A way in which I will never be Mustachian

I am all about decluttering. And minimalism. And getting rid of things (furniture) that we don't absolutely need. But there is one thing that I won't get rid of on principle.

Books.

(You may think you see other clutter that isn't book related in this picture. That most certainly is not the case.)

This is not to say that I buy every book I ever read, or even that I won't get rid of a book once I have bought it, but I do believe in accumulating a large library.

This is partly a parenting decision. How will Junior and the incoming children know how awesome books are if they don't have a beautiful collection to lose themselves in? And I definitely want the kids to think that books are awesome, so that's pretty much case closed for me.

To make book buying more reasonable, I follow a few guidelines (that I break sometimes). 

Buy used. Used bookstores are awesome for this, but I have gotten some good deals on children's books on eBay. I know there are a zillion used book sites out there too, so far I have scrupulously avoided those. 

Get rid of books you don't want. This one is hard. But I am getting better. Some books we both had a copy of when we got married; most of those have turned into Bookman's credit (and therefore more different books). Some books you buy and read and then never want to read again and wouldn't really recommend to anyone else. Those are perfect trade in candidates. Some weirdo out there wants them.

Cookbooks. I don't even really count those as books (they live on a different shelf, yo) but I definitely have cookbooks that I got as wedding gifts that I have NEVER used. Literally. I am expecting those to command a lot of cred the next time we do a trade in.

By following these basic rules, we are often able to keep our bookstore trips to a net $0. 

Except for the last time... Who can resist bongo drums? (We won't go there right now. Collecting musical instruments deserves its own post.)