Every WeDnesday in the Habithacking world is D-Day, a Declutter Day when we spend at least eleven minutes working. Decluttering is not cleaning. Its goal is to identify and get rid of stuff from the Dump (throw out), Deliver (stuff you giveaway or return), and Donate categories.
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago entitled “Decluttering Books are Cluttering Our Bookshelves.” I’ve never forgotten it.
I checked the writer’s name to make sure she wasn’t one of my tattle-tale friends.
A couple of interesting items:
From 2014 to 2018 the annual print sales of books in the cleaning/caretaking/organizing category went up 78%. A year later it zoomed up an additional 94%. This is, of course, when Marie Kondo came out with her blockbusters (the wildly popular The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and follow-up books and Netflix series).
Do these statistics mean that those of us who struggle are constantly failing and thus always trying something new? Or is it simply the fashion to be minimalist or to embrace decluttering? I think a little of both.
Marie Kondo spoke to our hearts when she cautioned we should only keep what brings joy. She also ingeniously taught us to fold and file our clothes. But some of her methods are disastrous for Habithackers, including me. She wants me to empty my entire closet onto my bed at once? And sleep beneath an ocean of black leggings and black t-shirts until I stop procrastinating (meaning my silk scarves continue to be pillows for years)? No, thank you.
I still purchase habit and decluttering books (e-books save shelf space). And most offer insightful tips.
But are decluttering books really clutter? As a writer, I might just be on the side of those who don’t believe books could ever be clutter.
I herein decree: Decluttering books are agents of change, tomes of hope, and the repositories of our perfectly organized dreams. They are only clutter when they no longer serve you.
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