Monday, June 30, 2014

Books Halved!

Books! They are dear to my heart. There are some that I could never part with. They helped me through a difficult patch of life, or they changed me in important ways.  I love the smell and feel of a book in my hands. I love the way text seeps into my pores, and become part of who I am. I knew this process would be difficult, but I had committed to it so I did it. If only a diet were this easy to commit to.

As I went through the books I kept putting one after the other aside to reread. Oh my gosh! In order to read that pile I'd have to give up everything for the summer and do nothing but read, very tempting.

I tried to start with some standards for decision making, but I soon found my emotional connection to some books was getting in the way. My rule in life is to use your heart and mind to make decisions. I think my heart won over in many instances.  I started with the bookcase at the end of the hallway because it is cheaply made and I knew the shelves needed to be lightened up.

Before
After



From just this one book case I removed 124 books and only 56 remain.  I am very happy with this. Most of these particular books are professional books that will be moved to school, where I will have better access to them. 

Now onto my office/art studio/craft room/ the place where everything gets thrown if company is coming and we have to clean the house in a hurry. There are two book cases here and the bottom couple of shelves held things other than books.

After

Before





Before
After
Okay - for some crazy reason Blogger wouldn't let me put those two pictures side by side. Well, you get the idea.

Here are total numbers for all three shelves:

Books removed - 242
Books remaining - 217

It seems I didn't have as many books as I thought I did, but my darling husband reminded me that I got rid of many in a yard sale two years ago. What? You mean I didn't really need to do this? It's okay. I made my professional books easier to access and all the others are out in the world where other people can enjoy them.


TA DA! 

I feel good.



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5 comments:

  1. Margaret Bremner, ArtistJune 30, 2014 at 5:50 PM

    Sheesh. This will be the third time I try to post a comment, so if they're going through unbeknownst to me, just delete them!

    Good work! We love books too so I can sympathize. Are you halving only your own personal stuff, or all the stuff in the house? And if just your own, how do you feel about the other person/people keeping all their stuff (junk?)?

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    Replies
    1. JanetJune 30, 2014 at 7:15 PM

      Thanks Margaret. I'm only halving my own things. It's just my husband and I. He has given me the green light to reduce his stuff too. He's disabled or he'd be doing it himself. He is not emotionally tied to most of his stuff, so it will be much easier. I think costume jewelry or rubber stamps will be my next halving project. Between you and me, no Zentangle or art books left the shelves. :)
      Thanks for your comments!

      Delete
  2. KipJune 30, 2014 at 7:12 PM

    Sigh. I have 10,000 books in my basement and throughout my house and studio. I don't even know where or how to start. Then I read "I Murdered My Library". Now I don't even know if I want to--

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  3. JanetJune 30, 2014 at 7:14 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. JanetJune 30, 2014 at 7:18 PM

      Kip - I totally understand. I just don't want my kids to have to deal with it when I'm gone. It really does lighten my load emotionally too. Knowing that someone else is getting pleasure from books that I haven't opened in 20 years is quite gratifying.

      Delete

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