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Post by dtesposito on Jul 12, 2012 23:41:04 GMT -5
Just did a little bit today. I decided to give up my Harry Potter books--I collected the whole series from the resale shop, and I have NEVER read them. I just don't read much fantasy/sci-fi anymore, and I love the idea of these books but if I haven't started them by now I don't know that I ever will. I think I like the idea of them more than the reality of them...if that makes sense...so time for them to go. Not to mention that they are BIG books.
I'm really letting go of a lot of books that I thought I'd never be able to. It helps that my taste does change over time and books I was sure I wanted to keep just don't seem vitally important anymore. Of course as my taste changes I find new genres and then want to collect those.....
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 14, 2012 21:32:12 GMT -5
Just did a little work on Friday but today I've spent nearly the whole day on this project.
I'm amazed at how hard I'm working on this and on how much there still is to do. With the exception of boxes in front of the linen cabinet, all the books in my dining room are in their designated parts of the room. Not completely sorted yet, but they are taking up the amount of space they are supposed to take up. Now, there are other books in the other rooms that are supposed to go into the dining room categories, and some of them will fit and some won't. When I get to the point where they don't fit, I will have to pare down some more. Then there are plenty of other blocked places to work on, but the DR was probably the worst room, and I've made a lot of progress in there.
I have 3 stacks of books to leave the apartment, one of the stacks is taller than I am, the other two are almost up to my shoulders.
How are the rest of you guys doing?
Diane
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Post by andrea on Jul 14, 2012 23:12:55 GMT -5
Things have been going kinda slow for my due to serious health issues. I have probably been doing more than I should and it shows since I have been feeling sicker each day. I was better for a while since I rested but then the last 2 days I have pushed myself way to hard and now I feel very sick again. Tomorrow I plan to sleep in and rest as much as possible. My list is actually coming along pretty well even though I feel like I am falling behind on what needs to be done.
Diane - Great work with everything you have accomplished so far keep up the great work.
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 15, 2012 21:55:57 GMT -5
Hi Andrea, well, nothing on your to-do list is as important as your taking care of yourself and resting when you need to! It will all still be there to do when you feel better--tomorrow get your sons to wait on you for a change.   Diane |
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 15, 2012 22:00:13 GMT -5
I got some work done today but it was very unfocused, just a little here and there around the whole apartment.
I have another unexpected "day off" tomorrow, I'm once again cancelling a trip to my sister's because it's going to be really hot. I also think I should rest my sore foot as much as possible when I can, and when I'm book sorting I can often sit. I might have one walk tomorrow and have to go to the store in the morning, but that's it. Instead of trying to finish the DR completely, I'm going to move on to my series books in the bedroom. Big project.
9 weeks to go.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 16, 2012 22:55:55 GMT -5
I had planned to start on my series books today, but I think I chickened out. I told myself that it was better to work on problem books, the ones I set aside to check for one reason or another, and I did work on those--but I think it was partly an excuse to put off the series books. This is going to be a huge job, with a lot of mess. I'm guessing I won't do them tomorrow since it'll be over 100 degrees, and then on Wednesday I have 4 walks scheduled, which is busy compared to how the last couple of weeks have gone. Thursday is Dice Game day, and this job doesn't lend itself to the dice game. Friday is 3 walks and volunteer work. So next chance for series books is Saturday. (See how good I am at putting things off? ) I'm very pleased with how my DR looks, the stack of boxes is still in front of the linen cabinet, my old computer is still in there on the floor until I tackle the job of getting stuff off of there, and there is a small strip of miscellaneous stuff along the wall edge of the dining room table that I will need to sort. But it looks better in there than it has looked for at least a year--lots of clear floor space. I keep going in and looking at it. Diane |
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Post by missjeanclean on Jul 16, 2012 23:53:34 GMT -5
You're doing very well, Diane. About your "putting off": You put in a lot of work on the 14th, so that may be the reason you feel stalled. I have a similar situation with one of my entry points. I worked on it over three days, and now I just look at it and walk away. |
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 17, 2012 21:18:08 GMT -5
Hi missjeanclean, you're so right about my needing a break, I found myself walking into the room, standing looking one direction, turning and looking the other direction, and walking out. So today I decided to do general decluttering and sweeping, since I had let everything go. I got a ton done, my LR and 2nd BR have not been decluttered but everything else has, it looks much neater in here and that makes me feel more relaxed.
Tomorrow I have 4 dog walks, and although it will be 10 degrees cooler than today that still means 90, and humid. So I'm guessing I won't get too much done at home. We'll see though, maybe I can at least continue the decluttering in the LR since that's where I spend the most time.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 19, 2012 22:37:31 GMT -5
This morning, since I couldn't get online, I decided to start the series book sorting project that I was going to put off until the weekend. I've also been working on it the last few hours, and I'm only about a quarter done. This is major work, and involves redoing all of the books already on bookshelves, integrating the non bookshelf books onto the shelves if there's room, deciding which ones I can give up without reading. Series books will also have designated spaces, and when they're full I'll have to keep cutting back. I'm finding some duplicates too.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 20, 2012 23:21:48 GMT -5
My series books are almost done, I have maybe a half hour's work left to sort out the few remaining straggler books. Tomorrow I'll get back to my LR decluttering project. Yes, it's part of my summer goal--it means I'm looking at all the book areas that are left in the LR and figuring out what they are, and decluttering anything in those areas that aren't book related. This will tell me exactly what is left to do in the LR.
