Nicole

Hello again, friends. If you’ve been following along, you know that last year I read Marie Kondo’s international best-seller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and each week this month I will be sharing with you nine ways the Kon’Mari Method has helped to improve the organization and quality of life in my home over the past year.

Last week we discussed how my morning dress ritual was transformed from dreadful to peaceful through the Kon’Mari Method. This week I want to focus on the second category outlined in Marie Kondo’s book, my homes paper piles.

If your home is anything like my own, paper spreads around like the sands of the Sahara. It’s everywhere and hard to contain. We shuffle papers from place to place, from pile to pile, but sooner or later, paper will take its toll on the visual place in your home. 

I work from home in the legal field. My husband is a public school teacher. I am also a blogger. We are constantly bombarded with papers of all capacities. Decluttering paper, while not as tough as decluttering books, was in its own right an equally difficult challenge.

Keep in mind, the papers section of the book left a little to the imagination as the section was only a scant ten pages in length there were still many lessons on paper that we could learn. So, here are the nine lessons we have learned while using the Kon’Mari Method on paper:

Consider legalities

Regarding legal papers, we utilize a simple rule: if it doesn’t require a raised seal to be deemed legal, it can be scanned, stored, shredded, and discarded. The remaining papers such as voting cards, birth certificates, marriage licenses, mortgage packets, high school diplomas, my husband’s military forms DD214 records, and insurance records are kept in a fire-proof lock box in our home.

Take dates into consideration

When going through our original mortgage documents, tax records, and school records we took the Feds rule into account, we only kept seven years’ worth of documents. All else was scanned and stored. 

Art for art’s sake

In terms of created art, we take photographs of artwork and papers we want to remember with our iPhones and post them to Notabli, an app for saving and organizing your child and family’s most treasured moments.  Another fun way to save art is to scan art and turn it into online screen savers, which allows our family to be constantly surrounded by the images that spark joy in our lives. The 1% of art that we truly want to keep physically on hand goes into a fire-proof file folder or matted, framed, and hung up in our home. 

We re-evaluated what was important

Often people hold onto clutter because they feel it’s vital to their home’s success. To avoid this paper-induced black hole, we signed up for online bill statements, digitized product warranties, scanned only the greeting cards from deceased loved ones we truly treasured, shredded all checkbook registers and utilized our online check services at our credit union, and kept only a year’s a piece of pay slips. Everything else we shredded and recycled.

We created a household inventory

Kondo suggests putting all business papers in one clear plastic folder without sorting them into categories. Instead, opting for fire-proofed file folders. We stored all of our family insurance records. We then created a digital household inventory that lists out insured belongings, emergency information, tax and insurance documents, and our pet records as well. While keeping two file folder portfolios, we minimized our files by focusing not on physical records but by setting up a household inventory binder. This binder lists our overall inventory of insured goods and documents how we want our household to be run. 

We rethought mail

We started a new rule, a one-touch rule. Within minutes of mail coming into our home, we sort and file bills, advertisements, and junk mail immediately. All mail that will require our attention later is pinned to our family memo board. We do this to keep papers from drifting to other rooms. Once and done works well for us. 

We rethought photographs

Taking a lesson from my family artwork and digitized all pictures using the Notabli app. The only non-scanned photos we have are framed and mounted to the wall.  

I rethought my writing

As a blogger and writer, I use paper to sketch out ideas or get feedback from others. I applied Kondo’s method to my blogging by dividing my writing into three categories: assignments needing immediate attention, short-term projects, and long-term projects I might not revisit for months or years. I created a spreadsheet of ideas, added dates to both my blogging planner and Google calendar, and then wrote down all topics on sticky notes which were transferred to a physical editorial blogging board. This keeps my ideas both tangible and within reach. 

