After getting some practice with digital cleanup, I found confronting the detritus to sort and purge in the house a little easier to get my mind around. I started with the kids' bookcases, with this year's goal of making better use of all the things we already own guiding the way.The basic rules I set were:
* Set up an empty box for the items good enough to donate, and get a big garbage bag for the throwaways.
* If the book is damaged, smelly, etc., toss it.
* If it is in excellent condition, donate.
* If it's in moderate condition, but not water or food damaged, recycling bin time, unless you are sure it's something rare or useful to someone else.
* If it's in good condition, don't automatically assume an "easy" or "younger" book is not wanted; when in doubt, ask.
My daughter has changed the most in the past year. She started 2011 as a very reluctant, but capable, reader and ended as a voracious fiction fan and Warriors addict who often stays up all night reading in bed. Out went the "early reader" type books, and in came her brother's old collections such as Fablehaven, the Percy Jackson Olympians series, The Mysterious Benedict Society and Illustrated Classics, among many other delights.
My son has always loved reading, and keeping up with his demand for books is a challenge. I still don't have him totally convinced that the Nook is a good thing. He has read The Hunger Games trilogy and the first of The Strain trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro on mine, and enjoyed them both, but he says that he still prefers holding a paper book in his hands. Go figure. At least he has more shelf space now, though I'm sure it won't last.
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