How To Curb Your Book Addiction, Part II

It's time for the exciting conclusion of "How To Curb Your Book Addiction!"

I wrote to my friend Carolyn, asking for help when I was in the middle of my 5 Things challenge for the month of January. (Go here if you want to read Part I of this piece, and here if you want to know more about what I'm talking with the whole "challenge for the month of January" thing).

In Part I, Carolyn had some great advice for whittling down some of the books we have in our apartment. I wrote to her because the book collection can feel a bit out of control at times.  We have books under the bed, books in the attic, and books in stacks on all surfaces of our bedroom. We aren't enjoying most of the books- I mean, who wants to venture up to the attic and cuddle up with an old paperback? Not me, Jose. If you have room for the books and continue to enjoy the books, then by all means keep them around. We don't have room for all of them, and need to move some out.

Here's the rest of Carolyn's advice on paring down and organizing your book collection.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

She also includes some reaaaalllly good advice for how to stick with my February goal and not cut corners.  Two bits of advice in one letter- that's gold. 
-Katherine


How To Curb Your Book Addiction, Part II:

After slimming down your collection, it’s time to move on to step four, reorganizing your books. Think about what is efficient in where you place your literary collection. Is there space for your personal books in your bedroom? Can books that are read before bedtime and naps be in bins in the kid’s room? You see where this is going….cookbooks in the kitchen, and so on. I recommend looking at apartmenttherapy.com for inspiration, although it can be overwhelming—who knew so many people had ideas as to how you can arrange your books!

           (You don't think this is my apartment, do you?  Ha!  If it were, would I really be soliciting advice on my book collection?  This person has it made!  This image is from the aforementioned apartment therapy.  So is the one on top).

 

Finally, the organizing of books endeavor should end as it started: spending time thinking about the future of your book collection. For step five, think about what kind of books you would like to continue keeping in your house. What processes can you put in place to keep the book supply manageable?

I hope that helps!

And here’s one last piece of advice for you that actually goes with your fitness February fun- work out wearing only your underwear in front of a mirror. Whenever I do that, I never feel tempted to drop that last bicep curl or skip out on lunges. Plus, the lack of clothing keeps me moving around to stay warm. 

-Carolyn