Do you have any “reference books” in your house? Yeah, me too. I have quite the book collection.

Nothing wrong with books. In fact, books are awesome. We all need to read more.

However, being a book hoarder may not lead to your desired result of reading more. Hoarding is unhealthy. When you hoard, you have to protect, manage, organize and replace whatever you are hoarding. Typically this takes time and money. I would also argue hoarding is bad for ideation…an important activity for us Idea Addicts!

If you are a book hoarder, one of your famous lines to yourself and others is probably, “Oh, I need this book. It is a ‘reference book.'”

No judgements here. I’m working on my book hoarding as we speak. If you do use the “reference book” excuse though, and you want to have less books (and actually use them), here are some questions you might ask about your “reference books.”

1. Have I referred to it in the last year? (This means I have actually opened the book or told someone about it.)
2. Am I going to refer to it in the next year?
3. Is it cost prohibitive to buy a new one?

If the answer to all three of these questions is “no,” you probably do not need this book. Get rid of it.

If you have a mixture of “yes” and “no,” you may or may not need to keep it.

Clearly, if the answer is “yes” to all through questions, KEEP IT!

What tips do you have for us book hoarding Idea Addicts? Please share in the comments or on social media.