Marie Kondo 2

The books

Here is the update on how the books reorganization went.

In real Marie Kondo style, you gather ALL the materials belonging to a category. In this case: books!

Tessy, my professional organizer, asked me to do this beforehand. 

I get them out of the bookcases and sort them by “sub category” which is easy, because that is how they were stored anyway. Reference books, comic books, cookbooks, travel guides, craft books, artbooks, novels, biographies…

Things are going smoothly. I put vertical piles on my long studio table.  I can also immediately evacuate a few books into a “to give away” bag.

No help needed.

However, the more I take out, the more space I need. I have to move to my dining table. Another 2 meters+ table. By the end, read, last 3 shelves, I am stacking and pushing piles to make room for more piles.

When done, I have these “book buildings” on both my tables, 3 empty bookcases (that could do with a good wipe of wet cloth), a panicking mind and a body too tired to do any wiping.

How on earth are we going to get through this?

I had always been proud of my “living library”: no dead books. No novels I did not read or finish. My reference books had all been bought with a love for the subject and all arts and crafts books even more so!

How could /would I ever get rid of any of them?

Next day, Tessy is in the house and things kick off.She is not fazed by the scene at all.

I had foreseen 5 sturdy shopping bags for “evacuation” and they are filling up. The books that are staying, get stacked again in “building” fashion but the piles are smaller.

We are making progress. By lunchtime however, there is still a lot to do and I secretly wonder if we will finish.

After lunch we move on. Each book has a story or not, or reason for staying or not.  The 5 “evacuation bags” are not enough.

After 5,5 hours of work, we are done! I end up with 2 bags of books for family and friends, 2 bags to donate and 8 bags to sell. And of course, neat stacks of books on just 1 table. We sit down to have a drink and want to leave it at that. But Tessy spurs me on: “we have 30 minutes left, that is just enough to put everything in its place”.

And so we happen to finish this job.

After making a new appointment, I am by now virtually pushing Tessy into the elevator to get her out of my place.

I am on the verge of tears due to exhaustion.  I debate if the books are in the right place. 

I question if this is what I wanted out of this day? Have I made the right choices?

The 12 bags of books that have “to go” stare at me and I am discouraged. So much weight, that I have to get into my car. Will they sell? Is it worth the trouble? In other words, the exhaustion makes it impossible to see what has been achieved and it has put me in a foul mood.

Time for a shower.

When I come back, the air and my mood are clearing up. I can see, really see, that all the books that I have kept are either nice, or lovely, or interesting, or fun …  Each and every single one of them is special and they do spark joy!

The next day is Saturday and secondhand bookshops do not “buy” on such a busy day. 

On Monday, although my sister is willing to help me with the “evacuation” on Thursday (3 days later), I decide to get going on my own. In order to decrease the weight, I need more bags. This means more trips to carry them all. So be it.  I get it all into the elevator, into my garage and car. As the bags get in the booth , I can see my car “lowering” and I even wonder if my car can take the weight. Of course, it can.

I unload at one shop, sell a couple of books, reload, go to a second shop and sell virtually all that is left! The books that no shop wanted + those in the bags for “donation”, I deposit in a street book library where people can take whatever they want for free. I wish those books a great future and hope somebody likes them. 

My dear friends, it was a massive task! Timewise. The hours of unloading the book shelfs, the day’s work with Tessy, the time involving the evacuation of dismissed books. Physically. Books are heavy!  Mentally. To think about each single one of them. To make a decision. To “let go” of some books that I have loved but are not part of my life now anymore. 

It is hard work .

But the reward is massive too! Every book in my house, has an honest “raison d’être”. The subject of the book belongs for 100% to my fields of interest and will be consulted/read accordingly. There is also a 100% correct emotional connection to each book.

And the empty shelves make it possible to redecorate my bookshelves/appartement. 100% increase in fun and beauty.

In other words, a massive task that gets a 300% result! ;-)

PS: The books I deposited in the street library are gone! Except for one about tartan patterns. I must admit, the picture quality is not of today’s standards.