The Booklover's Guide To Uncluttering

My two biggest struggles with clutter come from books and papers. I love books and, while I am arguably better than I used to be, buy them far more quickly than I read them.

Unclutterer has some interesting advice for booklovers dealing with "book clutter":

1. Don’t keep more books than you can fit on available bookshelf space.
2. Don’t keep books for the sole purpose of impressing other people.
3. Get rid of any book you’ve read, don’t plan on reading or referencing again, is in the public domain, and can be found in its entirety online.
4. If you live near a public library or a used bookstore, try to think of these places as an extension of your personal collection.

After deciding which books should go, there are many resources available to you. I’ve used or read positive reviews about the following services: Powell’s, my local used bookstore, half.com, PaperBackSwap.com, donating to the local library used book sale, BookMooch.com, BookScouter.com, and donating to charities that want specific types of books (nursing homes, literacy programs, etc.).

Getting rid of books can be incredibly tough to do, but can also be rewarding. When I left Orlando, I got rid of well over 100 books. Nearly all of them were either books that are readily available in most public libraries or books that I thought I'd have little chance of reading or referring to again. I haven't missed a single one.

Now if only I could make some progress with all that paper...