31 Days To A Clutter Free Life Day 5: Books and Magazines

31 Days To A Clutter Free Life Day 5: Books and Magazines

Welcome to Day 5 of the 31 Days To A Clutter Free Life Challenge! If you want to find out what the challenge is all about or would like to read the previous posts, simply go here.

Today’s challenge will focus on books and magazines. I used to be a books and magazine hoarder a few years ago. I love to read, so letting go of something that makes me happy was very hard to do. However, my collection was taking up space that could be used for other things. I also kept collecting books and magazines, but not necessarily reading them. What helps me keep the book clutter down now is the following:

• I purchase books in eBook format.
• I only purchase if I REALLY want to read it.
• We donate the books we already read.
• I only purchase printed books that I will reference more than once.

The few printed books that I currently own are stored in a flat plastic bin under my side of the bed. It’s easy for me to find and I don’t have to worry about it taking up extra space. My kids also have designated spaces for their books and I make sure they donate books they no longer love.

A while back I shared how I organize my favorite magazine articles in order to keep magazine clutter down. This is what I started out with: a big pile of magazines that was taking up an entire drawer.

I cut out the pages of my favorite articles that I wanted to keep and placed together in similar categories (recipes, organizing etc.).

I used a 3-hole puncher so that I could place the magazine pages in a binder.

Now all my favorite articles are together in one place. It’s much more organized and takes up way less space.

How is the challenge going for you? If you love to read like I do, today might be one of the harder days of the challenge. But knowing that someone else will get to enjoy my old books as much as I did makes it a bit easier.

If you want to join in or would like more tips for today’s challenge, check out Living Well Spending Less for more details. Let me know if you are also doing the challenge so we can cheer each other on!