Learn how to use the KonMari method of organizing books to keep your book shelves neat and tidy once and for all!
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New to this series? I’m decluttering my home once and for all using the KonMari method from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up! Today, we’re moving on from clothing and tackling the second category – organizing books!
Well, it’s been about a month since my first post about organizing clothes! If you’ve been following along and tidying with me, I hope you’re gaining momentum and seeing the fruits of your labor. And if not, it’s never too late to jump right in and start!
As I’ve mentioned before, I originally read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo over 2 years ago and I jumped into organizing books with both feet. Back then, we started with 2 book cases filled with books and we got rid of a LOT. We did so well that we gave one bookcase away because we were able to fit the remaining books onto 1 bookcase.
Since then, we haven’t rebounded, but I also realized that we still had way too many books that I hadn’t touched in a long, long time (if ever)! I went through my bookshelf one more time and I’m excited with where I’ve landed. Just like with clothes, I think we’ve reached that “sweet spot” that Marie Kondo mentions in her book.
As Marie suggests, I took all the books off the bookcase and spread them out on the floor. I started to get overwhelmed, so I stacked them in categories as best I could (ex. general, cookbooks, reference, etc.). Because we tend to keep most of our books on the bookshelf in our office, I made sure to pull out all the cookbooks that were stored elsewhere.
Once I had everything out, I picked up each item in order to determine whether it “sparked joy.” Since I had already gone through my books a couple of years ago, I felt like the books that remained were the ones I had to really think about. At this point in time, I had already discarded the ones that were easy to let go of. This might take a while….
Aside from asking about whether an item really excited me, I had to get even more practical.
Will I read this again?
Will I ever refer to this again?
When was the last time I touched this?
Why am I attached to this book?
Am I still interested in this subject?
Could I borrow it if I decide to read it later?
In Marie’s book, she advises that you keep the books that belong in your “hall of fame.” This concept resonated with me, so I tried to be very strict and only keep the books that I truly loved and knew I would reference later or enjoy passing along to someone later.
After I finished this time, I was left with about 60 books in total which includes my hubby’s books. My bookshelf has some breathing room now and I’m really excited to work on making it look pretty once I’m totally finished with the tidying process. I’ve started to take notice of how people are styling their shelves now that I’ve got some breathing room on our own bookshelf!
I found a spot in the kitchen cabinets for the cookbooks. It makes the most sense to keep them in the kitchen, rather than in our office with the rest of our books. Right now, they are divided up into two cabinets since some of them were too tall to fit in the upper cabinet. Once I’ve decluttered the kitchen, I’m hoping to store them in the same cabinet.
Now that I’ve gone through the book category a couple of times, here are some tips and tricks that might help you as you get started organizing books.
Tips and Tricks from the KonMari Method of organizing books
1. Divide items into subcategories
It can be very overwhelming when you are staring stacks and stacks books. If you have a very large collection of books, then stack them based on categories. That way, you can see how much you have in each category and tackle them one at time.
2. Pick up/ touch each book
I don’t agree with Marie in some of her reasoning, although I do see the benefit to touching each item one at a time. This process can reveal how we are emotionally tied to our items, and this is an important part of decision-making process.
Also, this forces you to slow down and give each item the attention it deserves. I believe that if you try to rush this process, then you will likely not discard enough.
If you love books as much as I do, you’ll be tempted to open up and read the books. Resist this temptation! It will slow you down and you may convince yourself that you’ll read the book again, even though you really won’t.
3. Be brutally honest with yourself
Most of the books on my shelves will never be read again. I decided to keep some of them anyway because they truly do spark joy. I kept 2 cookbooks that I don’t believe I’ve ever used yet, but I want to keep them because they remind me of my grandmother. They bring me joy right now. There may come a time when they no longer bring me joy, and then I will discard them then.
For the items that fit into the moderate joy category, then you need to get really honest with yourself. If I will never read this book again, why am I keeping it? The good news is that if you decide to discard it and later want to re-read it, you can purchase it again easily.
Also, consider the fact that the internet has totally changed the game when it comes to books. With ebooks, Pinterest and Google at our fingertips, much of the information we used to get from books can be found in other ways.
4. Put “maybes” in a separate pile and revisit
While this process shouldn’t be rushed, don’t let the “maybes” get you stuck. It was helpful for me to put those in a separate pile and then review them again at the very end. As a result, I was usually able part with them more easily once I had gained momentum and was making encouraging progress.
If you are still unsure, put those items in the “discard/donate” pile and leave them there for a week or so. If you don’t miss them (which you likely won’t!), then donate them once and for all!
5. Tidy children’s book routinely
I try to do this process with my kids at least twice a year (usually in the summer and then again before Christmas). Since they are growing and their interests/reading levels definitely change more quickly, I find that their books need to be purged more often than mine.
My kids love visiting the library, so the number of books we actually own is dwindling.
6. Don’t force your spouse to get on board
My husband went through this process, although he wasn’t enthused. He did it quickly, but he did it and that’s all I can ask for at this point!
