Have you ever felt overwhelmed during the month of December with all the stuff that enters your home? The trick I've found helps me is to declutter throughout the month. Will you join me in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge?
Each day this month I'll share some decluttering tips and ideas so you can end the month with the same number of items in your home (or maybe even less!) than what you started the month with.
Today I'm sharing tips on decluttering your kids' books.
Today's Suggested Decluttering Task
Books are really hard for some people to declutter. They are often expensive, full of memories, or they were gifts. Not to mention the fact that books are educational on so many different levels and parents want their kids to read.
But books can take up a lot of space and collect a lot of dust if they aren't being read regularly. Here are some tips to help you declutter your kids' books:
- Give away any books that haven't been read in the past year
- Declutter books that are below your child's current reading level
- Recycle books that are ripped or are missing pages (double check your local rules for recycling books)
- Purge books that you have duplicates of (it happens!)
- Donate books that your children are no longer interested in
However...
If your child has a few extra special, favourite books, you can keep a few of them. You'd be surprised how many times kids will keep reading their favourites well beyond their current reading level. And if you have a memory box for your kids you could keep a couple of favourite books from different stages of their lives (special cloth book, favourite board book, first book they read all by themselves, first chapter book, etc.). If you don't have the space to store sentimental books, you could take pictures of them instead.
It all depends on your motivation for decluttering and the space you have available. Be as ruthless or gentle as you need to be to achieve your goals.
Decluttering My Kids' Books
My kids both decluttered their books this summer so they didn't have many left that they were ready to declutter. My daughter has the most books but is gradually giving more of them away now that she's reading more chapter books and less picture or story books. She still really likes her old favourites though and I love that she enjoys reading, so I always let her choose what to keep and what to let go of.
My son did find 2 textbooks on his shelf that he didn't want anymore. These were both garage sale finds (one for extra practice and one for general interest).
After Christmas, I'll ask my kids if they would like to give away any of their Christmas books that we're currently reading as part of our Advent Calendar of Books. I think there might be a couple.
Here are a few other posts showing my kids decluttering their books:
My Progress in the #NetZeroClutter challenge
So I don't have kids' books to declutter this month, but I have been decluttering lots of other stuff! Just random stuff from around our home.
I'm donating 1 blanket and 1 sheet set (we don't use the blanket anymore and we bought some new sheets for our master bedroom a few months ago so I'm donating this set). I'm also throwing out a little wreath that I've had for years (a friend made it for me but it's been starting to fall apart since it's so old and it's also a huge dust collector). And a shot glass is going in the garbage (it was a wedding favor but we still have the other one and don't need both - but since it's got an inscription on it I don't want to donate it). And I'm dropping an old CD/cassette player off at the e-waste drop-off this week (it doesn't work any more).
I'm also donating an old full-length mirror and dropping off an old cell phone at the e-waste drop off (not pictured).
So that puts me at -9 items today in the #NetZeroClutter challenge and -107 overall. Nothing too earth shattering today but slow and steady wins the race :)
What's Next For You?
Take some time today to declutter your kids' books. Or anything you'd like to declutter! Take some pictures and share your progress on social media using the hashtag #NetZeroClutter. Let me know how you're doing in the challenge so I can cheer you on!
Sign up to receive my blog posts by email so you get each day's post in your email inbox every morning. You can unsubscribe after the challenge is over if you don't want to continue receiving my blog posts by email.
I'd also love for you to join our 365 Items in 365 Days Facebook group as you do this challenge! You'll be able to share with others what you're decluttering and feel encouraged and inspired by everyone else who is also decluttering!
If you'd like more decluttering ideas, you can check out my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board on Pinterest.
So that's today's post in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge! I'm enjoying doing this challenge and I'm excited to have you join me. I love hearing all the stories of how much more you're enjoying your holidays because you're not overwhelmed by all the stuff in your home!
How many kids' books did you declutter? How are your numbers in the #NetZeroClutter challenge so far?
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Here are all the posts in this challenge in case you missed any or want to share some with your friends or family!
