Decluttering - but how do I say goodbye to books?

I would go through them and keep the ones that you feel emotionally attached to or any that you feel you might read again and then get rid of the rest. I don't think you can just ditch old friends! I am more discerning from since we moved and just keep the ones that I really like- otherwise they go straight out. I still feel a bit sad- I don't think that you can have too many books! I can't understand anyone saying 'they are just bits of paper' - they are far more than that!

I have a regular book cull of my books and never buy books unless my library cannot get them. Using the library is very important to me and I will order online and wait for the book to be available. Support your local library or lose it!

I have lots of books and I have a very emotional attachment to them, beyond the stories that they hold. But I know one day I will have to clear many of them out. I only have to look at the covers of some of my books to know exactly where I was, what holiday I was on, etc when I was reading them so these I will keep. But many of my books hold no memories or I never finished reading them and these will go.

Does anyone else use "Librarything" to keep a record of their books? If you've got time while de cluttering you could list your books on this site and then you'll always have a record of the books you had. You can even set a view of all the front covers, to bring back those memories. I currently add each book as I read it (you can even record the reading dates) so that if ever I have to get rid of all my books I know that I will always have a record of them.

These days I love reading on my Kindle - so much lighter and easier to turn pages than books! So if there are any books that I really want to read again I can do so easily, and as many are classics they are cheap to upload.

What a great idea notnecessarilywiser I think I might follow book crossing.com up! Thank you for that.

I have a DH like that Nelliemoser and it worries me how much clutter we have in the house. And we only moved in 7 years ago. He just can't part with anything, and now has an online shopping addiction! Every day more stuff arrives by post. Clearing it out will be a nightmare!

What do you add to the clutter, Judthepud?

I am all for decluttering and I do give away or swap some of my books but I couldn't live in a house without bookshelves and my children are the same in their own houses. When I am rich and famous I am going to buy a house with a library!!!!

Ha ha Durhamjen ! Good point. My answer is books, but I try to keep them on shelves as much as possible. I was brought up in a tidy house where everything had its place, so have had to adapt a lot over the last 43 years. Every flat surface in this house gets covered in DH possessions. But he is worth it

I have a 6 foot high x 2.6" foot wide bookcase in my little sitting room - and now all my books have to fit in there. Any over, and I make myself prune them down and give some to charity. I must admit though I usually have a few stacked in front as well.

My husband has a smaller bookcase where he keeps his (mainly technical boring books)

I have loads of non fiction - good gardening books etc, and some I had as a present as a child from loved ones, that I can't bear to lose, some of my Dads favourites too. There are a number of hardback fiction I had in recent years as gifts, I feel a bit mean getting rid of them, but probably won't read themm again.

Now I have my beloved Kindle I don't have half as many" read it once and chuck paperbacks" cuttering the bookcase.