Why I Gave My Books Away – Marie Kondo’s Method

I really love to read! When I was a kid instead of sleeping with toys, I would sleep with a book.

I remember reading that same book more than 5 times, and that was my favourite book to sleep with. 

Even though some years passed, my passion for reading didn’t change a bit! I still read and buy a considerable amount of books! Actually, if you want to gift me, a book is always a good choice!

Two years ago, my main goal was to “collect” a lot of books, so later I could build an enormous library. But my perspective changed!

Right now, I only buy the physical version of a book if it really interests me. Most of the times, I listen to the audiobook first, and only then I decide if I want to buy a physical copy.

There are a few reasons that made me change my perspective. I remember reading a book last year from Marie Kondo: “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A Simple, Effective Way to Banish Clutter Forever”, and the author recommends only keep things that “sparkle joy”.

I get rid of a bunch of clothes and items only because of that book. But I couldn’t get rid of books, because I wanted to grow my collection, and so it didn’t make sense (at the time) to give them away.

Fortunately, I now have a totally different opinion about this topic. Right now, I have a box near me with around 50 books to sell and give!

But why did I decide to say goodbye to those books?

#1 “Do not spark joy”

Marie Kondo promotes the idea of getting rid of things that do not spark joy. And that’s exactly what I did.

I held each of my books in my hands, and I thought: “Does this book really sparks any joy? Does it make me happy?” If the answer was “No”, the book would go inside the box.

That’s mostly why I have a box full of books. I discovered I kept a ton of books that I didn’t enjoy, or that didn’t bring me anything valuable.

So now, I only keep the books that are really important to me! The ones that I have no doubt that changed me, and that are really meaningful. Those are the only books I want to keep.

#2 More Love

As I only have books that impacted my life positively, when I look at my books, I feel more love for them! Because they are a selection of the best ones.

The feeling of only keeping things that you REALLY enjoy is really great! No more clutter or unnecessary things occupying space.

You are basically removing mediocre books from your shelf. This doesn’t mean the books are bad, they simply didn’t make a difference in your life. But they can change other people’s lives. We all have different perspectives and points of views. So a book that you didn’t like, can be your best friend’s favourite.

I recommend you to read Marie Kondo’s book because it’s really good at helping you to declutter.

For me, the main principle of getting rid of physical (and emotional) stuff, is simply to only keep things that make me happy.