Tag: unclutter • BookLikes

As part of uncluttering my mind, I want to unclutter my space, Marie Kondo style. Her method is called the KonMari Method. It is where you look at something and ask if it sparks joy. Joy = you keep it. No feeling/no joy = you thank it and pass it along.

Bookish people (mostly on Twitter) are coming at Marie Kondo because of a misquote and a joke someone made with her picture saying "Ideally, keep fewer than 30 books." She actually said, “I now keep my collection of books to about thirty volumes at any one time.” That is what she likes for herself!

I did the KonMarie method today with the help of my husband and took a hard look at my growing book collection. I come to a decision to cull over half my collection, if not more. Not because Marie Kondo told me to, but because I know that I am never going to read half these books. I've had them for years without touching them, some I didn't like, some I DNF'd, and some I doubt I will ever reread. My husband did the same with his books.

We went through 10ish boxes and ended up culling 7 boxes worth!

We made a new rule that the only physical books we are going to buy used are the things we are actively collecting and no more buying random books, with the exception of being 80s & 90s (and earlier) books, though I will be pickier. (Rare books, hard to find and libraries will not have them.)

I got rid of a bunch of books that I can easily get at the library if I decide I want to read them later on. We are already picky about the new books we buy because we can't buy full price books often. We still have a lot more books to go through! haha

I'm not getting rid of every unread book or everything I've read and may not read again. I'm keeping things that have true sentimental value and nostalgic stuff because I LOVE going back to my younger self and rereading nostalgic books. That sparks joy!

Some series I am actively collecting are: (For the curious)

The Babysitter's Club

Goosebumps

Fear Street

Other R L Stine books

Animorphs

Sweet Valley High

The Alice books (Phyllis Reynolds Naylor)

Buffy, Angel, Charmed books

Nancy Drew

The Hardy Boys

Boxcar Children

Several cheesy teen horror authors (Christopher Pike, Joan Lowery Nixon...etc)

Cheesy teen horror novels in general from the 80s/90s era

The type of books you would find in Paperbacks From Hell and Paperback Crush (so 70s,80s,90s horror and children/teenage stuff.)

There are more but those are the things I think are most recognized. It seems like a lot, but it is a very slow growing collection and I end up getting the books from $1 to $3 at the Half Price Book Store.

No matter how old I get, I still read and enjoy the above books. The nostalgic factor might be one of the reasons, but so what! Some would consider some of these books badly written nowadays, but it is like I can turn off a switch and overlook cheesy storylines, plot holes and "bad writing" Most of the books above would probably be considered "guilty pleasure" books for adults to read, but I don't use that word.

They are comfort reads.

(spoiler show)

Do you unhaul books easily or is it like pulling teeth? That is how it is for me, even if I didn't like the book that much. I know it is boarding on hoarding tendencies because it shouldn't be so hard to donate a book you hated, or a book you know you'll never read.

review 2012-05-15 00:00

Stacia's books

Unclutter Your Life in One Week - Erin R Doland,David Allen

I'd give this 2.5. There were a few helpful items in there, but overall this book didn't greatly appeal to me. First, her amount of clutter was not much (she was married, no kids, living in an 850 sq. ft. apt.) when writing this, so her timeline of a week is pretty unrealistic if you live in a larger place, have a larger family, etc.... Also, I think her methodology appeals to the list-making sorts of folks (not necessarily my style); I had a similar complaint about the book "The Happiness Project" (by a different author). She addresses both home & work life (which is helpful), but her plan to add it to your regular week (i.e., do a complete closet purge & clean-out before you head to work in the morning) is not very easy to implement, imo. Also, I think she doesn't address many of the reasons why people clutter (to help them overcome their stumbling blocks), leading me to think that the book doesn't necessarily offer a long-term, workable plan (unless you're pretty much streamlined & uncluttered to begin with). I do enjoy the unclutterer.com website, but didn't really care for the book.