Book Clutter

I have this week been de-cluttering my bookcases.

Wait - did I just equate clutter with books? *sigh* Yes, even books can become clutter, if they are books I have never read and never will, books I've read but didn't like or liked but not well enough to read again, and books which I hang on to for reasons not entirely clear to me. And, since clutter can sap strength, energy, enthusiasm, and joy as efficiently as Dementors or Misery Eels, I've decided to treat it as I do any other clutter.

Close my eyes tightly and hope that it will disappear on its own.

Earlier this week I read a treatise on clutter in which the author broke clutter down into different types. I could recognize each of those throughout my apartment and my many possessions, but five of these I can see in my bookcases:

Bargain Clutter - Hey, it was a great price - and I might read it. Someday. Maybe. Besides, it's out of print. If I change my mind, I'll never be able to replace it for such a great price.

Freebie Clutter - Well, it's not one I would buy for myself (unless if maybe it was on sale) but it was a gift. You can't give away a gift! What if they come over and see I don't have it? What if they come to the yard sale and see their gift in the 50 cent box? What if they see it in the thrift store I donated it to? (Perhaps this could also be called neurotic clutter.)

Nostalgic / Outgrown Clutter - This book meant a lot to me 25 years ago. I can't get rid of it. It helped define who I am. Okay, so I no longer agree with the ideas. But I did, once.

Aspirational Clutter - I really want to learn about this person/event/topic/philosophy/time/etc. It might help me to become a better person, or give me fascinating new insights. I know it''s possible because it says so on the jacket cover. Okay, the sales receipt stuck in the front tells me it's been sitting on the shelf for the past two decades, but really, I want to learn about it. No, really I do. Kinda. Sorta. Really.

Buyer's Remorse Clutter - Why the heck did I buy this? What was I thinking? To get rid of something here would be to admit I made a poor decision. Far better to hang on to it until I can find a use for it.

Two days ago I had planned to write when I got home, but once home I realized what I really wanted to do was de-clutter. Finding no giant seed pods anywhere in my apartment, I decided it was actually me thinking this extraordinary thought and not a pod person, and I ought to take advantage of this uncommon desire since there was no telling how long the phenomena would last or when it might occur again. I specifically wanted to go through my books, which is even less common, as I'd normally give up most anything else before my books. Previous attempts to weed out my book collection have resulted in mere handfuls much more often than the rare box full.

That night I started on the religion & philosophy bookcase. It is this section which has always seemed almost taboo, almost sacrilegious to clean out, as if by rejecting one interpretation of a topic I am rejecting the entire concept, or even rejecting God. Oh, I realize that is not rational thinking. I think clutter somehow kills brain cells.

For the most part, this round of de-cluttering was easier than most. I was able to make decisions quickly and without remorse or regret. Some books went into the thrift store box, some into the box for PaperBackSwap.com, and some into the eBay box. Some I felt impressed right off were things which would be appreciated by or prove helpful to this friend or that. There were a few I had mixed feelings about keeping or not. I put those aside, although not back on the shelf, because I knew from past experience that fretting about that indecision can stall a project altogether.

When finished, I had a full shelf and a half of empty space - after I had replaced the ones I want to keep. The next night I went on to the next group - psychology, self help, relationships and creativity. This section for the past year has been stored in the spare room, mostly on the floor because I had so many and not a case to put them in where they could all reside together. Here is where I found much fitting into "buyer's remorse", but also much I have simply outgrown - things which I enjoyed at the time but have no interest in now, or topics I was interested in then but see as uninteresting now. Curiously, two of the books in this category held an interesting twist. These were books I had attempted to share with others but which were met with ridicule. The opinions of these individuals were more important to me than my own ideas, and so I quietly put the offending tomes away. Now I look at them and see the same worth I saw those many years ago. One of these I had outgrown; it no longer "fit" my belief or value system. The other I decided still - or perhaps again - had worth to me.

Interestingly, this larger selection was easier to weed out, and those which "made the cut" fit nicely into the cleared space from the night before. From both nights, the books I've chosen to keep are ones I've read but feel I’d like to refer to again and share with others, and ones I haven’t yet read but which I feel will help me to accomplish some changes I’m trying to make in my life right now.

Like previous clutter purges, this has proven to be a bit of a catharsis for me. Getting rid of physical clutter seems to have a direct effect on emotional clutter. I still have much to do. I still have science and history and dictionaries to go through in my non-fiction. And I have twice as much fiction, which might prove more daunting, as I've always loved fiction more than nonfiction. I want to keep my momentum, but I don't want to stress about it, so I hope to approach the remainder of the task with the same relaxed attitude: This is me. This is not. I feel good about what I've already done. I might be the only one who can really see the difference at this point (especially as the boxes are still here!) but that's okay. The main difference is in how it feels. It feels as if as the clutter is pushed out, it is taking a lot of tension with it, and allowing room for more peace and creativity. And I like that.

Ereader update

There was one possibility I considered in comparing reading books electronically and reading paper+ink books, but not thinking I would really encounter the problem, I had not previously included it in my lists of comparison. But now I have, so I can state, from personal experience, that the old fashioned, paper-ink-glue style of books does have a distinct advantage over the metal-plastic-circuitry style of books.

Both will make a "Crack!" sound if you accidentally step upon them. With the more conventional medium of reading, a bit of glue and mailing tape will fix the problem in a matter of hours, and depending upon your inherent talents for book binding, won't leave a scar.

On the other hand, the crack! you hear while using the new and improved electronic format will require a phone call to a sympathetic customer service rep, who will promise to send out a return/replacement kit, which you will wait for two days past the promised arrival date before calling back, whereupon you will call and speak to polite but seemingly not-as-interested-in-your-problem-as-the-other rep, who will tell you that the "order is pending but should be going out shortly" and you will wait two weeks before trying email which will bring the prompt response of "Your order is still pending and is currently under investigation why it is still pending."

In the meantime, I have enjoyed my other reader from another manufacturer. Yes, I have two readers, the second of which was ordered before the first one (the one involved in the accidental steppage) arrived, the reason why it was ordered when I had another coming involves a brain burp and that is all that is necessary to be said on the matter.

Well, I enjoyed it until last night, when it froze on a document -- and none of the buttons - Back, Home, Page Up, Page Down, Magnify, Enter, POWER or even RESET -- work. And the computer no longer recognizes the device when it is plugged in.

Today as I was leaving for work I brought along a REAL book.