When the Kondo book first came out, I read it but I know I'd never be able to follow it. As I look around my "library," filled with books, notes, hard drives, cameras, folk art collected during my travels, my father's old files, I'm glad to think of them not as clutter but as records of my well-lived life. Still, it would be nice to be able to sit in one of the chairs without having to move piles of stuff. ;-))
I've managed to corral my books in my study where my PC is, the den I read in at night and do Duolingo with morning coffee, plus built-in shelves and a bookcase in three hallways that were beautifully done by a master carpenter. The chairs and loveseat have to be kept clear for the dogs should they chose. :-)
As a person in her 60s, I regret giving away and throwing out so many things. It’s good not to be a hoarder, but it’s also nice to have memories in the form of real, physical objects. Wisdom gained too late!
I have cleared out books over time because I've had thousands, but mostly because they were in bad shape or in such small font that they were not viable for me. But I have, for instance, gifts my girlfriend at the time gave me for my birthday in 1975: an antique set of Fielding's novels and marble bookends. I would never get rid of them. They remind me of her and how much we used to laugh together and how we both loved books.
Empty rooms, empty lives...
When the Kondo book first came out, I read it but I know I'd never be able to follow it. As I look around my "library," filled with books, notes, hard drives, cameras, folk art collected during my travels, my father's old files, I'm glad to think of them not as clutter but as records of my well-lived life. Still, it would be nice to be able to sit in one of the chairs without having to move piles of stuff. ;-))
I've managed to corral my books in my study where my PC is, the den I read in at night and do Duolingo with morning coffee, plus built-in shelves and a bookcase in three hallways that were beautifully done by a master carpenter. The chairs and loveseat have to be kept clear for the dogs should they chose. :-)
As a person in her 60s, I regret giving away and throwing out so many things. It’s good not to be a hoarder, but it’s also nice to have memories in the form of real, physical objects. Wisdom gained too late!
I have cleared out books over time because I've had thousands, but mostly because they were in bad shape or in such small font that they were not viable for me. But I have, for instance, gifts my girlfriend at the time gave me for my birthday in 1975: an antique set of Fielding's novels and marble bookends. I would never get rid of them. They remind me of her and how much we used to laugh together and how we both loved books.
How lovely!