So, these pictures might make book-lovers want to weep, but I can’t tell you how liberating these pictures are to me. I had a revelation about books yesterday and it was so eye-opening and pretty life-changing for me that if this is the one thing that sticks with me from reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up it’s going to make a big difference in my life.
I just recently had gone through our books and pared them down, so I was shocked that I felt inspired and motivated to pare down so much more! Instead of being overwhelmed by all the books I “should be reading”, my bookshelves now inspire and empower me.
I look at them and think about the memories that some of the books on them hold for me and then I look at those I have yet to read and am excited to read one or two each week over the next few months. They spark hope and life and joy in me, instead of speaking the message that I am not reading enough, am so far behind on reading, and should find a way to read more each day.
You can watch a little video I did on my bookshelves here, if you’re interested. What a difference perspective (and paring down!) can make!
I also went through my clothes and got rid of a few things. Plus, I toyed with trying the whole stand things up in the dresser drawers idea. And I decided that apparently it’s a learned art and I think I’m doing it all wrong.
But I snapped a picture so that at least you could see that I had tried. 🙂
Did you clean out your books today? Or do any other cleaning? Tell us about it in the comments.
Becky says
My mom owns cases and cases full of books. She would be the first to admit that she can’t pass a used book sale without buying a bagful (or two!). Although she loves to read, even if she only read books she already owns for the rest of her life, she would never finish all the books she has now. Many are older than me and still unread. As a result, I’ve vowed not to do the same thing. I also love to read, but my rule is that I have to check it out from the library. If it’s a great reference book that I’ve checked out over and over, I might consider buying it. Any novels or fiction books I receive, I give away when I’ve finished reading them. I’m nearly 40 and probably own less than 40 books!
Carolyn says
You don’t need to publish this, but I don’t see any difference in the 2 bookcase pictures. Did you by chance post 2 “afters” and not a “before?” 🙂
Crystal Paine says
Sorry for the confusion. I didn’t post a before — because I forgot to take a picture! So these are just the afters. The empty shelves were mostly all full before I started paring things down.
Carolyn says
That sounds like something I would do! Glad I’m not alone. 😉 Actually I like having a clean shelf or two in my bookcases. I put family pictures on them, plus even if I don’t acquire any new books very quickly, it makes me happy to know I have room for them if I do.
Jennifer B. says
I was wondering the same thing. Thanks for asking! (And thanks, Crystal, for answering.)
Amy says
I am so impressed you managed to do clothes and books in one day! For me it went like this (I read the book a few weeks ago and just happen to be doing it at the same time as you; I was delighted to find out you were doing it now too and love reading the posts about it!):
Day 1: Hauled out EVERY item of clothing I own, sorted into piles. Went through piles, started the folding. Spent a lot of time watching youtube videos on konmari folding. 😉
Day 2: Folded what felt like 500 pieces of clothing. 😉 A few more konmari videos, spent way too much time unsuccessfully googling how to store scarves and belts the konmari way. Blown away by how little space my tiny folded clothes took up. I now have ALL my clothes in my room (no more giant tub of out of season clothes in storage) AND I have a big empty drawer left over! Then went through bags (and all the other junk stuffed in my closet shelves), scarves and shoes.
Day 3 (today): Planned to do jewelry and books. Woke up sick. 🙁 Taking a rest day instead, though I might just do jewelry.
So sorry you’ve been struggling with your health; praying you feel better soon!
Emily D. says
I’m cleaning out my shelves right now. I’ve made sort of amazing progress–the whole “only books you love” thing has gotten me to get rid of the authors I was holding on to because I felt like I needed them for my library. Goodbye, Tolstoy! Goodbye, most of Dickens! Yay!!!!!!!! I was able to get some books off the floor and on to shelves,which was a HUGE step forward for me. I’m not entirely finished–a few more shelved and piles to go in my bookworm.
Lea Stormhammer says
Okay, this is going to sound really silly: but I have been doing this for years with my children’s clothing but never with my own. DUH!
Thanks for reminding me….
Lea
Teri says
Andrea Dekkar has a video on folding shirts – http://andreadekker.com/t-shirts/
Melissa says
I tried this with my kids’ drawers after pulling out all the too-small clothes (the book really put me in the mood for decluttering!) I was expecting that within the week the drawers would be chaos as usual. Well – it’s been four weeks and I’m completely shocked that the drawers are still neat, and the kids prefer to see all their choices and only pull out the one they intend to wear (as opposed to when clothes were stacked, they’d yank out the bottom item and make the stack fly everywhere – half out of the drawer, usually.) The clothes do lean a little as we get empty toward the end of the week, but when we put away laundry we just stand them back up and off we go. No more re-folding every item to make it neat again! I am a convert!
Lisa says
I find it helps (and is more frugal 🙂 if I don’t buy books unless I’ve already read them and know that I love them and will want to reread them. 🙂 (Unless it’s a classic that I think is an important addition to a well-rounded family library. ) The library is a great source for books that you aren’t sure if you would like! And free!
Jennifer says
I love doing this but honestly my dresser is broken. THe track is broken but it’s my grandma’s set so I don’t want to get rid of it. Sad that we get so easily stuck. =(
Sarah@TheOrthodoxMama says
As a bibliophile, I’d love to hear about some of the books you chose to keep and why they spark joy for you. I love posts like that! Also, is it cheeky to ask if you will keep “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”? 🙂
Stephanie says
You can try rolling your t-shirts instead of folding. You can still see the fronts, they stay pretty neat, and it takes less time than folding. It takes up a little more room, but if you have a lot of white undershirts like my husband does, you can stack them to save space.
