I've spent a good part of this afternoon/evening going through my bookshelves. At last count, there are eight books on how to simplify/declutter your life in the "toss" pile. Seemed like a good place to start!! Why do I keep buying books that tell me how to do what I already know how to do if I'm not going to pay attention to them and actually get rid of something?
I also discovered that I had about a dozen books on herbal remedies/natural healing that all pretty much said the same thing. Some of them had really pretty pictures, though... Out they went. I think I kept four of them. I do refer to a couple of them occasionally and one of them is a beautifully illustrated herbal encyclopedia that I'm keeping mostly just for the artwork. A girl's gotta have a few things for purely aesthetic purposes!
It's been interesting to flip through some of these books and read things I've underlined and comments I've made in the margins. I have four excellent books on churches that abuse and recovering from spiritual abuse--lots of angry comments and red marks in those! I'm keeping the one that spoke the most healing into my particular situation...it was a constant companion for awhile and a good reminder now of how far I've come from those bad days. God has used time and distance to heal deep wounds from which I once thought I would never recover. Along with those books, I'm also discarding the ones that deal specifically with wounds inflicted on women by ugly churches and several books on divorce and its aftermath. All good books, all had their time and purpose. And I have a pile of books that came highly recommended by people I respect, but the books just didn't "click" with me and I didn't get past the first chapter or two before laying them aside--and I never will.
My bookshelves are certainly looking much less cluttered now! And I'm already feeling like it's easier to breathe, even though nothing's actually left my house yet...I feel the load is lighter simply because I'm moving toward the goal. I have a sense that this whole "unsuffocating" thing may have deeper purpose than just getting rid of the physical "stuff". And it will be really cool that the important books in my life (my Donald Miller, Anne Lamott, and Wendell Berry collections among others) can be moved off the floor and onto a shelf where I can actually find them!
Back to work. My closet is next. Scary. ;-)
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2 comments:
At first I was going to ask you if you were literally "tossing" the books, or perhaps donating them to the library..but I see now that with your underlines and comments, your commentary might not exactly be what the library wants in a donated book. :)
I'm with you on the "stuff" sister. I am such a pack rat. I have a stack in my closet of all the birthday cards I have received the past 21 years. I have every homework assignment I have completed in college. Baseball cards, old books, clothes, board games, an 8 ball, all kinds of nonsense that has no reason to be there. My dad is the same way however, you should see our basement... He actually plans on renting a dumpster next month and throwing practically our entire basement(except our washer/dryer) into it. It will be a good day when that happens!
Lastly...I am quite confused about your wireless card problem...there is no reason you should need a Westell card in your computer for it to work with your Westell modem/router. Have you set the router up and the network is visible on your laptop? Very strange..
I have "packrat" genes, but somehow this tendency has been trained out of me. Maybe because, in college, I lived with girls who were purgers and they taught me the wisdom of their ways.
Do you guys have Kidney Services where you live? They're my favorite people ever--they call once a month and ask for donations for the Kidney Foundation (any kind of "stuff"--clothes, books, appliances, even magazines). And the best part is, they come to your house and pick it up! So once a month we go through the house and collect our extraneous crap and leave it on the porch. It's wonderfully convenient and it gives me the most freeing, cleansing feeling. I really think Kidney Services is largely responsible for my unpackrattyness.
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