I’ve made it over the holiday hurdles and I’m almost finished putting away Christmas decorations… I don’t know why it takes so long. Oh, wait, yes I do… I have 3 small kids who unpack behind me… It’s a process.
Anyway, I’ve been bitten by the spring cleaning bug early this year. I blame the week of 60° weather in January.
I started by listing (I’m a list maker) all the things I want to get organized and under control. Amy Roberts from Raising Arrows says if it stresses you out, it needs a system. So, the systems I’m working on this year are:
- Library organization
- Clothing storage and organization
- Homeschool materials
- Kitchen functionality
- Food preservation and storage
- Seed storage
- Toys
- Chore delegation
- Sewing/knitting/crochet supplies
- General household atmosphere for greater peace
It’s really difficult for me to hone in on just one area. My brain is like a pizza- everything touches everything else and I want it all to work simultaneously. I need my husband’s ice cube tray brain- each little section, separate from the other, individually accessed.
So I started with one of the easier areas- library organization.
We have so many, SO MANY books… Some of them are like children to me. I can’t bear the thought of parting with them. Others I can part with, so long as I know they are going to a good home to be read and appreciated.
But with the waves of theological textbooks, Bible commentaries, and other books flooding our home since my husband started seminary, not to mention the homeschooling literature and curriculum, I decided it’s time to get a handle on the library.
I always dreamed of having an entire room of my home dedicated to books. Much like the castle library in Beauty and the Beast.
Instead, I have this
And this
And this
For starters, I ordered two 48″ long hanging bookshelves. My husband pointed out we have a really odd space in our hallway that is just about the perfect depth for a bookshelf or two. So, I think the plan is to house some of the books there. The other option would be to have them in the entryway with the rest of the bookshelves, Which, honestly I think I would prefer for the sake of continuity. The entryway has sort of turned into our library area, so I don’t see what’s wrong with just adding to the space to make it more functional.
The other thing that goes along with the organization of the library is purging the books we don’t want or need anymore.
I said before the purge is the hardest part for me when it comes to books. I can throw out chipped dishes, old clothes, kid’s art projects, but books!? They’re eternally useful! Especially reference books, so long as the information isn’t super dated.
Lucky for me, I found a means to pass the books along that gives them a good home while also getting them out of my space- we have a community little lending library!
So they will be getting a good donation of books to thin out our collection a bit.
For now, I’m waiting on my shelving to arrive, and I’m focusing on getting rid of the clutter.
Wholly Holy Living 