{"id":1696,"date":"2017-01-18T23:32:17","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T03:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.princetonbookreview.com\/blog\/?p=1696"},"modified":"2024-05-29T10:09:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:09:04","slug":"organizing-books-marie-kondo-way-life-changing-magic-tidying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.princetonbookreview.com\/blog\/organizing-books-marie-kondo-way-life-changing-magic-tidying\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizing Books The Marie Kondo Way – The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span> read Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tiding Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/h3>\n

\"OrganizingIf you’re not familiar with the book it’s a method of organizing and it’s very specific. <\/span><\/h2>\n

So I figured it’s January, and I’ve made several resolutions to organize my life, so the timing was perfect.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
Here’s the before picture of my bookshelf.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I decided to start with something small, but significant, something I value . . . My bookshelf.<\/h2>\n

You see the bookshelf as soon as you walk through my front door, so it’s been on my radar to reorganize for a while. Shamefully, it’s become my catch-all.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
As you can see, my shelves are cluttered with a lot of stuff. I found earrings, keys, notes and more!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I went back and reviewed the chapter on organizing books and followed Kondo’s \u00a0instructions.<\/h3>\n

I’m going to tell you straight up; it was incredible<\/em>! My bookshelf now speaks to me. \u00a0I can’t wait for someone to ask to borrow a book or just scan my shelves.<\/h3>\n

Let me start from the beginning . .\u00a0.<\/h2>\n

Marie says it’s all about sparking joy<\/em>. If you hold a book and it doesn’t do that for you, toss it to\u00a0donate pile.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
Emptying the bookshelf was the worst part of the project.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She claims you need to empty the bookshelf and put all the books on the floor. I didn’t want to do this, but according to Kondo, it’s harder to part with a book when it’s on the shelf.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
As instructed, I put them all the books on the floor!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the bookshelf was empty, I’m embarrassed to say it was very dusty and in need of a good cleaning. I dusted, fixed the lights and adjusted some of the shelving. \u00a0At this point, I’m feeling good. \u00a0I’m feeling free.<\/h3>\n

“For Books, timing is everything. \u00a0The moment you first encounter a particular book is the right time to read it.”<\/p>\n

~ Marie Kondo ~<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now it was time to sort, keeping only books you love on your shelf. Books you would put in your personal hall of fame or ones that inspired pleasure.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
Now I need to find a home for all the books I want to donate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I sorted my books, I realized I had already given many of my favorites<\/a> away. I mainly read on a Kindle, so it seemed like a lot of the books were easy to discard. \u00a0I’m not sure why I had some of them on my shelf, yet I didn’t want to part with them.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
We love going to Springsteen Concerts as a family, so the book had to be front and center. Next to it is another piece of pottery my daughter made.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So here we go! I divided my books into categories.<\/h2>\n

The first was Beach Reads. I like to have books in my house in case someone needs a good book to read while visiting. I live at the Jersey Shore, so many times my guests need a book to take to the beach. \u00a0It’s an important category for me. \u00a0I feel it’s part of being a good host.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
Books my Dad gave me that I can’t part with. Definitely my personal hall of fame.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The list continued with Mystery\/Thriller<\/a> which I geared toward the male reader. I wanted a Book Club <\/a>section, a spiritual section, books my Dad gave me and finally reference.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
My Spiritual Section is now more accessible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Organizing
My go-to reference books with the dish my daughter made in her pottery class.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I believe you can tell a lot about a person from the books in their library. So here’s a close-up of mine.<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
A picture of my daughters when they were young. They are truly my blessings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Give it a try! It only took a couple of hours. I wanted my bookshelf to serve a purpose. To tell my story and pass on my love of reading on to others. \u00a0What do you think?<\/h3>\n
\"Organizing
My reorganized bookshelf! I love looking at the pictures and sentimental items as I walk by.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Happy reading,<\/p>\n

Andrea<\/h2>\n

\"Organizing<\/p>\n\n

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