I started the decluttering process, and the easiest place to start was the book shelf. We have a set of large, semi-built-in bookcases in our family room that are stuffed with books. Kids books, classics, books on marriage and parenting, bible studies, fun paperback novels, old textbooks, and more. I invited my friend Anna over to help me make some of the decisions with a bit more objectivity. We pretty easily boxed up many of the little kids books, outdated technical manuals, and paperbacks that have been read but weren’t so fantastic that we would read them again. I paused on the pregnancy, baby, and childbirth books, but then was reminded that if I need info about something going on with one of the kids, I just use the internet, not these books. After this first culling, we moved 6 boxes of books to the garage – but that represented only about one third of all the books on the shelves. Still, it felt good to make that initial step (though the empty shelves look a little weird now). I put them in my trunk planning to drive them to McKay’s immediately, so the process is complete. But I couldn’t do it!

There were two issues holding me back: first, this was before we actually agreed that we were going to go. Even though I really want to declutter whether we move or not, there is a part of me that is glad for the excuse of moving as it makes the decluttering decisions much easier. I know we don’t want to ship boxes of books across the ocean unless we’re really going to use them!

The second problem is that I find myself thinking if you have the space to store things, why not have them handy in case you or someone you know needs them? I’m not sure if this is an American mindset, or if it’s just a widespread human condition to think there is some sort of security or happiness in our stuff, but I find myself fighting it. If I have all kinds of books on my shelves, does it really make a difference to my daily life? I do like the convenience of grabbing books (outside of our curriculum) that relate to what the kids and I are learning in our homeschool adventures, but how often does that really happen?  If I press myself for an answer, it is probably not more than every couple of months.  We could go to the library or search the internet instead.

I still have the books in my trunk, so clearly I need some help in this area. First, I read a bunch of articles about how to let go of your stuff. Then Ryan and I talked through the various issues, and I came out of the conversation ready to drop off the books in my trunk and also go back to remove most of the other books from the shelves as well. Here are some of the key points that were helpful to me:

1. Most of the books we want or need to read for school or entertainment can be borrowed from the library, or purchased for a very low price from the used book store. This is not true for many of our Christian novels and parenting books, so those may get stored before our move so that the kids can read them later, or we can lend them to friends.  The homeschool curriculum books are a little harder to borrow, but there are so many used curriculum sales, I plan to only keep the items that we will really be using for our core curriculum, or re-read as part of our history cycles.

2. More and more often lately, we are choosing audiobooks or ebooks. Probably even the books on our shelves are now available in those formats, so if we ever wanted to read (or hear) them again, we might invest as needed to get a digital version. That means that the only benefit of the paper version is the visual reminder on our shelves that might help us remember which books to locate in another format. This actually happened recently: As we were seeking counsel on whether or not to move, our pastor recommended reviewing Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God study. I knew right where it was on my shelf! We pulled it out, and read a little bit, but after several days hadn’t gotten very far because it is hard to find the time to sit down and read. Then I looked up the title on Audible, and viola! We decided to use a credit to buy the audiobook, and we were off! Ryan was able to listen on his commute, and I listened generally in the early morning while making coffee, or right before bed. It has been so helpful!

3. The idea of having a stocked library in our home is a romantic one, more than a practical one. I do prefer to read longer books on actual paper rather than on an electronic screen. I think the notion of curling up by a fire or in a hammock with a good book is a happy, romantic one from my childhood. I was an avid reader, and paper books are what I had, so that’s what fits into my ideal. But Ryan pointed out that our kids have different preferences, because this is a new generation (and he asked them about it in my presence to prove it). They would much prefer to read on a Kindle, where they can have a super light thing to carry that has multiple books on it at once (joke books interspersed with novels), touch a word they don’t know for a definition, keep track of what percentage they’ve read, and even get an estimate for how many more minutes it will take for them to finish the chapter.

So then the idea of owning paper books instead of just borrowing what we need in either format becomes a matter of nostalgia. When we come back from Spain, will I want shelves full of books because of some positive nostalgic feelings it gives me? Maybe. But would the cost of storing the books be worth it? I think the freedom of having less stuff to move, maintain, and organize wins out. If I decide later I want to replace some of the books, I’m sure I can get copies very inexpensively.

4. Reading articles on how to let go of your stuff really helped me assess the reality of my needs and desires.    These two articles, in particular, were helpful:

10 Ways to Let Go of Your Stuff  (“Tear down the museum, and one day almost never comes” hit me in particular.)

Seven Keys to Letting Go of Clutter (Key 5 about removing obstacles is excellent to ponder.)

It is going to be a very emotional process, evaluating everything we own for our true need for it, and the relative value of the real cost of storing it vs. replacing it later if needed!  I think this exercise with the books was an excellent start for me on this process.