I love books! I just thought I would get that out of the way before sharing about my minimalist book collection!
Pairing down my fairly large library of books has been a process. In most areas of my life i am pretty minimal but this was one area where I hung on to too much.
If you love books but feel like you have too many to read and enjoy then this post is for you!
Why reduce your book collection?
Firstly you may be wondering why I felt the need to declutter my books in the first place since i am an avid reader. Well as i touched on above, I just had more than i could read and enjoy. Some of them had been sitting dormant on the shelf for years! One day, I told myself. But one day never came. Especially since I use my kindle more often now, i just didn’t go to my shelf to read.
As Marie Kondo says in her book, that the time has passed where we wanted to read it. This was true with many of my books. I no longer desired to read many of them but felt I should. There were others that I once enjoyed and referred back to that were no longer of interest to me. It was time to let go.
Letting go of more and more books has been like peeling layers off of an onion. Usually I would donate 10-20 books at a time. Finally I could see more clearly what I actually enjoyed and wanted to keep. This may change in the future where I may add new favourites and let go of others. Yet it seems I have reached a happy number for myself.
Recently I have really amped up my minimalist lifestyle where I want to live even more lightly. This decision means that only the essentials are staying for me. Or what I believe are essential for me to live lightly yet comfortably. This may seem extreme to other book lovers but this is where I have found my sweet spot. (5 books).
What are the benefits of owning a minimalist book collection?
Here are the benefits I have noticed:
- Knowing what books you own.
- Only keeping your favourites that bring you joy.
- Easier to move. (yes books can get very heavy)!
- Feeling emotionally lighter-I don’t have lots of books wanting my attention.
- Aesthetically pleasing-my books look beautiful on my shelf
- Easy to store and organize
- Living in the present-these are the books I need now!
There will be many other benefits to owning less books and I am positive you will feel more freedom by having a relevant selection of your favourite books.
A minimalist book collection should reflect who you are now
Creating a book collection is fun and liberating no matter what the amount you choose to keep. The most important point is that your minimalist book collection reflects who you are, now. What i mean by that, is that you love and enjoy every book you own. If you pick up a book and immediately don’t want to read it then chances are that isn’t going to change. Maybe you have some sentimental books that you are sure you cannot part with. I encourage you to consider if these books still hold sentimental value to you.
My philosophy is to let go off any book that isn’t fulfilling it’s purpose and being fully appreciated. If someone else out there could be enjoying this book then I’d rather pass it on instead of hold on to it.
Utilise other options rather than buying books
If you are struggling at all with letting go of books remember that there are other options for obtaining books or information again. Utilise the Library, charity stores, e-books, audiobooks, second-hand book stores and finally buying books new. Sharing books between family and friends is also a great idea if you have similar tastes. If you need certain information from reference type books then it can usually be found on the internet. I no longer want to keep books just because they have a few pieces of info in them.
In conclusion I am so much happier with my minimalist book collection and I’m looking forward to the good reads that await. 🙂