The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
By Marie Kondo
★★★★

I’ve always loved organizing, but I also tend to be a bit of a pack rat. I get sentimentally attached to old t-shirts and concert ticket stubs. Combining those two things can sometimes be interesting, but in recent years I think I’ve gotten better at getting rid of things.

Since getting pregnant and thinking about adding another whole person to our home. I’ve been wondering where on earth we were going to put all their clothes, pack and plays, strollers, etc. For a tiny person, babies sure do need a lot of stuff. I've also been thinking about all the things I need to go through and get rid of. Turning our guest room into a nursery is going to take some effort and the first step is getting rid of stuff. So I dove right in and ended up having a huge garage sale with all the stuff we purged.
 

(Yard sale with items we purged!)

I’d heard a lot about this book and wanted to check it out before I started my big purge. Kondo’s approach to organization is methodical and merciless. She has a good systems and lots of practical tips which I appreciated. I'll admit that some of what she says didn't resonate with me at all. I do not need to give my socks a rest; I'm still going to fold them. I'm not going to empty my handbag every night. I'm going to dump it by the door and leave all the contents in it and grab it the next day when I leave. But there are other things in her book that I just love.

I thought her system for the order in which you should go through your belongings to get rid of them was very smart. It does seem easier to start with clothes, then books, then papers, and sentimental items. I went through every closet, drawer and cabinet in my house over the course of a couple weekends. I got rid of tons of told paperwork, clothes, books, outdated electronics, shoes, and more.
 

(The guest room closet, full of my clothes, before)

(The guest room closet after. Half of it will be filled with baby things.)

One of the most helpful things she said was that certain things have fulfilled their purpose even if you’ve only worn them once. I tend to feel like I have to get more use out of an item in order to make it worth it. Even if it’s a bridesmaids dress or a top that I hate, I hang on to it because it seems wasteful to only wear it once. I felt like her philosophy gave me the freedom to let those items go. She said that maybe that items purpose was to teach you that a particular style doesn’t look good on you. Once you realize that you don’t have to keep the item, which you never wear, in the hopes that you’ll one day get more use out of it.
 

(Before the yard sale was set up)

BOTTOM LINE: A useful read and one that definitely inspired me to dig deeper into my closet and keep filling those Goodwill boxes.

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”

“I recommend you dispose of anything that does not fall into one of three categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely.”

Librarian for a day

(My library)

This past weekend I played librarian and finally had a chance to organize my entire library at home. My husband and I got married in Oct. '09 and moved out of apartments and into a house. For the first time in my life I was able to set up a real library, but in the midst of moving/getting married, etc. I didn't set it up quite how I wanted to.

Now, after all that hoopla, switching jobs, vacations, holidays, and more, I finally had a whole day to devote to the project. I have one more bookcase in our guest room that's filled with children's books, but I didn't mess with that one. My nieces and nephews tear it apart when they come over (which is good, that's what kids books are for) so I didn't want to alphabetize them.

(Travel guides and travel memoirs)

I took all of the books off the shelves, stacked them by category and finally added them back to their bookcases in alphabetical order. The only thing I still need to figure out is how to label the categories... or maybe I don't need to. I haven't decided yet.

(Plays and Classics)

The categories I chose are: nonfiction, poetry, plays, classics, sci-fi/fantasy, religion, travel guides, travel memoirs, fiction, young adult, mysteries, short stories and audiobooks. Tell me if you guys think of any I should add.

(My favorite books that I've already read)

It took a total of 7 hours, but I couldn't be happier with the result. I tend to read multiple books at a time and I love the fact that now I'll be able to go straight to the category I want and pick out my next book. Life is good.

Photos by moi.

Book Clutter

Does anyone else's console table look like this? Mine has been this way for far too long and I've been trying to find a way to keep myself from covering the top with magazines and books. I'm always clipping articles or reading a chapter or two from a book and then leaving the reading material sprawled out on the table. I finally came up with this solution...


I bought two baskets that sit on the bottom level of the table and whenever someone comes over I can just scoop all the piles of books into the baskets.

(The magazine-filled basket)

Do you guys have any similar problems with books taking over your home? I won't even get into the mess that is my bedside table.

Photos by moi.