In this article, you will learn how you can create more space in your apartment and at the same time give books a new life without any effort.
When was the last time you picked up the books on your bookshelf? It would be nice if they didn't just gather dust on the shelf and take up your space, but rather could continue to be used by other people.
What keeps us from sorting out: Our emotional relationship with a book
We often find it difficult to part with books. We find it particularly difficult with books that are interwoven with certain phases of life or personal relationships. These include children's books that our parents read to us or books that contain a personal dedication. For reasons of space, these books often end up on the second row of shelves or disappear into boxes in the basement.
The underlying worry and how you free yourself anyway
In our experience, our fear behind this is that when we sort out a book, we also lose the memories that we experienced with the book. Most of the time, just looking at the book is enough to bring back those memories. The best solution from our experience is to simply take one or two photos of a book and then sort it out. In this way, we can awaken the memory at any time by looking at the photo, and at the same time we have space in our home again. Anyone who has sorted out more often knows the liberating feeling that just feels good. Less space is occupied by the past and more space is created for the present and the future. And if we do want to read one of the books we sorted out again in the future, we can find the book again on the second-hand market.
How to quickly scan all your bookshelves
Our proven tip for quickly sorting out books is broken down into three steps.
Step 1 - Clear everything out of the shelf
Take all the books off the shelf and stack them on a table, for example. It is important that the distance to the shelf is a few meters, so that the temptation to simply put a book back on the shelf for the sake of simplicity is not too great. After the shelf is dusted, you're ready to go.
Step 2 - Consider and decide on guiding questions
First, think about the criteria according to which you want to sort out the books. To achieve the greatest effect, you can really pick up each book individually. The following questions can help you decide:
- Have I used the book at least once in the last 5 years?
- Do I associate a positive memory with the book? If so, is a photo of the book not enough?
If the answer to these questions is no, the book belongs in the "sorted out" pile. If you are unsure, you can create a third "unsure" pile in the middle and decide later.
Step 3 - What to do with the sorted out books?
In order to reduce the cutting of fresh wood, the sustainable solution is clearly to bring the books back into the cycle so that someone else can read them or use them in a different way. If you live in Berlin, we at PeekUp will pick up your books from your home and take care of finding new owners for them. The advantage of our service is that we also rid you of all other items. Here you can find an overview of what we can pick up from you.
Here are our ideas on how to get rid of your books:
- Give them to family members or friends. To do this, make a stack at home and casually invite visitors to take the books they like.
- Put the books in public bookcases, which are usually converted telephone booths and are now available in many cities.
- Sell the books at a flea market or individually online.
- Book a PeekUp for your books (and other things you want to get rid of)