It’s a new year. Now I am not one for doing resolutions. I am sure if I had set one that I’d have given up on it by now. If you have made a resolution, I hope you’re succeeding. If not, no judgement from me.
Resolutions aside, January is a great time to declutter. Chances are you got new stuff for the holidays. If you have kids, your house is probably full of a lot of this new stuff. All this new stuff littering your house makes it the perfect time to get rid of the old stuff. The library can help.
Check out the book “Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living” by Cary Telander Fortin. This book will go more in depth about why you are cluttered and how to adjust your lifestyle to prevent you from going back.
Once you figure all of this out, it’s time to purge your house. Go through and see what you don’t need anymore.
Once you have a pile of stuff to get rid of, you have to figure out exactly what to do with it. The easy response is to pitch it. My guess is that most of whatever you don’t need isn’t quite ready to live in a landfill.
Many people were generous enough to give during the holiday season. That season is now over. It doesn’t mean that the need is over. People still need warm clothes to get them through the winter. Food pantries are still giving out food to families in need. Your children’s gently-used toys could be a huge blessing to a family that just lost their home in a fire.
Another item you might be ready to part with could be books. In my view, some books are meant to be kept forever. From the book your grandma used to read to you, to your favorite book from high school, to the complete collection of your favorite series, some books just deserve a permanent place on your book shelf.
There could be many reasons why you might have books to get rid of. Maybe your child is past his Magic Tree House stage, and the 25 books you own from the series are just taking up too much room. Possibly, you bought the newest John Grisham on a whim at the airport while waiting for a flight, and you’re not going to re-read it. Whatever your reason, look to the library.
A book donated to the library could take many different paths. If it is popular and in good shape, it might make it onto the shelf for many people to enjoy. More likely, it will end up in the book sale organized and operated by the Library Associates. The profits from these sales go straight back to the library to help in a variety of ways, such as funding for the many great programs we provide.
There is a relatively new way that your donation can help at the library. We have recently taken over the day-to-day operations of the Book Express. The goal of the Book Express is to get books into the hands of kids who might not be exposed to them as often as other kids. We go to schools, neighborhoods, and special events to do crafts, read stories and hand out free books.
The Book Express is set to run in the warmer months, likely April through October. We had a trial run of about six weeks in the fall, and I think it was a success. It was so successful in fact, that we ran out of books.
If you have any new or gently used books that you would like to declutter from your home, consider donating them to the library for the Book Express. We are most in need of board books, picture books, and books that have popular characters or are from newer series. When donating them, please make sure to mention that they are for the Book Express.
Maybe you made a resolution to declutter, to donate more, or to save money. Maybe you don’t do resolutions, but these things are just something you want to do. No matter your reason, think about the library for some of your decluttering needs.
Valerie Baute is the Bookmobile Manager at the Bartholomew County Public Library. She can be reached at [email protected]
