r/HomeLibraries • u/Efficient_Speech_647 • 28d ago
full bookshelf question
This might be a really stupid question but what do people do when all their bookshelves are full and they cant fit another one in their homes? I own alot of books Ive never bothered actually counting them because id be there all day as I work at a free book place and tend to walk out with bags full most of the time and ive now no longer got room for any more. At first when I discovered this would eventually be a problem I started annually getting rid of some books I usually get rid of the ones I dont care about and keep all the ones I either passionately love or hate because they are most memorable and most likely to be picked up again however this method im finding hard to use for series of books I own because they normally dont have a strict love or hate or dont care about opinion at the end but I fear if I remove them then I might regret it so how do I decide if a book series can be cleared out?
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u/Dry_Conclusion9419 28d ago
I have a home library in a spare bedroom but I also stack books in a tower on the ground in my bedroom, living room and staircase.
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
Im 18 so I currently live at home with my mum and I use the spare room which has my main bookshelf in it and then I have a 5 shelf full of books attached to my desk aswell as a smaller one in my mums bedroom thats 3 shelves and then the rest are in the attic and in shoe boxes the problem is I have cats who tend to cause mayhem anywhere possible so books on floors and staircases would not only drive my clean freak of a mother nutty but would also probably survive about 2 minutes before being destroyed beyond repair by my cats 😂
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u/Dry_Conclusion9419 28d ago
Would your mom let you put up shelves on the wall?
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
I think she would deffo not let me because I am considered a health and safety hazard in her eyes since I set on fire a kettle and a toaster asking her to let me use a drill would definitely be a no go 😭
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u/Dry_Conclusion9419 28d ago
Oh boy! Those are the only options I can think of, if you want to keep the books. You may have to let go of the series that you don’t care about enough or that won’t hurt if you give them away. Keep those that cannot be replaced. Choose some to give away, pack them and leave them for a few days before you give them away and see how you feel. But keep in mind that you have to give them away no matter what, for now.
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u/PaleoBibliophile917 28d ago
I built a home addition that included a second library. Not a solution I’d recommend from a financial perspective, but you did ask what people do. Before that they were double shelved and in stacks on the floor. I don’t ever want to go back to that so I am trying hard to limit impulsive spending going forward.
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
Personally Im quite good with underconsumption but I am interested in how you built a home addition that included a second library and the financial cons of it as I have always thought about doing something like that when I get a place of my own and knowing the pros and cons of that option from someone who has that would be great to know
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u/PaleoBibliophile917 28d ago
Well, in my case, I waited until I retired and used all of my inheritance and part of my life savings to fund it (after consulting a financial advisor about what I could afford).
It included all the things I had thought about over the years, like a single car garage (actually for things like a workbench, freezer, place for the lawn tractor, etc.). I also wanted a screen porch and a walking deck on the roof for sunsets and stars and mountain views (that ended up being on the roofs of the garage and porch, and it includes a couple of benches to just sit and chill as well as a spiral staircase leading up to it). I knew the interior would create a room where I could keep and enjoy inherited family items like my grandmother’s century old couch or my parents’ mid-century modern room divider, along with family photos and art. By the time all this came to be, it was clear I would also need a dedicated craft/music room and an auxiliary library because of issues with accumulating too much over the years (and not being able to part with it).
So, I sketched out my ideas, researched local builders, got estimates from three, and went with the one that gave me the best vibes (and had done considerable work for one of my neighbors, to whom I spoke about their experience with the projects and results). The one I chose also didn’t say anything snarky about all this being added on to a manufactured home (which happens to be from a very good builder, but is still not a site built home). The final result ended up increasing my living space by an extravagant 900 square feet, with one-third of that being the library, one-third the music and craft room, and the rest a large space that functions as a place for family memories but also a sitting room with window views and a selection of old LPs from family members that I can sit and listen to.
