Top 10 Tuesday — Spring Cleaning!

For book hoarders collectors, cleaning out the shelves presents a daunting task. Books are friends after all. And while I am no Marie Kondo (who needs that kind of negativity 😉 ), I do sometimes get rid of books. Ouch! This week’s Top 10 Tuesday is a Spring Cleaning Freebie. I’d love to know how you keep your books from taking over! For more bloggers’ tips, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Tips for Cleaning The Old Shelves

For books I have read.

Except for signed copies, I generally pass on books that I have read. I first share with my book club. We pass around books at every meeting. With the voracious readers in my group, this is a big help with our book budgets. Some books I share with family. For those books that come back around, I donate to my library’s annual sale. The exception is ARCs. They are clearly marked not for resale, and I do not want to see them end up on Amazon.  I have also taken books to my local used book store for store credit. That is also a help to the budget.

• share with book club
• share with family
• donate to library sales
• use to trade at used book stores

For unread books.

Now this is very hard. I am always holding out hope that I will find the time to read all those books on the TBR shelves. If I have another 50+ years of life left and I don’t acquire another book, I might get them read. 😉 So I am trying to find alternate ways to get them read. Audiobooks are a good choice. I check out the books that are included in my Audible subscription or are available through my local library on Libby. I’ve gotten a few read this way. I am then able to pass on the physical copies without remorse. An alternative is to look objectively at each book and decide if I really want to read it. The first thought is, of course, I bought it didn’t I? But realistically, some books were chosen during a season of my life that has passed. I know that the cute fiction that features a 20-something looking for Mr. Right just might not be as appealing as it once was. So, I again donate and share. One fun thing I have started with my book club is Blind Date with A Book. For our Christmas meeting I scan my shelves and select books that will appeal to my members and that I can let go of with few tears. It’s fun to see them trying to figure out which book to choose!

• free audiobooks from Audible and Libby
• Blind Date with A Book Swap

So, there are some of the ways I deal with overflowing shelves. Hope this gives you some ideas.