We gave ourselves a timeline

As a family, we gave ourselves one month to complete this leg of the Kon’Mari method. At the end of three weeks, we had seven bags of paper. And best of all? Our family papers now reside in a single space within our office space, and nowhere else. And to keep chaos at bay we make sure to do a nightly paper sweep of our home and shred unneeded mail before heading off to bed. This is the ultimate takeaway for us, the Kon’Mari method for papers must be maintained daily! 

Decluttering our home files has brought my husband and me small joys each time we know we no longer have paper piles all over the home. We feel more organized. We have cleaner office counters. We pay closer attention to papers needing immediate attention. While decluttering papers is an arduous task, I guarantee you that you won’t miss those papers once they’re shredded and gone.

Now, to next week’s category: kimono and mementos. 

Friends, have you used the Kon’Mari Method to organize your family’s papers? If so, I’d love to hear about it! 

Here’s to decluttering,

Other posts in the series:

Part 1- The KonMari Method: Organizing Clothes

Part 2- The KonMari Method: Organizing Books 

Part 3- The Kon’Mari Method: Paper Organization (you’re here!)

It’s not secret that I love to read. In fact, reading has been a vital part of my life, education, and livelihood for an long as I can remember. But you may be asking, as a minimalist how do I keep up with all the books I want to read without owning these titles? Simple, my local public library. And for those who think of the library as a place for only kids books and reference editions, you’re behind the times my friends.

Today with local libraries lending everything from sewing machines to e-materials, cultural passes to pots and pans, these vital community institutions provide so much more than books these days. So dust off your library card and check out these 13 new and amazing reasons to fall back in love with your local public libraries!

1. E-Books and audio-books: If you’re a fan of e-books, audio-books or streaming video, you’re in luck! Many local library branches provide free programs such as Hoopla, which lets you instantly borrow free digital movies, music, eBooks and more from home with your library card, including titles on Amazon, Netflix, Audible and Spotify! In addition, many local library systems provide free access to the Overdrive app, which gives patrons allows access to new released digital audio-books and eBooks, categorized by genre, availability, language, and grade levels from home. with additional specific featured collections. It also goes without saying that local libraries are also treasure troves for physical DVD’s, audio-books, CD’s, and video tapes, too!

2. Foreign Language Instruction: As a former language instructor in college, this is one of my favorites! Many libraries offer Mango Connect, a free net-based program to help students and working adults alike learn over forty languages including Arabic, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, Swahili and Arabic.

3. English as a second language: Looking to sharpen your English speaking skills? Be sure to stop by your local library’s circulation desk to see if your local branch’s offers free second language resources.

4. College e-Textbooks: College is expensive. College and university textbooks are even more expensive. Luckily, many local library branches offer eBrary, which allows you to check out or download both community college, vocational, and college level books for many public in-state institutions. The best part? This program even allows for in-program hyperlinking and highlighting!

5. Activity passes: Many libraries offer free day passes to museums, zoos, concerts, poetry slams, and even to kid’s movie festivals! Keep in mind, tickets are on a first-come first-serve basis, and you will likely have to reserve passes in advance.

6. Tutoring: Did you know that all public library branches will allow patrons to request individual one-on-one librarian tutoring services? You can schedule 30 minute sessions you need researched and studied, and they’ll come armed with materials and information to discuss your area of interest, test, and even mandated test subjects. With the cost of tutoring costing often in excess of $60.00 or more an hour, this is a little know bargain for the academia world!

7. SAT and ACT test prep classes: Before you put down any of your hard earned cash for test prep classes, be sure to check your local public libraries to see if your local branch offers test prep, both online or even in person, which can not only help you prep for test success but boost your chances for scholarship prospects.

8. Resume writing assistance: Many local libraries provide resume writing software as well as one-on-one business professional services, which can help you build your best resume to date. Also, many libraries offers classes to help you optimize job search prospects.