Of the areas I listed at the beginning of this project, several have been cleared, but filled up again with books in other stages of sorting. I guess this is a churn, but I don't know any other way to accomplish this. In order to get rid of as many books as possible, I have to assure myself that I'm checking them before letting them go, otherwise nothing will go anywhere.
The books to be donated are filling up my entryway, because I can only take them a cartful at a time. I almost considered posting a Freecycle post to give away a few shopping bags full of books, but it's too much trouble because I don't have anywhere secure I can leave them outside, and I don't want to have to be home to answer the door. I think once I get past these major sorting stages, the number of books leaving will diminish and I'll be able to catch up on getting them out.
Throwing them out is not an option for me, I use amnesty for some things but not for books--the only way I can talk myself into letting them go is to take them to the resale shop. Although, I am throwing the very worn paperbacks into the recycle bin, and the very worn hardcovers into the dumpster.
The DR still looks good, the BR looks way better now that the series project is almost over, and the LR looks like the proverbial bomb exploded!
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 21, 2012 23:36:17 GMT -5
Series books are all finished, this means I have just about all of the "keeper" books in their proper place, although I have no doubt I'll find a few more around.
My next step in this is that I divided my LR into 13 "zones", each of which is an area which has books OR clutter in it. I'm first going through each zone decluttering, which means I'm taking away anything that isn't books, (plus maybe some books that are easy to remove) but that doesn't belong there, plus I'm identifying what kind of books are there so I know what I'll have to do to them. When I'm done with the first step on all the zones I'll go back and deal with the books.
This is turning into way more than clearing access--it's basically getting the last part of my "hoard" under control throughout my whole apartment. Last night and today I finished the initial decluttering of only 3 of the 13 zones.
Somehow making a little diagram of the room with the areas marked off makes it all seem so doable, rather than looking at the whole room and getting overwhelmed. Of course I can declutter this little tiny space! And then keep going to all of the other little tiny spaces!
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 25, 2012 21:44:13 GMT -5
I've been working on my goal every day, although I'm also incorporating a lot of general decluttering. My hamper is now clear and being used. My main desk is completely cleaned off and useable. AND, my weight bench is now cleared off too, so I did a 15 minute weights workout tonight for the first time in a couple months! (Of course, the fact that my weight bench was not available was no excuse for not exercising, since just about all exercises done on the bench can be done on the floor.  I'm going to have to stop and rethink where I am now, because today I found myself working kind of aimlessly. It feels strange because I can't say certain areas are "done", because I am still moving things around. Tomorrow is Dice Game Thursday, so maybe I can make a list of specific things from my goal to work on then. Diane |
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Post by andrea on Jul 26, 2012 16:09:36 GMT -5
I haven't been doing much lately due to health issues but have been able to clear everything out of the family room and have started cleaning the wall and scraping the ceiling at this point. I am still seriously hoping to get family room done by the beginning of next month if possible. The next few days I plan to focus on family room ceiling and wall.
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Post by grammea on Jul 26, 2012 16:39:28 GMT -5
My summer goals are pretty much stalled as my grandson is here til the beginning of august,but I hope to do lots of work on them once his mom and dad come to get him.
Series books? That intrigues me,I am a reader and a book collector and find it easier to get rid of individual books rather than series.What series are you collecting? If you don't want to clutter up threads with this,I'd love to hear from you via pm and we can chat "books"my favorite subject!
God bless,
Helen(grammea)
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 26, 2012 20:36:22 GMT -5
Hi Andrea, you are amazing--I know you're dealing with serious health issues and you're still managing to get so much done! The thought of trying to paint walls in my apartment makes me so anxious I don't think that will ever get done. Hi grammea, how old is your grandson? If he's older than say...5 years old, get him to help you! My series books are mostly mysteries, although there are some that are just plain fiction. I've never thought of myself as a book collector (ironic, eh?) because I think of a collector as someone who either acquires books that they think will be worth something some day, so it's a financial investment--or, as someone who enjoys the hunt for books as they would any other "collectible", like postage stamps, matchbook covers, Elvis memorabilia--you know, looking for unusual items so they can display them and show them off. I think the only books I can say I've collected for the curiosity value would be old ones--I have a few from the early 1900s or the late 1800s that are medical books, etiquette or cookbooks--so they are interesting just to see the way of life portrayed. They also have a sense of history--I can imagine someone in the early 1900s buying and reading the book--it's a wonderful feeling of continuity that I'm holding and enjoying the book today. But I never collected books planning to sell them later, and most of the books I have are not unusual, they were purchased to read, or else to trade for books that I DO want to read. This reminds me, I started a post in Byways a REALLY long time ago asking what people were reading, and since I've been back posting regularly the last several months I haven't gone looking for it. One of these days I have to go find it and post some books I've read lately. Grammea, I'll send you a PM too, but feel free to write here about what kind of collections you have. Diane |
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