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Sustainable Decluttering: What Happens to the Books We Let Go?
This week is National Organising Week. This year, APDO (The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers) is highlighting the effects of overconsumption and what we can do when we have too much stuff.
Books can be some of the hardest things to declutter. And they are a BIG part of what I work on with my clients.
They hold memories. They remind us of people, places and different chapters of our lives. They represent money spent, books we meant to read, and books we might read again one day.
So when I’m helping someone declutter their bookshelves (or book cupboards, book rooms, or simply piles of books), I know that deciding what to let go of can be about much more than simply deciding whether a book is useful.
Sometimes, though, a bookshelf needs a little breathing space.
And knowing that the books you’re ready to part with can still have a purpose can make that process a little easier.
Giving books another life
As well as being a professional declutterer and organiser, I’m also a trustee for Friends of Deddington Library.
When I’m helping clients declutter books, I’m able to donate them to FoDL, where they can be sold to raise funds for our local library - helping support this valuable community resource while giving the books the chance to be read and enjoyed again.
But what happens to the books that FoDL isn’t able to sell?
Where appropriate, these can be passed on to Katherine House Hospice, where they may find a new home through their charity shops and help raise funds for another important local cause.
And sometimes, a book has simply reached the end of its reading life. It might be out of date (trust me, nobody needs Photoshop for Dummies from 1995 - both Photoshop and the world have moved on!), very worn, damaged or in
a condition that means it isn't suitable for resale.
Even then, it doesn't necessarily have to become waste.
These books can be sold for pulp, allowing them to still generate funds for charity rather than simply being thrown away.
Not every book needs a new reader
I think this is an important part of sustainable decluttering.
We can sometimes put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure that every item we let go of goes to the “right” place - particularly when it’s something sentimental like a book.
But not every book has to find a new reader for it to have value.
Perhaps it raises money for a local charity. Perhaps someone else gets to enjoy it. Perhaps its materials are given another purpose.
And sometimes, letting go is simply about recognising that a book has already done what it needed to do.
The memories and stories we associate with our books don't disappear just because the physical book leaves our home.
Sometimes letting go of a book isn't about deciding that its story no longer matters.
It's about allowing it to become part of someone else's story — or allowing the materials themselves to have another life.
Are your books taking over your home?
You don't have to decide what to do with them all at once.
Books can be particularly difficult to let go of. Whether you have an overflowing bookcase, cupboards full of books, a room that has become a library, you may have inherited other people's books, or simply piles that have accumulated over the years, OXDO can help you work through them without judgement or pressure.
Together, we can decide what you’d like to keep, what you’re ready to let go of, and where those books could go next — whether that’s to a new reader, a local charity, or another useful purpose.
More space on the shelves. More space in your home. And the knowledge that your books can have a life beyond it.
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