When it’s time to spruce up my house, I always seem to get a “new” post idea, like this one today.

If you have books on display throughout your house, do you keep the dust jackets on, or do you remove them?

I cleaned and dusted a table in the corner of my living room, adding my “no-kill” Christmas cactus plant so it would have plenty of light. By the way, I call it “no-kill” because I’m not very good at keeping indoor plants alive, and I’ve been told that if your Christmas cactus is given proper care and is placed in the right location, it’s not unusual for it to flower several times throughout the year. Yeah!

I also added a NEW, fresh cilantro-smelling Pier 1 candle, and brought a few of my favorite books to the table …

But they looked … dingy, ragged. Dust covers torn, squashed, bent.

Once decorative, the book jackets were just in the way.

What originally drew me in to buying the books in the first place (a beautiful, colorful paper cover), now I removed and tossed into the garbage (recycle bin).

Ahhh, freshness!

And actually quite colorful!

How do you deal with book jackets?
Do you save them or toss?