Once we decided to downsize and move to California, I implemented Marie Kondo’s sorting and purging method. This means we started with clothes, then books and music, papers, miscellaneous items, and finally sentimental items. We had a huge job ahead of us, (3300 square feet of house and stuff), but breaking it into these categories helped us wrap our brains around it.
Clothes were the first things we edited. As I went through my clothes, piece by piece, I asked myself a series of questions. In addition to asking if the item sparked joy, (as Marie Kondo advises), I asked myself if I thought I would wear the item again, if it still fit me, and if I thought it would have a place in my retirement lifestyle. Clothes that didn’t make the cut were given some gratitude, then folded and placed inside a large garbage bag which then went directly into the trunk of my car to be donated asap. Throughout our downsizing process, my favorite place to donate was the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Their drop-off site is easy and seamless and they distribute donated items to their clients first, with leftovers ending up in their thrift store. Proceeds from the store go back to the mission. Their staff is friendly and helpful, and stopping by their donation site became part of every trip to nearby Tacoma. John let go of some sentimental clothes: a Japanese robe that he gave to Kali’s boyfriend and an old leather bomber jacket he’d had since the 1970s. We continued to purge our clothes over the months leading up to our move. The only thing I regretted letting go of was a comfy old sweatshirt from a high school where I taught. I loved that shirt and I would have worn it around the house here in the cool Bay Area, but this is just part of decluttering. It’s worth it to me to regret one item if I get rid of a bunch of other items. A cautionary note when donating clothes: never donate underwear or bras or clothes that are really worn out. Instead, Google “recycle textiles in my area” and see if you can find a local resource to recycle clothes you can’t donate.
Next up in our downsizing categories was books. I had 13 shelves of books and John had 23! So. Many. Books. I edited my books down to 6 shelves of books. John managed to shrink his library to 10 shelves. I loved my library, so this was hard, but I also knew I wouldn’t have room for all of my books in our new home. I asked myself which books were irreplaceable or sentimental and which books I would probably buy again if I let them go now. I also asked which books might do more good on someone else’s shelf rather than gathering dust on mine. I ended up keeping sentimental books, books that have impacted my life in a significant way, books I want to read, and books on my favorite topics that I knew I would come back to again and again. I do most of my leisure reading on my Kindle using the library’s Libby app, so I rarely buy books anymore unless they are so important to me that I want them in my physical library.
John’s bookshelf editing process was similar to mine. The first question he asked himself was “will I ever read this again?” That eliminated a good number of books. He then asked himself, “which of the books still on my shelf can I download for free on my iPad?” That took care of a good number of other books. He kept his favorite cook books, sentimental books, some reference books, and books he still wants to read.
So what did we do with all of the books we parted with?
I gave some to my 30-year-old mentee/friend. I also took some books to the Tacoma Rescue Mission and to Goodwill. We brought home extra boxes from each trip to Costco and used those to box up John’s kajillion books. We quickly realized they were going to be a behemoth to get rid of. I mentioned to a friend that John was letting go of most of his library and she said she had a friend who would probably take all of our castoffs! What??? This person routinely takes books to Half Price Books, then uses the money she gets from the store to buy books to give to her counseling clients. What a great cause! She and her partner drove to our house and filled their pickup truck to the brim with our books. (See photo). The entire truck bed was full along with the backseat of the cab. We felt such relief watching them drive away.
Books are not as easy to offload as clothes, but you can try donating contemporary or popular books to your local shelter, library, thrift store, or retirement home. If you just have a handful of books to let go of, consider donating them to a local Little Free Library, but be polite and don’t dump a bunch of books in the library steward’s lawn. It’s also okay to just recycle books, but be sure to remove hard covers and dust jackets.
Our most beloved books now have places of honor in our new home. John’s 10-shelf library fits perfectly in a space at the end of our kitchen. I have four shelves in my office and another two shelves tucked away in a closet. We are no longer surrounded by books, but our carefully curated libraries feel appropriate to our space and somehow even more special.