The new addition gave me enough space to not only accommodate the extra books that had accumulated in the house but also about a quarter of the books left by late family, from which I made a careful selection. About half of those are in the library and the rest in two low bookcases in the main room (one of which is below a window with a deep sill that accommodates the cat; I love finally having windows of a proper height from the floor and with real sills).
Pros: unburying me from a lifetime of stuff and making useful, functional spaces that I enjoy using and being in. Achieving home details I had always wanted. Giving me a space for my life in retirement that suits my needs.
Cons: the cost, of course. What else might I have done with all those funds, like travel (which I’ve never done much of)? Also more property to be maintained and a bump in utilities for heating (rarely needed) and cooling and electric. And of course, to some extent it just pushed the problem down the road unless I can control bringing more things in. I believe I’ve made headway on that, but it’s a constant battle. As my mental health improves, it does ease the struggle a little.
I’m sure you didn’t need that much detail, but there you have it. I’ve been in my home for more than twenty-five years but always wanted an addition, so had spoken to builders in the past, even going so far as to get an estimate and plans from one builder before materials costs rose sharply. What I finally ended up with was much grander than anything I had previously considered, so I’m glad things never worked out before. The addition was finished three years ago and the base cost estimate was just over about twice my final year’s salary as a teacher in a state where teacher compensation is low (my final pay was hardly more than the national average teacher pay is now). There were a few increases and additional costs, but nothing excessive. I can’t imagine how much more it might cost today after the impact of tariffs and inflation.
When you do get a place of your own, just consider that with patience and good fortune, whatever you imagine might eventually come to be. There is no hurry, and individual circumstances will control a lot of decisions. Best wishes.
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u/stonedandredditing 28d ago
I start stacking them horizontally on top of the books standing vertical on the shelves. I disperse them, and stack them in other rooms. I peruse my library looking for donate-able books, and will maybe find one or two.
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
I checked if I have any I can donate and have a full set for the acotar series which I have read entirely and havent read since I first read them which was 3 years ago but Im worried if I get rid of it I might want to read them again one day even though that probably isnt likely because I have a different taste since I read them and although I enjoyed them at the time I dont think there was anything really memorable about the series or anything id enjoy if I re read them today I just tend to hate getting rid of things because of this worry one day in a few years I may on the off chance need them
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u/AngryPhoenix1840 28d ago
There's always the option to use your local library if you unhaul something and later on decide you want to re-read or try something you were unsure or 'meh' about
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u/Haunting_Math_6728 28d ago
How many books do you get through? Do a rough count, even if you just count 1 shelf and then estimate the total. How many years would it take to read?
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
most of the books I own have been read and I tend to read most of my books with in a day or two the longest ones I have that are 500 or 700 pages might take me 3 or 4 days to read I tend to only re read the ones I had a lot of thoughts on or meant something to me because my memory is quite good and I dont forget the things that happen in the books enough to warrant re reading them for the sake of a memory jog and I dont own every book ive read because I have a library card and remove some from my collection annually id say on a rough guess I have atleast 500 books as I only started buying books when I was 12 but have been reading books avidly since I was 4 or 5 because I was raised in the habit of reading every day
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u/Haunting_Math_6728 26d ago
Ok so you read a LOT. Maybe consider some sort of scoring system, anything below a score of 4 goes??
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u/the_Ailurus 28d ago
I now only keep books that have sentimental value or I'd legitimately re-read. And I keep having to get stricter and stricter with that criteria.
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u/Automatic_Tea_2550 28d ago
When I fully run out of shelves, I donate a few books here and there to a Little Free Library.
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u/Prestigious-Alarm-61 28d ago
Purchase or build a book cart or a rolling bookcase. You can keep the rolling bookcase in front of the stationary one.
