Watch this video of me tackling the books category in terms of the KonMari Method, as I chat with you about my book collection. Find out what sparks joy for me, and what does not… and at the end of the video, I open up about my feelings regarding going through the KonMari Method for a second time, one year after we originally decluttered and re-organized our entire home.
I love books and I read every single day. I have hundreds of books, but the vast majority of them are stored on my Kindle. This significantly reduces the space taken up by books in the house, which is just as well, given Tim collects books in a pretty big way, and has literally hundreds of books displayed in bookcases throughout our home.
In the summer of 2016, Tim and I decluttered and re-organized our entire home following the KonMari Method. The Books category was not a particularly big or challenging category for myself, but it was a MAJOR undertaking for Tim. I tackled my own books by myself, honing my collection to just the books which sparked joy.
When it was Tim’s turn to tackle his books, he said he wasn’t feeling well. I put this down to the stress he was feeling at the very idea of decluttering his massive collection of books, so I offered to help him. As Tim sat at the kitchen table, I set about bringing every single book into the kitchen for him to go through. Whilst Tim picked up every book, one at a time, asking himself if it sparked joy, I organised the books into categories and collections. There were enormous stacks of books all over the kitchen table, counters and floor, with just a narrow path through them for me to navigate my way around the room. I felt like we were on an episode of Hoarders!
By the end of the night, Tim had decided to let go of over THREE HUNDRED books! And because I had been helping to sort the books throughout the process, we were able to put them all away before we went to bed, with all of the books finally organised and displayed to best advantage, for the very first time ever!
KonMari Books Round 2
So fast forward to now, one year later. I have been going through all of my possessions again, following the KonMari Method for a second time. Why? Well, it has been a busy year, and whilst we have been doing our best to make conscientious decisions on what to bring into our home, and to immediately purge the items which do not spark joy, I feel a strong desire to once again get stuck in. There is something about pulling out every item within a specific category and grouping them all together which helps you recognise the items you really love, and what you have been hanging onto “just because”.
As you will see in the video of me going through the entire process, when it came down to it, there were indeed a number of books which I discovered did not spark joy, much to my surprise. So, was it worthwhile pulling all of my books off the shelves and hauling them downstairs to go through them all again? Yes, absolutely.
Now that I have decluttered my books once more, I feel content with the number of books I have, as well as the actual books themselves. The clutter is gone. Now, my books all spark joy, and I am happy to have them in my life and in my home. I felt the same way last year, after I decluttered my books for the first time. And again, when I went through them all again earlier this year during the redecoration of the crafts room. But my tastes and interests are constantly changing, and just because something sparked joy for me a year ago, or even six months ago, does not mean it still does now. At least, that is what I am learning.
