One thing that has helped me was that I registered some of my books on http://www.bookcrossing.com. (You have to be a member of the site to register the books, but it doesn’t cost anything.) The way it works is that one registers a book to get an ID number on it, reads it (or not), and then either sends to someone else (a “controlled release”) or leaves it in a random public place (a “wild release”). Ideally, the next person to “find” the book will go to the site and leave a “journal entry” regarding the book’s whereabouts (though there’s no promises about that). Bookcrossing helped me get rid of books that I had already read and didn’t want anymore as well as give me incentive to read books that I had gotten at one time but hadn’t gotten around to reading so that, when I was done, I could let said books go for someone else to enjoy.

Nowadays, I buy or otherwise obtain books (preferably used) with the intent of having them on hand just long enough to read them before I “release” them. I even have a blog devoted to this project:

http://rabpia.blogspot.com/

The “rabpia” by the way (and is really RAB-PIA), stands for “Read A Book, Pass It Along.” If you happen to stop by, feel free to leave a note. I should warn you that it’s a relatively new blog, and there may be bugs that need to be worked out along the way. Also, I’ve tried googling it and have yet for it to appear in the search results, so that won’t work. Nonetheless, the blog’s open if you wish to stop by sometime.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this article. I hope you are having a good year so far.

Some more productive suggestions are as follows:

1. Buy bookcases with doors. This will prevent books from collecting dust while forcing you to be more deliberate about pulling them out and puting them away.

2. Slowly organize. Start by turning every book upside down. Then move them to the right place, right side up. If you do this for only 10 minutes a day your entire book collection will be organized in weeks.

3. Maintain a borrower log. Anytime someone wants to borrow a book, or sometime you receive a book on loan, write it down in the log. Keep this log with your books! You may want to use this as a way to write notes about a book you own as well, such as how you were inspired to acquire it.

4. Trade books for real clutter. Instead of getting rid of a book each time you bring a new one into your collection, use this as an excuse to get rid of something which has less value than any book. Throw out old papers, trash, or other unused items.

Don’t be afraid to collect books! Treat them with respect and don’t let them become clutter.