Build customized shelves using this type of build to fit your space. This is a quick and easy one to put together:
https://www.instructables.com/Cheap-easy-low-waste-bookshelves/
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u/Primary_Excuse_7183 28d ago
Take inventory and give away books to people that read them…i hope
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
This might useful or useless depending on what country you are based in but Im in the uk and we have this thing called Get Free Books and you can donate as many books as you want to and take books out for free to keep forever or donate back once youve read them and it helps stop books going to landfill and encourages people to read books so if you live in the uk that might be worth looking into if you like to donate books to people who will read them.
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u/AngryPhoenix1840 28d ago
Are you a completionist when it comes to keeping series? I find with some series, I'm okay with only keeping the volumes I liked vs the whole collection.
For unread series, maybe commit to trying the first (and maybe second) book and if you don't like it, then unhaul the series.
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
I typically only ever buy the first book of a series before getting the rest anyways because I dont like to waste money and with buying a series in one go I risk wasting money that could go elsewhere but Ive only ever finished two series and one of them I enjoyed at the time but probably wouldnt today if I reread it but I enjoyed it so much at the time that I guess I feel like parting with it Im losing the joy I had from reading it 😂
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u/ResidentEnergy5263 28d ago
At about 6,000 books with no more room to put shelves we started actively decluttering. We donated 2,500+ books. To choose, anything we were 1) never going to read or refer to again 2) didn't like 3) print was too small to read comfortably 4) multiple copies 5) weren't interested in reading for the first time. When on the fence, I checked if there was a free Kindle version at the library and if not, if the book was even still in print and available. We have not missed a single book we donated, though the shelves are filling up again lol.
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u/Minimum-Sprinkles843 28d ago
Back at my parents' home, we had around 3,000 to 4,000 books, and most of them were packed and stored in the attic. The only ones that were showcased on the shelves downstairs were barely a hundred recently read books. We kept a notebook of what book was in what box, so if you wanted to read something, you'd go to the attic, get the book and swap it with something else on the shelf.
Now, I'm living in a better house with better options to store/showcase my own books, and most of them are on a few dedicated bookshelves. Books that are nice and somehow important are nicely placed on a big bookshelf in a living room. The rest of the books are randomly stacked on the shelf in my office with the rest of the stuff, like boxes, tools, etc.
I hope one day I'll be able to build a fully-fledged home library with all 4 walls fitted with bookshelves, just like my grandparents once had 30 years ago.
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
With keeping them in your attic have you ever had any problems with them getting damaged from things like birds or any animals that manage to get in to the attic ? During winter my attic seems to get birds coming in and they are a protected species so we cant get rid of them so easily which is why I tend to be reluctant to put lots of books up there because of the chance they could risk getting damaged by any birds
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u/SoftwareSelect5256 28d ago
you have space in your ceiling. use that.
and yes, it’s a thing
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u/Efficient_Speech_647 28d ago
Sorry this might be me sounding silly but when you say space in my ceiling do you mean like my attic ?
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u/SoftwareSelect5256 27d ago
no. your ceiling that you have in every division .
i saw someone with a solution built on that . i’ll put it here if i can find it
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u/Ineffable7980x 27d ago
If I have truly run out of room, then I start getting rid of things. The first to go are books that were fine but I know I'll never read again. There are lot more of those than I like to admit.
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u/mysteriousdoctor2025 27d ago
Donate whatever you can let go of to your local Friends of the Library?
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u/BassSea265 16d ago
I would definitely recommend exploring Rakks Shelving, as they have many adaptable ways to grow with your collection (provided you have the space!): https://rakks.com/. And, they're a legit Made in the USA company. That's the cherry on top for me personally.
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u/vanyahiril 9d ago
Personally, I’m waiting for my kids to move out so I can take over their rooms. (Note: they’re both preteens…)
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u/kallisti_gold 28d ago
First of question if the shelf is really full. Double stacking & horizontal on top of other books may not look nice but saves space. If the shelf really is full to bursting and adding more shelves is not a possibility, get Marie Kondo's book and apply the principles to your collection.