Welcome to part 2 in my journey to declutter my house using the KonMari Method! (Check out part 1 if you missed it).
Getting rid of clothes was the perfect motivator and warm up to the next category of the KonMari Method – books and paper. I’ll be honest, I was really dreading this one because I have a love affair with books. Ever since I knew how to read, more often than not, you’d find my nose buried in a book. So you can imagine the collection I’ve amassed since the last time I did a book purge (8 years ago maybe?).
This was the result of piling all the books in one spot, like I did with my clothes. Now, to be fair, this pile of books also included Chad’s collection. He had a ton of books – mainly from picking them up at airports to read on the plane.
As I delved into the dreaded task of deciding which books I wanted to keep, surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as I expected. I think what really helped was following the step of removing all the books from the bookcase. Because, as Marie would say, you can’t judge whether or not a book really grabs you when it’s still on the shelf. And do NOT start reading them – it clouds your judgment. I’ve definitely fallen into that trap before. All you’re supposed to do is touch each book to decide if it sparks joy, if it makes you happy just to see it on your shelf. So that was my criteria.
I can’t say that Chad followed the same process of elimination. For one, he had a lot of half-read or never-been-read books that he wasn’t willing to part with. Which is actually a common reason why people sit on so many books. Because they think they’ll read it “someday.” And “someday” never ends up happening because another book will come along that catches your eye. Better to let it go.
Unwilling to let him keep that many unread or half-read books, I tried a different tactic, which was to keep them lying on the floor instead of putting them back on the shelf. After a few days of seeing them strewn all over the floor, he simply got annoyed, which was motivation enough to get him to sort through it all (and let go of most of them)! Hey, whatever works right? 😉
It felt so good to think that all those books I enjoyed reading will be passed on for someone else to enjoy. I didn’t count but I have to believe we got rid of at least 100 books.
Three points for Marie. Zero points for rebounding clutter (thanks to my trusty friend, the Kindle 🙂 ).
Paper was the next category to tackle. I fudged the rules a little on this one and didn’t take all the paper and put it one spot. I just tackled the areas where I knew we stored a lot of paper – drawers in the guest bedroom, a file box, in the kitchen cupboard, a mail holder, and random bins in a closet. According to the KonMari Method, all paper should be thrown away, with the exception of paper that needs immediate attention (like bills) and paper that you have to keep even though it doesn’t spark joy (deeds, health records, insurance policies, etc.). Note that this category of paper does NOT include sentimental paper like old love letters, notes from friends or diaries. Those you put aside and save for when you tackle the last category, sentimental items.
Owner’s manuals for appliances were papers that were the hardest to part with, because what if I needed to refer back to them for some reason? But when you really think about, do you ever dig those back up when you need them? More than likely, you get on Google and search for your answers there. So why hold onto bulky manuals? Toss ’em – and that’s exactly what I did without looking back. And boy did it feel good.
Marie’s method for storing papers is pretty simple. First things first, keep it all in one place. Don’t let them spread to other areas of the house. I think that’s the biggest mistake I know I’ve made with paper – they end up everywhere – hence the clutter! And don’t file them away in fancy folders with detailed categories. The have-to-keep papers don’t spark joy and rarely need to be accessed, so why put the effort into storing them? Stick them in a clear plastic folder and be done with it! Easy peasy.
I’ll admit, this was my least favorite category because to me, paper in general (unless it has sentimental value) just fuels the look of clutter. And there’s really no “pretty” way to store them that’s practical. At least, not that I’ve found.
All said and done, I managed to fill two 13-gallon trash bags of paper, plus who knows how much more that ended up in the shredder. Not bad. And my mail holder isn’t bursting at the seams anymore. I call that a huge win.
I’m really excited to start the next category, komono, which means miscellaneous items. This is where I feel like I’ll see the most results from because it encompasses so much of the house. There are 10 subcategories within komono. Check back for part 3 of my KonMari journey, which will cover the first five – CDs/DVDs, skin care products, makeup, accessories, and valuables.