What has helped you with your out of control TBR? Share strategies here.

I have a problem besides the obvious lack of skill when adding a link to a post. (How the heck does that work?)

http://barklesswagmore.booklikes.com/post/811673/post

One day I will be brave and post a picture of my collection but not today.

Thanks for creating the group. I love Avatar Penny in the midst of her online video game addiction!

I was involved in an online support group elsewhere, and have really improved my habits. (Though as you'll known if you use the coupon site, I can't consider myself cured. :- ) Here are some of the strategies that work for me. YMMV

1) I take the problem seriously. People who love to read joke a lot about our TBRs, and that's a fun shared experience. But they can also be genuinely stressful, waste money, and use space we need for other things.

2) I try not to get the book in the first place. It's so much harder for me to get rid of a book once I own it.

3) I think about the benefits of having more space in my life, and less stress.

4) I remind myself of how easy it is for me to acquire books and how unlikely it is that any one book will be so utterly amazing I will be bereft if I don't read it.

5) I check out reviews from those I trust and learn that many books are probably not all that.

6) I try not to get caught up in hype and wind up buying books I will never even want to read.

7) When decided to declutter, if I don't even want to try a book, it's a good sign it should just go.

I probably have more, because I've been working on this a long time. And my home is in such better shape. Though my ebooks are still out of control. :-

Reply to post #2 (show post):
I know, isn't she awesome? I feel that way all the time. But much less around books than I used to!

Reply to post #3 (show post):
Thank you for post #3. I have been working on decluttering my life for a few years and we've made great strides. Most of the rooms look spartan and I love that. It's so much easier clean to a house with minimal "stuff" BUT the basement and garage are another story entirely. Those are still too cluttered with books, old furniture and other assorted crap we've accumulated over the years. One thing I try to do with everything but books and beauty products (those are my weaknesses and I have a lot of work to do there) is remove 2 items for every 1 brought into the house. This works great with clothing and other items I have too many of (candles, body lotion etc) and it also cuts way down on what I buy because I'm trying to use things up so I can try something new.

Except for books, I am now strict on how much space I let categories of stuff take up.

Years and years ago, I never DNF'd books. I would put aside ones I wasn't getting Into for "later." Well, after a few years of still not getting into when tried and a lot of (no offense to the authors of good indie books I've read) downloaded ebook dreck wasting my time -- I learned to DNF. And donate. Life's too short with too few reading hours and too many books to waste on ones I cannot get into. I even get impatient with ebook samples and DNF.

A harder strategy for me, after years of bad or limited book budgets, is to say "no" when moving or post yardsale neighbors offer me their books. I used to take everything and try to read it. Now I say "no thank you but if you like I can drop at library or goodwill for you." I know damn good and well that if neighbors and I had reading tastes in common we would have been exchanging books long before that offer—I just have to keep reminding myself. I have now sorted and donated years of neighbor hand me downs. It helps that some reading neighbors with reading kids have moved in ... What a cycle!

Otherwise, letting go of TBR books so far isn't happening very quickly. I'm having luck donating what I replace in ebook form or what I know I can borrow via library ebook loan. But, I think I enjoy too much thinking "hmmm, what am I in the mood to read" and re-browsing the TBR pile to find something forgotten but now in the mood for. I am very diligent about donating once read as rarely do I re-read books I come to as an adult. I have been making myself read at least one TBR book a month because they are all books I want to read before allowed to buy a new book in hardcopy. And. no more hardcopies come into the house unless an older TBR goes out. I cannot bring myself to consider ebooks not taking up space in my house as a hoarding problem.

At least I am doing better about bringing more hardcopies into the house. Until I pass by a booksigning ... Autographed copies are collectibles and not hoarding, right?

I make sure to keep on mailing lists for local places that do book sales. Our library system has two big annual ones with donate deadlines. Having those deadlines in mind puts me in gear to clean up the stacks. Coming up around Derby time one of our local cancer charities has a big book sale and in May a big series of yard sales my neighborhood participates in.

I do better with deadlines. And by knowing in addition to cleaning my house and helping my clutter that I am helping others.

I don't do well trying to have yard sales myself. I never clear out enough to make it worth my time but don't mind putting up a table at the neighborhood charity one or dumping stuff on neighborhood kids they can sell and keep all the money just for hauling it out of my house. So I also look for neighborhood yard sale signs to go up.

I rarely find selling stuff worth the effort. I donate and get a tax deduction if the item has some real value, but usually don't bother. One of the more useful things I've learned is that one of traits of a hoarder is thinking that everything you own is valuable, when usually it's just junk!

Donate and tax deductions easier (plus the feeling that the book will be appreciated by new reader) and more lucrative—unless you file 1040EZ and don't do deductions.

Goodwill in conjunction with IRS offers this guide to setting value of donations guide which says hardcovers are $1.79, Soft Cover 89¢, children's 59¢.

It can be worth turning a recently bought amazon book back to them via their resell program or checking the price on a very old out of print book in case you do have something collectible; but, otherwise selling a book on ebay, half.com, amazon.com or other sites just puts you in competition with bigger fish that can afford to list book at 1¢-$99¢, plus hassle of shipping, plus possibly a buyer who says there's a problem where you have to refund what you did get.

I'd rather count up number of hardcover, softcover and children's books and give to a charity or shelter all in one trip than ship each one.