Karen says
I only did a bit last night as we returned home late. I did a few dishes (we will be seriously paring these down to 4 each if silverware, cups, glasses, plates and bowls. Then one each size pan.)
After that I did a bit of tidying in the living room before having my son vacuum.
More tonight!!!
Krista says
I haven’t read this book, but it looks amazing. My husband and I have been paring down a lot in our little house lately, but one thing I don’t feel like paring is my books. They bring me joy. The ones I have read and loved make me happy; the ones I haven’t read yet make me happy. They just do. So, I’m keeping them. I wouldn’t mind getting rid of our tv and all the wires/cords/cables, but they bring my husband joy… 🙂
Raquel Evans says
This method of cleaning out books is the first one that’s really made sense to me. So much minimalist advice for books (which boils down to, ‘buy a Kindle and throw away your books’) just makes me decide to skip getting rid of any books, because I really do love my books. This advice seems like it would work whether I have 10 books or 1000 books that individually bring me joy.
I can also really relate to having a ‘want to read’ pile that turned into a ‘should read’ pile. I’m kind of dreading admitting to myself how many of those books are NOT bringing me joy.
ElizabethClare says
I really have a hard time getting rid of books (especially as a homeschooler). I think it is something I could work on! As for the clothes standing up thing-I’ve tried it and failed. It seems the whole stack gets messed up whenever I pull something out!
Jennifer says
We homeschool too but really found it motivating to get rid of the books when we earned money or credit at the bookstore which means new books to read!
ElizabethClare says
What a wonderful idea! I wonder if any bookstores near us offer this type of program. I try to just hold on to books that are classics or I know my children will read again, but my bookshelves still fill up quickly!
Nikki says
I cleaned out my books today and found quite a stack that needs to move out of my house! My DD also cleaned off her bookcase and in the process we ended up trading bookcases. We’re both pleased with our “new” bookcases and today’s project is getting what we’re keeping in place.
Leanne says
I was just catching up on reading your blog and wanted to say:
1. I’m so thankful your surgery went well
2. You inspire me when you are the most real about your life
3. You inspired me to clean my fridge yesterday
4. I’ve read your blog for almost 9 years… you spur me on to do and be better in many ways!
THANK YOU!!
Susan in St. Louis says
Try putting the clothes top to bottom rather than side to side in your drawer. (so, vertical rows rather than horizontal) I found that works for me pretty well. 🙂
Nancy Wilbur says
After watching the u tube videos about 8 times, I tried. I got everything folded neatly and aligned by color. Then, because we have a platform bed with drawers underneath, the drawers are not deep enough! I tried adding 1 more fold then the shirts got round and that takes up way too much space. Back to the drawing board for me!
Milissa says
One more thought…if it bothers you that your drawers are not full and you want them to be so the clothes stand up all the time, you can always combine drawers. T-shirts on one side (you have enough for a front to back row) and workout clothes on the other side….or pajamas…or sweatshirts….or whatever. At the end of that, you’ll have a “full and neat” drawer with all the clothes standing up…and empty drawers. Yay! Which means now you’ll have a “home” for some of your currently un-homed items.
Julie says
There are some great youtube videos on folding the “kon mari” way. My husband is into it now and does most of the folding! It does allow you to see more clothes at a glance, you can fit a lot more into the drawer, and my drawers feel neater. Modern Mrs. Darcy has also written about the Kon Mari method with regards to clothes. Good for you for giving it a try 😉
Jessica says
I cleaned out my 2 year old’s room and went through 2 basement storage bins. See, a local refugee organization worker who is an acquaintance posted on social media that they have 100 kids coming into our city every month, and they have no winter clothing and no socks or underwear to give to these people before they are eligible for cash assistance… I was certain I had some outgrown winter clothes of my kids. I found 1 winter coat and 1 fall jacket, plus 3 hats, 1 scarf, 2 pairs of mittens, 3 pairs of gloves, 1 t-shirt with the tags still on it and several pairs of shoes that my kids never wore! Hiding in the depths of the closet! I also found two crib sheets and we got rid of the crib a year ago. That was from my 2 year old’s room.
From the basement bins, I found the stashed socks & underwear. I found several still in the packages (they can’t accept used socks/underwear for hygiene reasons). So all that, plus some new toothbrushes and school supplies my kids didn’t need this year.
I still need to go through my 5 year old son’s room. I already did my 8 year old daughter’s room.
The organization will pick it all up Monday!
julie says
Try putting your shirts in the dresser the short way…stand them up starting at the front of the drawer than then add shirts going back…instead of going from side to side like you did. I fold my shirts in half lengthwise, then fold the sleeve over, then fold the shirt in half from top to bottom and then again in half from top to bottom…does that make sense. I have room in my drawer for 3 short rows, one for short sleves, one for tanks and one for long sleeves and none of the rows are completely full. I put my clothes in my drawers much the same way Andrea Derek does and my girls put their clothes away the same way. As far as not having enough shirts to fill the row, neither do I, a few shirts slouch a bit but not enough to make me crazy.
Jennifer says
I agree, put them upright from front to back, you can get 2-3 stacks beside each other. Alternately, you can lay them flat but fan them out so you can see them.
Milissa says
I was going to suggest the exact same thing. Put your shirts in the drawer from front to back instead of left to right. It’s also ok if they don’t stand perfectly all the time. If the stack isn’t full, they may Klein a little. It’s ok…you’ll still be able to see everything better and get the clothes in and out easier…and it still looks neat. 🙂
Milissa says
*lean a little. Stupid autocorrect.
Amy says
Agree also. When I put mine away, I put the just cleaned shirts in the back, so that I am wearing them all. If I keep skipping one, I know it is time to get rid of it.
Jennifer Beard says
Good tip!