A Methodology for Getting Rid of Old Books

I have a confession to make: I have too many books!  Most of these are technical and hobby books that I have accumulated in the past.  I want to make sure that my kids/grandkids do not have to suffer through the pain of getting rid of them after I pass on.  On the other hand, now that I am retired, I would like to keep some around to re-read and then keep or toss as necessary.  This will also minimize what storage I need during retirement in case something should happen and I have to move to a different place.

So, I went to Staples and I got some return address labels, the smallest I could find (80 labels to a sheet).  I then printed on the labels pretty much the same thing: KEEP or RECYCLE (each covering a whole page).  I also printed multiple page copies of each.  The plan is to put a KEEP label on the books I want to keep, and a RECYCLE label on the books that I want to take to the library for donation.  Unfortunately, my local library is not taking donations quite yet due to the Covid outbreak.  I expect that this will remedy itself over the next few months as things get back to normal.

What I have been doing is going over each book in the bookcases and placing a KEEP label to the books that I think (first blush) that I want to keep.  After I get done with this task, I will go back over the books that have the KEEP label and make another assessment of whether I really want to keep them or not.  I might change my mind and take off the KEEP label and replace it with a RECYCLE label.

Next, I will pick up each of the remaining books (without labels) and make an assessment as to whether I need to change them to KEEP or not.  If I decide that I really want to keep them, I will put a KEEP label on them.  If I have decided that I don't want to keep them I will put a RECYCLE label on the book.  

When I get done with this, at a later date, I will go back over the books and make sure that I have labeled them the way that I want.  After all, I cannot go back once I have given them away to the library.  So I must be sure.