Happy Thursday! Our household has been in a tip lately – we installed our own laminate flooring in the basement (I am now a whizz on a mitre saw) and in the next two weeks we are having our carpet replaced soooooo, it means we have to remove the carpet in the rest of the house. What does this mean *sigh*, it means a lot of sweat equity to save us $300.00 that the installer would have charged to remove it themselves.
One of the things I need to take care of in this mini makeover project is to clear off the book shelves. We have gotten rid of lots over this past year but we are all big readers and they multiply like bunnies on the shelf. I will be donating some of the series that my daughter’s have out-grown to some of my daycare kiddies. The remainder will be boxed up and donated to the local library. What they do not need, they sell as a fundraiser.
As I mentioned, the cookbook chaos is gone so really the last area of book blasting is our day to day reading. Some books on organizing and financial management I keep for reference materials but most of the novels and biographies really need to move on to a new home. The best part of donating to the library is that if I ever want to read any of them again, I just go and borrow them. The clutter is out of my house but the books are just a library away!
My mission for you this week is to go to your bookshelves and find 20 books you can donate. If you can free yourself of more than 20 books, please, by all means – do it! Put them in a bag or a box and take them directly to your car and put them in the trunk. Next time you drive out of your parking spot – head to the library and deposit the books.
Magazines.....toss everything but your last 6 into your recycle bin.
I know what you are thinking:
you collect those magazines,
you love those magazines,
you paid good money for those magazines,
you WANT those magazines....
You do not NEED those magazines. Magazines just create clutter – if there is an article in a magazine you wish to keep, tear it out ...put it in a page protector and file it in a binder or a file in your filing cabinet. In an entire magazine, there are not likely more than 8-10 pages you really want to keep. Better yet, stop buying magazines...and Google any information you might want. Things like celebrity gossip, home decorating, fashion, beauty tips are all available online for free! Save both money and clutter in one shot! If you absolutely cannot toss them in the recycle bin (you really can though) then I want you to pack them into your trunk and take them to the nearest hospital waiting room and donate them there. Off you go, you can do this – free yourself from the clutter!
Stay tuned for more about the tasks involved in getting ready for the new carpet and some new mini tasks!
