If you're just joining in, be sure to read my first thoughts on the KonMari Method and Decluttering My Closet.
For anyone who skipped those posts, here's a quick background. Over the next six months or so, I'm decluttering my house using the fun book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
I don't follow every single one of her suggestions to the letter, but I love the concepts and how they keep me motivated. I usually declutter for a day or two and then lose steam. This time I'm really committed. It probably doesn't hurt that I have you to keep me accountable, too!
This month we're talking about books and papers. Whoopee!
(I know you've been waiting with bated breath. Ha!)
Decluttering Books
I started by getting rid of my books. I figured it would be easy, since I'd already reduced my collection to one small, if messy, bookcase.
BUT, I forgot about the under-the-bed storage box full of books. …
And the stash in my closet.
I also had a pile in my nightstand and in the armoire in my bedroom.
I LOVE this part of the KonMari method: gathering every like item from around the house. It really shows you how much you have of everything.
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My goal was to fit ALL of my books on the small bookshelf.
I went through every book and, as I picked each one up, asked myself, "Does this spark joy? Do I love this book?" A few were automatic keepers. Books I've read more than once that helped shape who I am:
These Are My People
For the Love
Wild at Heart/Captivating
Unglued
Some are business books I use regularly, and some I'm reading right now or that matter to where I am in life. I let go of a TON of marriage books. I bought (and read some of) them before I got married and haven't opened one since. Haha!
I also noticed I own a stack of parenting books I've never read. I need to read them, or at least listen on Audible. I mostly listen to audiobooks these days, but I like having hard copies of my favorites so I can highlight the good parts. Ha! There are maybe 10 of those.
I got rid of most of my fiction because I was keeping it around to read at the beach someday. Let's be honest, I won't be propped up with a paperback at the beach for another 10 years, and by then I'll probably still be listening or I'll have new favorites. Pass them along to some childless gal or empty nester. Bless.
I threw away a ton of study guides from all the Bible studies I've ever done. If I'd thought about it, I probably wouldn't have kept them for the past 20 years. But I ripped off the bandage and tossed them.
There's a garbage bag out there holding all of my deepest, rawest thoughts, written in a pile of Bible study journals. But let's face it. In all the years those books have taken up space in my home, I've gone back to look at my old study guides zero times.
Now, don't panic on me completely! I did not throw out any journals. I used to journal like crazy, and they're all stored in a trunk with my special keepsakes. I'll go through that trunk when I tackle mementos at the end of this project. But I'm keeping every journal. They're precious to me.
And here's the bookshelf after decluttering. This is every book in my house* except for a few cookbooks in the kitchen and a handful of books I use in my everyday decor. I'm going to limit myself to this one shelf (for now) and see how it goes.
*This does not include my kids' books. I'm not touching their stuff or spaces until I'm finished with mine.
Decluttering Paper
Confession time: I'm not finished with this step yet. It's a doozy.
Second confession: I've been stuffing all kinds of papers into random boxes, and they've been sitting in my office/guest bedroom for almost a year.
I'm blaming the lack of organization on the baby's first year, because it's the honest truth. As I go through these boxes, I find all sorts of things from this past year. I just didn't have time to deal with anything.
So I've been slowly gathering all the boxes and the papers hiding in every corner of our home, and going through them.
In Marie Kondo's book, she gives the "rule of thumb: discard everything" when it comes to paper.
I love that, because I tend to hoard everything. What if I need it??
Recently I set up a command center near my kitchen. (I haven't shown it yet, but here are some amazing ones I rounded up for inspiration.) I keep two file folders in it for paperwork: papers to file and papers that need a follow-up!
If I have a few spare minutes, I grab a folder and tackle it. The key is dealing with them before the folders overflow. I probably need to schedule a time each week for this. We'll see. But it has really helped keep me from stuffing papers anywhere and then shoving them into boxes! I had to build a system to break that old, bad habit.
Some papers you have to keep even though they don't spark joy. These go in the "papers to file" folder. There should be very few of them, though. Things like tax records and housing documents.
Her advice? Put them all in one folder to be saved. Don't waste time sorting the papers you need to keep. You'll rarely need to go back to them, and when you do, you can just flip through the folder. That takes less time than tracking and filing things into very detailed categories.
My messy office, but it's getting organized!!
During my paper cleanup I found all kinds of random stuff: unopened letters and mail, checks that needed to be deposited (!), piles of trash, picture frames and pictures, expired coupons, work receipts and catalogs.
It's a good thing I took the time to go through papers now, because I keep finding receipts I need for my taxes in all these boxes. (That's how crazy baby's first year was. Sooo disorganized!) Hopefully if I ever have another baby, this system will save me from repeating that disorganized year.
I've also revised my system for appliance manuals and warranties/receipts. I used to keep everything! I had huge binders with clear plastic sleeves and tons of manuals.
Kondo suggests getting rid of nearly all of them. Maybe keep the manuals for your computer and camera. Her suggestion made me realize I never actually look at these manuals.
I think in the past five years I've needed the manual for my vacuum, baby monitor and lawn mower. Everything else I've never needed. Honestly, we could have looked up what we needed online. Most companies post owner's manuals online.
So here's my new system. I'm going to keep some of the manuals for bigger-ticket items, but I'll store them in magazine holders instead of those big, bulky binders.
I don't have an after photo of my papers, or of the space they used to take up, because they were everywhere and I'm not quite done yet. But I hope to share a picture of my organized office and command center soon! Both will prove my paper-hoarding problem is under control.
Next Month's Topic
Next month I'll tackle "komono," meaning miscellaneous items. For me, that's basically everything in my house, right?! It feels very overwhelming. But I found some guidance on page 106 of the book. She breaks it into smaller categories, but I know I have even more categories than that. So I'm going to start with my office, the room that needs decluttering most. Here's what I'll be sorting this coming month:
- notepads/notebooks
- binders
- folders
- calendars
- envelopes
- labels
- pens/pencils/markers
- hole punches
- shredders
- printer paper
- staplers
- paper clips/rubber bands
- tacks/magnets
- erasers/correction fluid
- stickers
- tape/glue
- scissors
- craft supplies (oh my!!)
- wrapping paper
- bubble wrap
- cardboard boxes
- credit cards
- reward cards
- loose change
- video games
- board games
- CDs/DVDs
- spare cords
- phone accessories
- remote controls
- cameras/video cameras
- computers
- home decor
- photo props (for the blogging business)
Whew! That's going to take some time, but I'm excited to tackle it and get my office clutter-free. I can already tell that as I throw away and give away more stuff, I feel lighter. Letting go of things I've held onto for years, and that I don't even miss (or can't even identify)!
It's not too late!
Do you feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of STUFF in your home? Then join me on this journey! It's more fun with accountability and friends.
Go buy the book. Then get your closet, books and papers in order. If you want a head start on your office list, you get extra credit. Marie says it takes about six months to tackle your whole home, so this won't be finished in a few short weeks. We're in this for the long haul, but in the end I know I'll be glad I decluttered the whole house!
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