How to Declutter Books: A Step-By-Step Guide

Are you wondering how to declutter books in your home library? Or are you considering decluttering your books but feeling overwhelmed? Not to worry—today we’re going to talk about all the best tips for decluttering books!

Decluttering books is a sensitive topic, because getting rid of books can feel almost sacrilegious to bookworms. We love books, so how could we possibly choose which ones to remove from our collection? That’s like choosing a favorite child…or deciding which body part you’d be least unhappy to lose!

But I’m not here to tell you today that you have to downsize your book collection drastically or cut it down to a specific number (30 books with the KonMari method, anyone?). In fact, I’m not even here to tell you that you need to declutter your books at all. If you want to keep all the books in your collection, then go for it!

But if your home or bookshelves are starting to feel cluttered and causing you stress and anxiety (or making you feel guilty or overwhelmed!), then you may want to consider some organization and decluttering of the books you own. And that’s what I’m here to help you with today. So let’s get started!

Why Do You Want to Declutter Your Books?

Decluttering book collections is a lot of work and can be an emotional experience for many book lovers. Those of us who are bookworms know all about the special relationship between books and their owners, and sometimes even just the thought of culling your library can cause anxiety!

So before we get started with the actual process, tips, and questions for getting rid of old books, first we need to know your “why.” So ask yourself: why do I want to declutter my books?

Are you preparing for a move and wondering how to get rid of books when moving? Do you have more books than you have shelf space and piles of books strewn across the floor? Are your bookshelves so crowded that you can’t find the books you want to read? Or is there another reason you want to declutter your books? Leave a comment on this post letting me know your “why” for decluttering!

And once you know your why, write it down so you can refer back to it during the decluttering process. I can guarantee that knowing your “why” will help you keep going when the going gets tough!

Prep Your Book Decluttering Supplies

If you’ve been following along with our book organization challenge, you already know that I recommend you make downsizing books one big project and just go ahead and pull all the books off your shelves in the beginning. Doing this allows you to see all the books in your collection at one time, so you won’t accidentally miss any books on your shelves.

Why do I recommend this? Well, if you declutter in a piecemeal way, it’s far too easy to miss some books on the shelves…or you may end up giving up and only go through a few shelves instead of doing all of them. So your first prep step is to take all the books off your shelves! Do it now if you haven’t already.

But during this prep stage, I also recommend getting a few boxes to sort books into. Once we start going through the books, at the very least you’ll need boxes for your “remove” pile of books…although I also recommend having a box or two for a “maybe” pile, in case you aren’t sure about whether you want to keep certain books or not.

Some people also like to put all their “keep” books into boxes, so you are welcome to get boxes for that as well. However, I tend to keep my “keep” pile of books on the floor in one area (like a corner of the room) since they’re just going back on the shelves soon anyway.

If you have boxes already lying around the house, grab those! Or if you don’t have boxes, then boxes like these are a good size to make sure you can still carry them when they’re full of heavy books. So take all the books off your shelves, grab your boxes, and let’s start decluttering!

How to Decide What Books to Keep

Once you have all the books off your shelves and your boxes are on hand, it’s time to decide which books you want to keep.

But how do you decide? Well, here are the questions you should ask yourself about each book as you make your way through your collection:

1. Will I (or my family) ever read or reread this book?

Books are primarily meant to be read, so the first question you should ask yourself is if the book is one you or your family will read or reread in the future.

• If you have never read the book: Why is it on your shelf? How long has it been there? Do you/your family have an active plan to read it, or are you just telling yourself “someday I’ll read it” but you know “someday” will never actually come?
• If you have already read the book: Did you/your family love it enough that you will actually read it again? Or are you just telling yourself that “someday” you might want it? If you do want/need it in the future, can you easily get it at the library or elsewhere? (If you can easily get it in the future, then you may want to let it go…but if it’s rare, old, or not at your library, then that’s an argument for keeping it even if it’s just a “someday” reread!)

If your answers to these questions make you believe you should keep the book, then add it to the keep pile. If you’re unsure about keeping it or not, then move on to the next question to see if it meets the criteria for keeping it. Otherwise, if you’re already sure it’s a no, then add it directly into the remove pile.

2. Will I ever lend this book to someone?

Your second question is to ask if the book is one you would want to loan out to a friend. Did you enjoy the book enough that you want to share it with others? Did the book make you think of someone in particular who would enjoy it?

Note that if a book did make you think of someone in particular, and you aren’t sure if you ever want to reread it yourself, then you may want to consider just giving them the book instead of loaning it to them. This spreads the joy of books and allows the book to have a new life, without cluttering up your life!

3. Why do I want to keep this book?

If a book has made it through the first few questions and you’re leaning towards keeping it but not sure if you should, then the next question you should ask is “What is my motivation for keeping this book?”

• Are you keeping it because you think you “should” have enjoyed it when you read it? If you didn’t actually enjoy it, then it’s likely not worth keeping just because someone told you it was a “great book.”
• Are you keeping it because it makes you look intellectual or you think having it conveys a certain status on you? Similar to the above, books are primarily meant to be read—whether for education or enjoyment purposes. If you’re keeping a book purely for the sake of appearances, is it actually worth keeping?
• Are you keeping it because you think it’s worth something? Most books (unless they’re a signed first edition or really old!) aren’t worth as much as we tend to think they are. If this is your reason for keeping a book, then simply check the monetary value online. It’s easy to do, and you’ll know in no time whether it’s actually worth money or not.
• Are you keeping it because it makes you happy or (as Marie Kondo says) “sparks joy”? This can be a great reason to keep books, but be sure to ask yourself whether you are sentimental about the content of the book itself…or if you are just nostalgic for the time of life when you read the book, are keeping it because it was a gift, etc. Did you actually enjoy the book or just the context of when you read it? You are, of course, welcome to keep it whether it is the book or something else you are nostalgic for, but just be aware of why you are keeping it when you make the decision to hold onto it.

