Many people are currently watching the new Netflix series about organizing their homes and feel motivated to get started on a journey towards a minimalist lifestyle.
Tidying up with Marie Kondo is taking the world by storm, giving people the tools to create the organized household of their dreams.
We have already touched on how to declutter clothing using the Konmari Method, and now the focus is what to do with all your books and magazines.
HOW TO DECLUTTER BOOKS USING THE KONMARI METHOD
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STEP 1 – GATHER & PILE
The first step to decluttering your books using the KonMari Method is to gather every book item and magazine in your household.
- Cookbooks
- Textbooks
- General Books
- Magazines
- Coffee Table Books
- Phone books
- Children’s Books
Place all the books and magazines in a large pile.
STEP 2 – SORT THE PILE
The pile of books you have may surprise you.
It is crucial that you view your books in this manner as it causes you to reflect upon how much you own.
Now is the time you pick up each book or magazine, hold it and ask yourself if it sparks joy.
Any books or magazines that don’t bring you feelings of joy should be immediately placed in the discard pile.
Just make sure that when you are discarding an item you thank it for serving you as well as it has. This helps you to let it go.
The books that spark joy will now be organized and put away.
STEP 3 – DISCARD THE BOOKS
The books that didn’t spark joy for you or your family need to be discarded.
Depending on their condition, there are several ways you can discard the books that no longer spark joy for you.
- Donate them to a women’s and children’s shelter
- Donate them to a local library
- Donate them to a local school
- Sell them to a used book store
- Sell them online
- Have a garage sale
- Recycle them
STEP 4 – PUT BOOKS AWAY
Once all the books that don’t spark joy have been discarded, it is time to put the ones you are keeping away.
Storing your books should be straight forward and simple.
Place all your books on bookshelves organized by category with the spine of the book facing out so they can easily be identified at first glance.
If possible, avoiding piling or stacking books.
When it comes to changing the way you organize and view your books, the KonMari Method is extremely effective.
If a book doesn’t spark joy, it is time to get rid of it.
Everything else should be stored efficiently and neatly leaving your home feeling more organized.
THE KONMARI METHOD – THE ORDER
When it comes to the KonMari Method, the order in which you tackle tasks holds some meaning. It is suggested that tasks be taken care of in the following order:
• The KonMari Method – Clothing
• The KonMari Method – Books
• The KonMari Method – Papers
• The KonMari Method – Komono
• The KonMari Method – Sentimental Items
GET THE BOOK LIST PRINTABLE IN COLOR HERE
GET THE BOOK LIST PRINTABLE IN BLACK & WHITE HERE
Stay Tuned!
More in-depth blog posts on the individual KonMari Method categories to come!
You can find all of Marie Kondo’s books on Amazon:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Spark Joy: A Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up
The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story
Have you tried the KonMari Method? Do you have any specific questions we can answer in coming up posts?
You may also like this post HOW TO DECLUTTER CLOTHING USING THE KONMARI METHOD:
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Scarlet
Sunday 24th of February 2019
Thanks for these tips for decluttering books. I really need to do this with my children's books. They have two book shelves in the playroom and bookshelves in their rooms and we need to get rid of the ones they are too old for now. It is so hard though because we always end up thinking what fun it was reading those aloud together!