Back in 2009 I packed up a lot of our books into cardboard book boxes and they were stored in our end shed...I wasn't really expecting that they would be boxed up for as long as they have been as I was hoping we were moving that year...I have been hoping that every year since! The eternal optimist I guess. Well the roof blew off the shed at some stage and we had to do repair work and I didn't realise those boxes of books were damaged as I was told by my DH that they were okay....I should have checked! A lot of books have been damaged, some irretrievably, some not so much. Still I guess that is one way to thin out the collection! I have been sorting them today into piles to throw - too badly damaged to rescue, to send to the charity shop, no longer interested in them, or realised I don't really need them. This includes two sets of 'home educator' encyclopedias that used to belong to my grandparents. I don't really 'need' them, and so I have realised I need to let go of them. Some of the books will be going to my son, many of these were used when he was home-educated and so he may want these, and those he doesn't can be taken to charity. The ones I am keeping I am re-boxing (for now - perhaps it will be THIS year we finally move) into plastic boxes we bought today for the books - 32L square 'Really Useful Box'.
I currently have almost all eight of these plastic boxes full... this was from about 10 cardboard boxes. Yikes though they are heavy! I have about six bags (shopping bag size) for charity and a couple of bags and a couple of boxes for my son. Not sure how many I have had to throw away, I didn't want to count as it was too heartbreaking. I find it very difficult to sort through books, I am a real bookaholic and have been since very young. None of this Marie Kondo stuff when it comes to books for me, they pretty much all give me joy! There are some I just could never get rid of, some I still want to read, and some that I would like to re-read. Of course whether I will ever have time to do so is another story. I dream of having a room to be able to turn into a library. I used to think it would happen, now I am not so sure.
There have been a fair few tears shed as some of my really special books have been damaged...I have to learn forgiveness for these... as if I'd known that we weren't going to be going anywhere for at least the next nine years when I boxed them up, then some may not have gone in the boxes. Oh for the lack of proper book shelving space.
Of course now the lounge looks like a bomb has hit it, and I have friends coming over tomorrow! Hopefully by then we will at least have some sitting down space. Why do I start these jobs 'the day before such and such is going to happen? I guess because I was inspired to do so. But boy what a job!
Oh gosh and one box in particular was especially gross...three giant slugs had set up home in it - it was too disgusting to even take a picture - believe me you wouldn't have wanted to see it. Man can those things poop! I had to get DH to deal with this.
I probably won't be able to move my body tomorrow!
I think it's similar to how they say that building more freeways just creates more traffic. Building more bookshelves seems to create more books - at least it does in our household. Of course, I'll take more books over more traffic any day!
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of books is not a job I enjoy either. I've had quite a few goes at my 'loft library' over the last few year: usually when my brother is here. Fortunately I've not lost any really special books. However I'm finding that the older I get the less important many of them seem.
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