7. Do this as many times until it feels right
Don’t be alarmed if it takes a couple of times for you to reach your “sweet spot.” The overwhelm can be very great at first and will get better as you go. Sometimes it helps to do this once, take a step away, and then do it again one more time.
8. Experiment with different ways to store them
Finally, try to determine the best way to store them. This is totally a personal preference and will depend on your needs. While I love all the beautiful photos that I’m seeing of books organized by color, I know that this just isn’t going to work for us right now.
Right now, we have ours divided by person (we each have a couple of shelves) and then I have mine subdivided by category. Once I get through the entire decluttering process, I intend to go back and have fun with styling my bookshelf. I think it’s so motivating to keep a space tidy when it looks nice too! 😊
What should I do with the discarded books?
This is a tough question and I have mixed opinions on this myself. Personally, I’d recommend you get the items out of your house quickly (within a week).
If you are still staring at your items sitting in piles in your home, you won’t experience the maximum impact of this decluttering process! The quickest way to do this would be to donate the items. Give them to a local library, non-profit, or thrift store.
If you feel like selling them is necessary (and I certainly understand needing to scrounge up some extra cash!), then these are some of my favorite options.
- Decluttr
- Cash4books
- Sell back to a used book store
The options I mentioned above are my favorites because they require minimal time and effort and you won’t be charged anything to ship the books. The only thing you really need to worry about when selling books back through a website or app is the order minimums. Try to scan all your books back at one time to increase your chances of reaching those minimums.
You may make a little money by selling books back, but consider what you might potentially make with the value of your time and effort. At the very least, commit to selling those books right away and then donate or recycle the rest quickly!
Conclusions
Since I’ve gone through this process, my view on books has completely changed! I absolutely love buying books, even though I’ve only recently begun to make reading more of a priority in my life. To me, it’s just fun to sit at a bookstore and thumb through books!
But, as much as I love books, I love a tidy home better! Now, when I want to read a book, I attempt to find it at my local library first. I finally accepted the fact that while I love the idea of having a ton of books, I will almost certainly not read them again once I’ve finished. I live in a very modest house with limited space and I can’t justify keeping things that I don’t truly love or believe I will use again.
Also, become stricter about which books I’ll buy. I only buy books that I really love or want to reference later. For example, I checked out The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up at my local library first. After I read it, I knew I’d want to have a copy for myself to reference or lend out to others. I decided to purchase it for myself after I read it and I haven’t regretted that decision one bit!
When I can’t find a book at the library and have to purchase it in order to read it, I try to buy it used. I hate to invest much money into a book knowing that I probably won’t keep it once I’m finished reading it.
Lastly, I’ve learned that the best time to read a book is right away! Since there are so many great books out there to read, I need to jump right in when I have the interest. The longer the book sits on my shelf, the less likely I am to read it at all.
Let’s Get Started
I hope you’ll stick with me and give this a try because I really believe you’ll love the end result. To help you along in the process, I’ve created a short checklist to help you use the KonMari method to organize your books.
I’m giving you an entire month to work through organizing books, which should give you enough time to get it done and not completely disrupt your entire home.
Check back next month for the next category we’ll tackle – papers!
If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:
Here are all of the posts in the KonMari Method series:
The KonMari Method: Organizing Clothes
The KonMari Method: Organizing Books (you’re here)
The KonMari Method: Organizing Papers
The KonMari Method: Organizing Komono in Living Spaces
The KonMari Method: Organizing Bathroom Komono
Do you think you’ll try the KonMari method for organizing books?
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Congratulation for your determination! We have over 1500 books! I don’t know when I will have enough time and motivation to do this job.
Oh wow, that sure is a lot of books, but don’t let that intimidate you! Maybe you can divide up the books you have into categories and then tackle each at a time! You can do it!! 🙂
A great way to keep track of books you see when you’re out and about and may want to read someday is Goodreads. I LOVE this site! I’ve been using it for years as a place to keep track of book titles when a friend recommends something or I see something I’m interested in. Like you, I spend almost no money on books. The library is right down the street and is connected to one of our country’s busiest library systems (they won some sort of award for it a few years ago….who knew?).
I can get almost anything through them but with Goodreads I can keep track of what I want to read, what I’ve read and what I’m currently reading. Goodreads also lets me connect with friends and family (who are on the site) so I can see what they’re reading, what they want to read, etc. It’s a great way to find new books I wouldn’t have otherwise heard about. All of it is digital so I don’t actually need to buy a book when I see it in a bookstore. I use the Goodreads ap on my phone and then I can go back into my account and see the titles I want to read when I’m ready for a book. I go into Goodreads, look at all the titles I’ve put on my “to read” (virtual) shelf, pick something and order it from the library. Done!
We used to have a ton of books in our house but have been able to purge so many, just as you have, because I don’t need to have them around anymore. I really like having them around but just as you said, we have a limited space and I’m not willing to fill it with something I will probably never use again.
As a side note, on Goodreads you get to see how many books you’ve read at the end of a year and you can set reading goals for the next year, etc. It’s a site I actually use, like and think is worth while.
I’ve heard of Goodreads, but never actually took the time to figure out how it worked. Thanks so much for the info! I’ll have to check it out! Hope you have a great day! 🙂