9. Homework help: Is your child in the middle of algebra homework and could use a little extra one-on-one help? You’re in luck as many local libraries provide free code access for Tutor.com, a site that pairs with many library systems to provide free live homework help from trained professional educators. Tutors will help with proofreading rough drafts, PSAT and GED prep, and most services are available these services are available in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese from 2 P.M. to 10 P.M. EST each weeknight.

10. Digital Subscriptions: Are a magazine addict? Save those hard earned dollars and check to see if your local branch to see if your library will give you free access to Zinio, a site that offers over 5,500 current issue options, as well as many back issues on your device of choice, both on ios and Android.

11. Home Improvement Rentals: Have a few home maintenance projects looming on the horizon? Be sure to check with your libraries circulation desk to see if they will provide you access to a local municipal libraries, often run by independent non-profits run volunteers which give 12-hour, free “tool library” borrowing services to local library patrons.

12. Summer Reading Programs: Avoid the dreaded summer brain drain by checking your local library for Summer reading programs. Many programs include reading lists, scheduled local storytellers, board game and crafting play-date group sign-ups, and even mommy meet-ups for homeschooling parents. And the best part? Many branches also offer summer book clubs for adults too!

13. Meeting Space: Looking for free meeting room space for your local book club? Your local branch library often has meeting space that’s free to reserve. Keep in mind, many branches will need you to reserve rooms a month in advance. Check with your local library for more details.

So, folks there’s thirteen amazing reasons to check out your local public library branch with fun, frugal eyes! As an active library patron I was amazing to learn just how many new offers and programs my local library has to offer! I hope this article inspires you to discover the amazing opportunities available to you at your local library!

Here’s to learning,

Hello again, friends. If you’ve been following along, you know that last year I read Marie Kondo’s international best-seller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and each week this month I will be sharing with you nine ways the KonMari Method has helped to improve the organization and quality of life in my home over the past year.

Last week we discussed how my morning dress ritual was transformed from dreadful to peaceful by way of the Kon’Mari Method. This week I want to focus in on the second category outlined in Marie Kondo’s book, my collection of books.

While I firmly believe in personal accountability and speaking one’s truths, I will also freely admit this category was a little intimidating for me. I was more than a little nervous about decluttering my books this past year. It makes logical sense to donate unused, unnecessary, unworn garments hanging in my closet. I mean, if I could neither fit nor wear, why own it? Books, on the other hand, were another story.

Why was this chapter so trying for me? Well, I love books. I have had a long love affair with the written word for as long as I can remember. To this day, I still consider Jane Austen and her heroines, Lizzy, Jane, Emma, Diana, Elinor, and even Mary Crawford to be great friends of mine. Did I also mention I married a book hoarder as well? My husband, an educator, anthropology major, son of a former librarian turned college dean and lover of all things Tolkien. He is my book hoarding co-conspirator and soulmate. So when I read that books were the second category that we needed to take on, I knew we were in trouble.

Though I was not a fan of parting with any titles, I was committed to finishing the entire KonMari process. We gathered all of the books we owned, which, we found out, were scattered everywhere– in our bedroom, under our bed, in our dining room sideboard, in the living room entertainment center console, in every nook of my office, piles in the den, everywhere. And the cookbooks, the stacks, and stacks of cookbooks in the kitchen were more plentiful than dust and dreams. Every room contained weathered books that we had to collect and bring together and sort!

There were so many. I soon realized that I had kept all of my literature anthologies, sociology reference editions, legal dictionaries, Art History volumes, books I had reviewed for this blog, and much, much more! Then there were stacks of hand-me-down books that my husband never actually planned on reading, and I have no idea when they came from. And let’s not forget my collection of each and every book Nicholas Sparks, Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris, and Candace Bushnell ever wrote. It was a mess!

Luckily, with the KonMari method the sorting of books centered around keeping editions that “spark joy,” and not around parting with any book that sparked joy for our family. There were many books that were easy to part with, only a dozen or so books that we were kind of on the fence about, and few that we just couldn’t give up. Once we finally had sorted through everything and decided what was important enough to keep, we ended up with two huge piles. One pile of books to donate to our local public library, and a second pile that would fetch a fine price online for store credit through Amazon’s trade-in program. 

