this week i cleaned my bookshelves and went through my books…again! i would consider myself an aspiring almost-minimalist. i know i don't need books, except my Bible. i do like books quite a lot though. i love stories. i love pictures. i love inspiration. i love learning new things. i don't like having a lot of things.
something that i have learned over my years of simplifying is that there are two ways of filling a space, whether it is a closet, a bookshelf or a room. what often happens is we look at all of our things and zero in on the things we are willing to give away. this is great, because most of us have too much. we feel good that we have found some things to let go. then we gather up all the rest and put it back. this does work to some extent. but i think there might be a better way.
the other way is to set all of our things out and shop for the perfect collection from those items. we may end up letting some things go that we still like, but maybe we don't need them. i'd rather see a smaller collection of things that i love than a larger collection of things that are good.
something that i have learned over my years of simplifying is that there are two ways of filling a space, whether it is a closet, a bookshelf or a room. what often happens is we look at all of our things and zero in on the things we are willing to give away. this is great, because most of us have too much. we feel good that we have found some things to let go. then we gather up all the rest and put it back. this does work to some extent. but i think there might be a better way.
the other way is to set all of our things out and shop for the perfect collection from those items. we may end up letting some things go that we still like, but maybe we don't need them. i'd rather see a smaller collection of things that i love than a larger collection of things that are good.
some of my favorite books
when i look at my bookshelves, i want to see a collection of well-loved books that reflect my interests. this time, when i went through the books that i have, i decided to create a collection of books that say, "me". this little collection holds the books that have spoken loudest to me and have heavily influenced who i am and want to be. i love seeing them all together, like a collection of my thoughts, aspirations and dreams…in visible form.
i got rid of some books that i really like, but i know i can check them out of the library. i decided to keep my favorite book on my favorite topics in most cases. i don't necessarily need three books on the same topic. i did keep a few books that i need to read and then will probably donate. here are some ideas of places to donate books and magazines:
-the library
-homeless shelter
-hospital or retirement home
-someone who would like it more
- goodwill or thrift store
so here are my book shelves…my favorite books surrounded by one of my other favorite things…white space. i like it.
what are some of the books that say, "you"?
love, jane
-the library
-homeless shelter
-hospital or retirement home
-someone who would like it more
- goodwill or thrift store
so here are my book shelves…my favorite books surrounded by one of my other favorite things…white space. i like it.
what are some of the books that say, "you"?
love, jane
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