My books and I

I intend for this week to be about some of my tidying efforts.

The order that I am going in is based largely on how much an area annoys me. 

It surprised me to be focusing on my bookcase; I was sure that at this time I was not going to tackle books. I was partly right, but not all the way.

In fact, I have kept many books that I will probably not keep forever. I still am not going into another bookcase in a different part of the house, and there is still a not particularly tidy collection of books on my nightstand.

The primary reason I did not think that I was going to deal with the bookcase was that the top shelf has magazines that I am going to read someday. I knew I was not going to touch them. I did not touch them.

It was the shelves below them that were bugging me, so those are what I tackled.

Again, it is really easy to know what I have no interest in keeping, and easy letting it go. That is the part of the process that was most valuable for me, and that is the one that I have down.

Back when I was seeing more pushback against Marie Kondo, a lot of it was focused on books, and people being angry that she might suggest limiting yourself to thirty books. 

Of course that is missing the point of what sparks joy. Having a lot of books that you have already read and once was enough, or that you will never really read, is not likely to spark joy. 

There are books that are comfort books for me, that I periodically want to revisit. Without having counted it out, I can't swear that there would be more than thirty. 

However, right now I am in the middle of something that suits me really well. These reading projects that I do (and my lists) do help me get more out of my reading. I am not at a point where I want to disrupt that. 

I am getting to books now that I have had for years, and feeling joy about getting to them. (Some of them are not exactly joyful, but they are still giving me information I like to have, which I enjoy.)

I know that this is temporary. It may take five more years, though that is just an estimate. After that, I will probably go through and discard a lot, and that will be fine too.

My way of doing it would not be for everyone. However, going through and looking at what you are doing, and confirming that it is what you want, as opposed to shuffling along in the habits you have had and may not particularly like, makes a huge difference.

It is not just that everything is more purposeful, though that is huge. It is also that I am choosing me, displaying confidence in me, voting for me... it is remarkably affirming.

I know what I am doing, and I like it.