won’t forget to read that book.
• Set a limit on unread books. Your storage area for the unread books might be a good way to set that limit. Once your shelf, box or basket is full, you say no to new books until you’ve worked your way through some of them.
• Keep in mind that not everything is worth knowing or spending time on. Ask if this subject is really worthy of your precious time?
• Once you have read a book, ask yourself if you love it, use it or need it. If you enjoyed the book but you didn’t love it and don’t use it or need it, set it aside to be recycled in one of the above suggested ways. A tote bag is a great place to store already read books. When it is full, it goes out to the car with you and is taken to the store or to donate.
• If you did indeed love it, use it or need it, then the book should be stored away in your home properly.
• Sort your books into fiction, non-fiction and reference. Be sure that you really need that reference book. Ask yourself, “Will I really turn to this book or will I hop on my computer?”
• If there are children in the home, you’ll also want to sort by age so that children know where to access age appropriate materials.
• Fiction can sorted by genre- romance, mystery, science fiction and so forth and then by author.
• Reference or non-fiction can be sorted by subject, such as biographies, gardening books and cookbooks.
• Stay organized by adding unobtrusive shelf labels. Adding the words “cookbook,” “gardening,” or “mysteries” to your shelves will not only help you continue to stay organized but will help guests or other family members return the books they borrowed.
• Strive to make your life easier. Accumulating heaps of books, to be dealt with later, doesn’t make your life easier, it just makes it cluttered.

Do you think you’ll use any of these tips?

©Professional Organizer Lea Schneider is the author of Growing Up Organized: A Mom to Mom Guide (follow the link for Jennifer’s recommendation on this book). Her organizing advice has appeared in Woman’s Day, Natural Health and Better Homes and Gardens Kids’ Rooms magazines. She is the Grand Prize Winner of the Rolodex Office Makeover Challenge. She helps people get organized at www.organizerightnow.com.