Unhauling books – tips and tricks

At one point hauling books was the big thing, but more recently I’ve seen a lot of unhals floating around too. I actually enjoy an unhaul just as much as a book haul.

So what is a unhaul?

It’s the exact opposite of a haul. In terms of sharing it online, in a haul, you’re sharing the books you’ve obtained, in an unhaul, you’re sharing the books you’re getting rid of, the books you don’t want on your shelf anymore.

But the thing with unhauling, it can be so daunting if you’ve never done it before. Because you can get so used to owning the books you didn’t enjoy simpy or those books on your to read pile that you’re still certain you’re going to get to when let’s be real, you’re not even though every inch of you thinks there’s a chance you could enjoy it, when you are also aware that you’ve actually lost interest.

So here are my tips and tricks for if you’re wanting to unhaul but don’t how to start or if it’s something you try to do but struggle with.

Starting

1. Start easy on yourself

Don’t go in with expectations of yourself that you want to get rid of at least half of the books you own. While some people’s unhauls are big, yours doesn’t have to be. (It also depends on how many books you own, the more you own, the more you’re probably going to be able to find to unhaul. This isn’t always going to be the case, but it’s something to bear in mind if you have a small collection and are struggling with not being able to get rid of many.) Unhauling books can be daunting. What if you want to reread that book again? Or maybe you need that book for a tag? What if you decide out of nowhere that you do actually want to read that book that was on your to be read pile?

I think once you’ve started, it can become easier. That initial step is the hardest. It’s like letting go of something you’re not sure if you’ll want to visit at a later date.

2. Start with those you have read first

Linked to starting easy on yourself, I suggest unhauling books you have read and didn’t enjoy first. You know you didn’t enjoy them, whereas books you haven’t read have the potential for you to enjoy them. The ones you have read and know you didn’t enjoy is a little more factual than a book you might enjoy but haven’t read yet.

3. Keep a track of the books you do unhaul.

This is something I do. That way I can know all the books I once owned, but no longer do. This is super great if you’re doing small unhauls as you can see over time the amount of books you’ve managed to get rid of.

Tips for unhauling unread books:

1. If you don’t have any interest in reading it, if it doesn’t spark interest in you, then it can go

This is very generalised but it’s the main important point to think about. Some people can be harsh with this one and if the book interests them,  but not enough, it can go. But linking back to starting easy with yourself, go for the books you are pretty certain you don’t think you’ll read because you don’t have interest in them . Think of it this way: If you don’t want to pick up this book now (after maybe a little hyping it up for yourself) then it can probably go. This obviously can be slightly different when you’re a mood reader, which I think a lot of people are, because you might be in the mood for contemporary when you’re unhauling and not for fantasy, but try to imagine if you were in a fantasy mood, would this interest you? Even if you weren’t in a fantasy mood, the plot for the book must somewhat interest you still whatever mood you’re in.

2. Read the first page or chapter

Don’t mark it on you’re goodreads as ‘currently reading’. Just use this time to sample it. Some books don’t get better until a certain point but you should use this tip almost to solidify your decision. If you can’t get on with the writing style, for example, then maybe it’s time to let this book go, but then if you get to the end of chapter one and you want to continue reading for whatever reason, then perhaps you should keep it.

3. Hype yourself up about the book

Read or watch some reviews, talk to yourself (however nutty this sounds) as if you were hauling the book for the first time. This might seem like a weird point to add in here if you’re trying to get rid of books, but either this will respark your excitement for certain books meaning you probably shouldn’t get rid of it, or you will find a book that you either don’t want to spark up excitement for because the book doesn’t interest you or you’ll find you can’t get hyped up by the book and in that case, it should go.

4. Think about how long it’s been on your to read shelf

If it’s been there for absolutely forever and you still haven’t read it, maybe you haven’t read it yet for the reason that you’re just not interested. I do get that there are some books that you might not be in the mood for at that moment in time, such as classics, in which you may want to still keep. Also if there are books you still feel hyped about but just haven’t found the time for them for whatever reason, keep them. Some people do do ‘self-combusting’ TBRs where they’ll set a group of books to read within, let’s say something like 6 months but it can be any length of time really, and if they haven’t read it within those 6 months, they will unhaul it.

5. Use charity shops/discounted book shops for books you’re unsure whether you will like or are just a bit more hesitant on

This might seem like an irrelevant thing to add in an unhaul tips post but buying books for cheaper, especially those you’re unsure of, means that if you do decide to unhaul them in the future because you’re just not sure that you actually want to read them, it’s doesn’t feel like you’re saying goodbye to a book you paid full price of. Obviously, no one can predict if you decide in the future that you don’t actually want to read abook that you were once hyped about, but I just thought that the cheaper book point was something to mention if you’re getting into unhauling. For example, I will tend to buy classics from charity shops (or the wordsworth editions of classics are pretty cheap for brand new books) as there are some classics I love, and then other’s I haven’t enjoyed. But knowing I haven’t spent a fortune makes them a hell of a lot easier to get rid of.

My rules for unhauling:

• Don’t get rid of books for the sake of getting rid of books. If it does interest you, or you do want to reread it or whatever reason you have for potentially keeping a book, you don’t have to get rid of it. This is assuming you have the space. And some people don’t reread books at all, which solves the ‘what if I want to reread it problem’.
• sell or donate your books – don’t throw them away! I’m not sure anyone does actually throw them away, but I want to put them out there in case. I mean there are exceptions, like maybe the book is broken beyond repair (you could always see if you have an artist friend who might like to use the book in their art though!) or it’s been completely written in (unless it’s a studied in schools, someone might find that helpful! But otherwise I think most people buying a book might be a little bit frustrated at that. Again, you could always try to find someone who wants to reuse the book!)
• if you keeping it purely for a tag or something, it should go – I think this as the first thing I decided upon. If I didn’t like it, then there’s really not point in hanging on to it just to post about it on instagram at some point again, just to say I didn’t like it. Someone else out there might love that book. It’s better being read and loved than on your shelves just to look pretty or a reminder of how much you disliked it.
• If you’re keeping it because of the cover, it should also go – again, not a reason to keep it for me. I’ve now got to have liked or loved the story for it to stay.
• Keep a pile for those you’re unsure of to revisit later – put them in a box, or simply on a pile on your shelf. Sleep on it (not literally). Unhauling can be hard and I’m going to contradict myself a little bit here, but you don’t want to be getting rid of books you actually want to keep. Having a pile somewhere else for those you’re unsure on gives yourself time to think about it.

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Do you do any unhauls? What are your tips for unhauling?

Lucy 🙂 x

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