I may be moving/downsizing in the near future, so I've been going through the bookcases in my home. I'm also doing a five-a-day declutter challenge, so I usually bring a bag of books to work. I give my coworkers first dibs on them, then take the leftovers to the local library for their "friends" sales. Also I have taken some to the Salvation Army.
This is probably going to sound neurotic, but I worry about what the bookshelves will look like when I'm done. Currently, we have a wall-length bookshelf (think IKEA "Billy", with three of them put together). It does not have only books on it, but some of my ceramic collection. It's bolted to the wall and unless it won't fit in the theoretical new place, I want to keep it. Another is a glass-fronted old-fashioned unit that belonged to my great-grandparents. Again, I want to keep it. Less important are three three-shelf units, probably made of fiberboard, two of which were bought by my sister when she was in college. I'm not really emotionally attached to them. Most, if not all, of the stuff on one of them could be tossed (think magazines I don't want anymore, outdated catalogs replaced by the Internet).
I guess I'm concerned about the scary emptiness of the large wall-length unit. I still have many books I know I want to keep, so maybe it won't be so bad.
Has anyone else experienced this anxiety when decluttering? Also, any ideas on how to make the shelves look attractive as they are decluttered. Some of the books are falling over and there are gaps here and there. Eventually I'll have to do a big shifting of the books, but I'm working on one shelf at a time to make it less overwhelming. Thank you!!
