Tip of the Day - #22

Simplicity this Spring!

I thought I would follow-up my post on simplicity called, Cheese and Tomato Sandwiches, with another post that built on the idea of sticking to the basics.

I was looking for my copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, because I think it’s a great example of a book filled with simple advice that has withstood the test of time.

I looked and looked, and eventually realized that I had a problem larger than a misplaced book. Like many book-o-philes, I HAVE TOO MANY BOOKS. In my office, I have 5 sets of shelves, each 2 shelves high. I also have several plastic bins FILLED with books. And these are all nonfiction books, our pleasure reading books are in the living room. This is just too much!

This is a picture of just one of my five sets of shelves and about half of the plastic bins.

The best way to discuss simplicity is to model it. So, for this spring’s cleaning session, I am going to seriously downsize my books so that I am better able to use them. Here’s what I have decided:

1 set of shelves for business books.
1 set of shelves for training and OD books.
1 set of shelves for travel and author signed books.
1 set of shelves for writing and reference books.
1 set of shelves for current reads and overflow.
And NO books in plastic bins.

Here’s what I am going to do with the excess books:

I have 1 box of books I will donate locally.

I have listed 85 books (many by the greats like Peters and Goldratt) on eBay (sounds like a lot, but eBay makes it easy to list books using the ISBN). I am going to donate half the proceeds to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico (you can read more about them here in a post I did on my Chile Pepper blog) and will get a few new organization tools from Ikea with the rest. The books all start at $1 and you can check out my listings here: My ebay name is wseattlewriter!

This is a great time of year to get uncluttered. If you have not touched something in over a year, question whether you really need to hang on to it. A cluttered office leads to a cluttered mind.

I never found the Dale Carnegie book, by the way, I must have loaned it out!

Comments

[Bruce]

You can never have too many books. I am moving house, again, and just got finished packing my books into 21 boxes. I am pleased to say there were only two duplicates.

Four years ago I placed my household goods in storage. I shipped 4 boxes of books with me and stored 38 boxes of books. Those boxes are still in storage but will be reunited with me in 6 months.

Living in London you don't get much space so I am soon facing a problem. What will I do with the new kid that is due to show up at the same time as boxes of books?

I think it is time to seek treatment.

Honey can we get cybernanny and block Amazon?

[Lisa Haneberg]

Bruce - Your addiction is stronger than mine! Liberate yourself of some of those books, buddy. Otherwise, your books will occupy your space while you end up in the dog house.