One Book Shelf & Lots of Books

With the final two years of university upon me (I'm actually procrastinating on studying right now, by writing this blog post), I knew it was time to get a desk. I was tired of sitting on my bed, with my back aching, and no real space to do any kind of work or studying. I wanted a place I could do school work, Etsy and blogging, without feeling crammed or in pain.

About two months ago, I decided it was time to get a desk, a chair, a lamp and build my own work space. This work space did require a few compromises, due to the size of my room. That compromise would be the smaller of my two bookshelves. 

Originally, I wasn't sure how I was going to do this. I had so many books on that shelf, my television, and an assortment of other random things. But after reconsidering, I decided to that it was finally time to face reality. I had so many books I already read, knowing I would never read them again, or books that were unread that had been collecting dust for years on these shelves. Ultimately, I didn't get rid of a single book I wanted to keep or haven't read but still really wanted to. I got rid of ones that weren't on my favorites list, and books I wasn't interested in anymore.

This sacrifice, was well worth it, and I absolutely love my desk.

At first, the entire idea of losing a book shelf scared me. It's weird how these books can become a comfort item, and how much I loved seeing them every day. But school and having a real space to get work done was worth so much more than a shelf full of books, that I would never read or reread. Also those books were just wasting away, when they could have been shared and read by many other people.

After picking out the books I didn't want anymore, carrying the book shelf out to the garage, and setting up my desk, I almost felt uneasy. Almost like I made a mistake, before I was even able to experience my desk and what it would be like to have one.

After two or so months, I can say it was well worth the compromise. My back isn't hurting every night, I have a place for everything, and it looks so organized! I still have an entire shelf crammed full of books I'm dying to read, with new ones coming in and old ones being shared with friends and family. 

Have you had to reduce your collection? If you did, why? How did you cope?