The goal of this question isn’t to make you get rid of all your books! There are perfectly legitimate reasons to keep books, even if you didn’t particularly enjoy the content of the book itself. But this question should just help you reflect and make sure you do have a good reason for keeping it on your shelves.

4. Do I have multiple copies of this book?

Another question you may want to consider is whether you have multiple copies of a book on your shelves, and if so…do you need all the copies?

Some book lovers collect multiple editions of their favorite books. This could be for many reasons, including that they want to collect new releases with beautiful artwork or because they want to collect rare editions of the books. However, it’s also entirely possible that over the course of your book-buying life you’ve accidentally bought a duplicate copy of a book and didn’t realize it! (This is especially true if you aren’t using a good reading tracking system, like this reading tracker spreadsheet).

So when going through your shelves, keep an eye out for multiple copies. And if you don’t have a specific reason to keep multiple copies, choose your favorite copy and let the others go.

5. Is there a place for this book on my shelves?

Last but not least, letting go of books is a process and it’s entirely possible that you’ll need to go through the decluttering process a few times before you finish deciding which books to keep and which to let go.

It is likely and, in fact, perfectly normal to have books you find during your initial purge that still fall into the “maybe” keep pile after asking all of the above questions.

So the final question you should be sure to ask is whether there is a place on your shelves to keep the book. If you have the space, it is totally okay to keep “maybe” books for a while to see whether you actually want them or not!

I like to keep these “maybe” books on their own shelf, so you can easily look at them from time to time to reevaluate whether to move them to the main collection or if it’s time to let them go.

Of course, if you don’t have the space to keep them, then you may have to be harsher and let the books go right away. But if there is a place on your shelves for them, there’s nothing wrong with taking a little extra time to decide on a few books in your collection!

6 Tips for the Decluttering Process

Now you know the most important questions to ask as you sort through your books, but what does the decluttering process look like? Downsizing book collections can take a lot of time, so here are 6 practical tips on how to declutter your books and how to maintain your decluttered shelves.

1. Sort Books Into “Keep”, “Maybe”, and “Remove” Piles

When going through your books, I’ve always found it helpful to pull your favorites out first and add them into the keep pile. These are the books you know for sure that you want to keep. And it’s an instant win when you pull your favorites out first, because your sorting pile is already smaller!

Next, I like to go through and pull out the books that are an instant “no” (if you have any). This also helps because you can drop those straight into the remove pile!

The last step is the hardest, and it involves using the questions above to decide which books are worthy of keeping and which aren’t. But don’t be afraid to drop a few books into a “maybe keep” pile! This pile can be set aside for a second round of screening later, and adding to it can help you keep moving and making progress instead of agonizing over every book right from the start.

2. Take Breaks When Needed

Trying to part with books can be an emotionally and physically taxing project. That’s why you should be sure to take breaks, and also not take on too much at one time! Just because we’ve dumped all the books on the floor doesn’t mean you have to get them all done and back on the shelves today.

Decluttering is a process, so treat it like one. I recommend starting with 15-30 minute increments for sorting through your books, and then take a few minutes to step away and do something else. This way you won’t fall into decluttering fatigue too quickly!

3. Give Yourself Permission to Keep the Books You Love

In a world that is hyper-focused on minimalism these days, it is still important to allow yourself to keep the books you love and enjoy. Sentimental attachment to books is perfectly okay and nothing to feel ashamed about! And you don’t need to whittle down your book collection to a specific number to feel good about yourself and your collection.

Instead, acknowledge your emotions and work through the questions above to make sure you are keeping books for good and right reasons. Decluttering does not mean you need to get rid of all your books, in stead it is about freeing you up to enjoy your collection by freeing youfrom the overwhelm of a cluttered home.

4. Books Do Not Define You

Remember that the books you own and your home library does not define you. It does not make you any better or worse as a person.

Of course, the books you read and love definitely contribute to who you are as a person, and keeping them on your shelves can be a way to acknowledge that and have your favorites on hand for yourself and others to enjoy.

BUT trying to define yourself by the books you have on your shelves is not healthy (especially if they’re ones you’ve never read but think you “should” enjoy, own, or read because of their popularity or status). When going through your shelves, set a goal to either read them or let them go…but remember you don’t need them in your library to give you a higher status!

5. Keep a Book Journal Instead of Keeping Books

If you find you are keeping books on your shelves simply because you want to remember that you read them or remember how you felt reading them, then maybe it’s time to consider another memento of reading: the book journal!

Keeping a reading tracker/book journal can be an excellent way to keep a written “souvenir” of your reading journey. And if you keep a journal, then maybe you’ll find you don’t need to hold on to the book itself since you already have the memories captured in your digital or printed journal.

6. Borrow Books or Go Digital

Going forward, if you find you often read books that you enjoy but don’t necessarily need on your shelves, then borrowing from the library or friends or switching to a digital format can be an excellent way to keep your book collection organized and decluttered while still reading books you enjoy.

I love my Kindle Paperwhite, because it allows me to purchase books for less or read ebooks from my library…and I don’t have to worry about the books taking up space on my shelves when I’m not sure I want to keep them around forever.

Borrowing physical books from the library or friends is also fantastic, as it allows you to read books in a physical format but not worry about them taking up space on your shelves forever either! So these ideas can be a great way to help you sustain your neatly organized shelves once you’ve decluttered the books you already own.

Have you decluttered your shelves before? Or are you decluttering your books now? Let us know how it’s going in the comments!

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