Got Books?
/How to Organize Books the KonMari Way
Collect:
Gather your books from all locations into one pile. Check bookshelves, office, desk, nightstand, etc. If you keep cookbooks in the kitchen, create this individual pile in the kitchen and complete the organizing process separately for this category. Do not include library books in the process, as those should be stored in a separate location from the books you own, such as a shelf, cubby or basket near your home entrance to facilitate library book return/check out.
Subcategorize:
Separate books into categories based on what types of texts are represented. It may make sense to only have two broad categories such as fiction and non-fiction. Especially with large quantities of books, you will need to subdivide into many categories of fiction (historical fiction, sci-fi, novels, etc) and non-fiction (memoirs, scientific texts, instructional books, etc) so that you can take precise inventory of each text type. If your book collection contains texts written in multiple languages, you may choose to integrate all languages into genre/text subcategories or you may group different languages separately and subcategorized within each language collection.
Joy Check and Sort:
Sort through subcategories one at a time. Hold each book individually and decide if it goes in the keep or discard pile. As you build your discard pile, these can all be grouped together with the exception of any texts already destined for a friend or family member. For the keep piles, maintain the same subcategories as the groups they came from. In general, non-reference books that you have been “meaning” to read for a long time will likely remain unread and therefore are good candidates for letting go. Reference books on specific or obscure topics that cannot be easily researched on-line are better to keep as it may be difficult to re-acquire the information. Keep an eye out for duplicates, placing any duplicate titles in the discard pile unless you have a very good reason for owning more than one copy of the text. If you encounter memorabilia books and/or photo albums, these should be set aside and processed with other sentimental items or joy-checked and displayed once you are storing the “keep” books.
Dispose:
You will now have “keep” books in subcategorized groups, and “discard” books in one large pile. The most efficient way to discard the entire group of books is to donate at a center such as Goodwill. If you have time and are interested in specific books going to specific organizations and needs, you may separate the discard pile into different destinations. For example, newer/better quality books can be donated to the public library, children’s books might go to preschools or family support organizations, all or specific books can be posted in Facebook groups such as The Buy Nothing Project, and any book can be placed in a neighborhood “little library”.
Store and Display:
Before putting any books back, take stock of your keep subcategories and the amount of texts in each group. Now either visually or by drawing a model, estimate the best storage section of your bookcase or other book area for each category. Your books can be “stored” back into various locations of the house if this is appropriate, such as bookshelves, office, coffee table, night stand, etc. In general, when storing many books on a typical multi-shelf bookcase, place physically larger books on the bottom shelf and work towards the top in descending size. This will create a visually pleasing aesthetic without a “top-heavy” image. Get creative with storage and display! Books can be arranged by category, genre, size, color, or any other grouping you can think of. Also, many non-traditional storage spaces can be utilized for books, such as baskets, wall displays, drawers, and cabinets.
