Jane Howdle, Herts Advertiser Property Takes The Book Decluttering Challenge

Jane Howdle, Editor, Herts Advertiser Property

I wrote a response to my feature I’ve written before about my inability to get rid of random things I no longer need but can’t quite bring myself to part with. My tower of music papers from the ’90s, for example, or the suitcase full of dodgy second-hand clothes from that same decade. Then there’s the books. So many books.

When we moved in to our current house, my dad, an ex-joiner, built us some amazing floor-to-ceiling shelves. The down side of having storage space is that it allows you to keep hold of way more stuff than you really need – and, as Tracy Ross pointed out in last week’s article on decluttering your book collection, sometimes you just need to get rid.

My collection is a time capsule that takes me back to my teens and twenties. I know I’ll never read most of them again, but how do I get over the sentimental attachment and clear some shelf space?

Tracy says that purging out of date travel books should be an easy place to start, but weirdly I find the opposite to be true.

I haven’t been to New Zealand in almost a decade and can’t see myself going again anytime soon – and if I did, I probably wouldn’t rely on a 10-year-old guidebook. Yet the book is a souvenir I’m reluctant to part with. And seeing its spine reminds me that I used to get about a bit, once. As Tracy said, your book collection reflects your personality and experience - every spine tells a story and all that, in more ways than one.

My fiction faves are in a semi-organised state: broadly, the ones I loved and will never part with (while probably never reading them again) and the ones I haven’t read yet but think I will one day. As far as the latter group is concerned, I can see Tracy’s point. I’m planning on following her advice and giving them six months; then, if they’re still not read, I’ll get rid. Honest

Jane Howdle, Herts Advertiser Property Book decluttering challenge

If you need support creating a manageable book collection Contact me at Blissfully Organised for details of how I can support you.

Tracy helped my young girls and I declutter before a house move. In particular I was impressed with how Tracy got on well with the girls (7 yrs and 3 yrs) straight away and explained the sorting process simply. This has had a lastly impact on my children, getting them to appreciate you can’t keep everything!! I too enjoyed spending focused time with Tracy looking at my wardrobe. I will definitely be implementing the learnings for my clothes purchases such as reducing my tendency to buy some items in too many colour ways! Thank you Tracy for all your help. Jo

Joanna Dew
August 25, 2020
Tracy has helped me many times over the years, and I think I must have known her for 10 years now! When I first contacted her I had reservations about letting someone into my home, making judgments and telling me what I should do. But Tracy's service is NOT like that at all. She did a full home audit and we chatted about what I hoped to achieve. For years I'd been frustrated by our storage area, a large room under the house which was hard to access and full of things we hadn't seen for years. We agreed to tackle it and Tracy suggested that to start with, we took everything out. I thought she was completely mad at this point. Three hours later we had done just that, assessed what was there, got rid of some of it, sorted some and made plans for the rest. It was like a massive weight had lifted from my shoulders. After that she helped me organise rooms, and filter through boxes of stuff. More recently she helped me prepare for a big move. It's always an absolute pleasure to see Tracy and she is very thoughtful in her approach. Her service is life changing and I am very grateful that I contacted Tracy all those years ago. Contact her now, you honestly won't regret it.

Clare Suttie
June 11, 2020
Tracy is amazing. We were renovating our house and finally was able to plan some extra storage. Tracy helped us to plan out new fitted wardrobes and then came back a few months later to help me get into a system with my laundry ( one of the things as a family I find hard to keep under control! ). She is kind, non judgemental, motivational & inspirational! I would say most people could do with a bit of Blissfully Organised in their lives!

Laura Dannan
December 14, 2020
I first met Tracy in 2019. I live overseas and wanted to help my Mother clear a downstairs room to become a bedroom, I needed a gentle, trusted professional to complete the task after I had returned to my home. We all met and agreed upon a plan, but it was not to be as my Mother’s health deteriorated very quickly and she passed away. Although I did return to the UK a few times that year, decluttering wasn’t a priority. Then Covid put an end to my being able to return. Finally, in spring of this year, flight restrictions were lifted and I saw an opportunity to return to the UK, now faced with the task of clearing the family home. I contacted Tracy and thankfully, despite short notice, she had some free days to help me. We arranged 6 days throughout my 2 1/2 weeks to help me stay on track and motivated. Tracy helped me stay focussed and helped me believe we could achieve a fairly daunting task of going through a lifetime of memories, papers, photos and possessions. I had to be very disciplined about what was kept as whatever I chose to keep was to be shipped back to my Country. Tracy gave me time to tell a story about an item and why it made the “keeper”, or “think about it” pile, yet didn’t break stride in her work whilst listening. It was a very cathartic process. I felt like I was talking to a long time friend. She has a talent for putting you at ease, and for helping you see objects with a critical eye. Not once did I feel she was making the decision, more that she helped me verbalize my attachment, or not, and that really builds a bond of trust. After each session, I had “homework” to complete before we met again and a follow up email charting the successes of the day and the plan for the next session. As I was on my own during my stay in my family home, this could have been rather lonely, but knowing that Tracy was coming, both broke up the monotony of going through endless boxes and kept me on task such that the job was successfully completed.

Andree Stow
May 9, 2022
Tracy is exceptional at what she does and is generous in what she gives. Highly recommend.

Jayne reah
February 23, 2022