In all, we parted with 1,237 books. Kept only 203, of which nearly half were my husband’s teaching and lesson planning guides, which are necessary professional development tools. 

What really sparked joy for me while Kon’Maring my books? My leather and cloth bound books, my Jane Austen collection, not only remained but were now beautiful editions that stand out on my built-in bookshelves. I also kept my most-loved Charles Dickens novels, my husband’s graphic novel volumes, and a few family classics from Tolkien too!

An added bonus? We freed up an entire floor-to-ceiling bookcase to house family photos, vintage records, and fun heirlooms. Kon’Maring my books has been a true success. 

So, here’s nine lessons I learned from the Kon’Mari Method on books:

1. When it comes to books, live in the moment. Why had we kept all of these books for so long? Simple. I suffered from “Oh I’ll read that someday” or “So-and-so gave that to me, so I can’t get rid of it,” but the truth of the matter is, if a book has sat on my shelf for over a year I’m not going to read it and it’s okay to let the books go onto new homes and new eyes.
2. Location, location, location. If we’re keeping books that we don’t really plan on reading, that’s just wasted space, and in our small house, we can use all of the extra space we can get! Let the book go!
3. e-Books are awesome. I acquired most of my books before e-readers were really trendy. But now that I own an iPad I can add numerous titles, most of which are free to my online cloud services without taking up one square inch of my home. 
4. Public library here I come. We have a fantastic public library in our area. So unless it’s a book I know I’ll read over and over again, I will reserve it from my library first. Plus, I can read these books to my heart’s content, and have up to six weeks to read each title at my convenience without these borrowed beauties taking up any valuable real estate on my bookshelves.
5. Bigger, better deals. My library is also very good about getting new released out to patrons within a week of release, in most cases. So far I’ve been able to read or request the books I want to read without ordering from Amazon. In fact, my library has an online book request section. I also now check out the OverDrive app, an app which allows users to check out newly released books from their local library from the comfort of their own homes as an e-book selection for one month. This has saved my budget nearly a hundred dollars a month! 
6. My sinuses thanked me. No matter how often I dusted my books, I often sneezed around my older, dusty editions. Since donating so many volumes my sinus headaches and allergies have lessened considerably.
7. My reading style shines through.  Books, like clothing, are all about style. Every book I kept is now a forever book. Each book represents my interests, passions, and tastes. Should I move, downsize my home, or move abroad I know that the books I own are non-negotiable keepers. I can see just what types of fiction and memories I like to read, what cuisines I enjoy cooking most, and what stories truly impacted my life. I went from owning random books to a sophisticated, cultured, curated home library. 
8. I can be a more giving person. I still review cookbooks, non-fiction, and memories. Now, instead of holding onto every book simply because I carefully combed each page, reviewed each tile, and vested time into each author’s central message,  I can enjoy a good story and pass those books on to others. I also now gift a lot of books and have enjoyed sending books to friends and family out of state and country. 
9. I am not a sellout. It took me some time to come to terms with the idea of parting with my books did not mean that I didn’t love each and every author, genre, and edition. That getting rid of a title didn’t mean the information they presented to my mindset would be taken away from me. This is hoarder mentality. I no longer had to be the woman who felt she was letting down Marie Antoinette simply because I do not keep her narratives on my bookshelf. 

In all honesty, decluttering my books was cathartic to my soul. I continue to be amazed at the relief I feel when we get rid of stuff! A year later my home library has been transformed from a rest stop for unknown titles to a working, always in progress home library. 

I’m excited to take on another area next week– so stay tuned for papers and document decluttering!

Here’s to more organized homes,

Other posts in the series:

Part 1- The KonMari Method: Organizing Clothes

Part 2- The KonMari Method: Organizing Books (You’re here!)