Organizing/Digging Out #2 06-03-08

The more "treasures" I collect the less I am able to deal with them - find a spot to store them, keep them dusted, and, more than anything, know where they are. The time has come to DO something. My friend Liz, the most nonjudgmental person I know, has agreed to give me some days and today was the first. Boy, is she a slave driver - like the Energizer Bunny she never stops. I, on the other hand, don't have the energy to go non-stop and need a little sit down time here and there. I think we made good progress today and will go at it again on Thursday.

We started with the bookcases (and the piles and boxes of books in front of them) in the family room all of which hold fiber related books and magazines. There are Quilter's Newsletter Magazines for almost thirty years, fifteen years of Piecework, and on and on. Some of the magazines that I will need to find new homes for are piled by title on this table and underneath are books that I need to sell - there will be more of those.

These bookcases are secured to the wall to prevent them toppling in earthquakes, but a problem is created by the short 'plugs' that support the shelves and provide a way to move them at a later date. They are not long enough to hold the shelves in place when there is a moderately severe earthquake, so the shelves collapse on top of each other and all the books must be removed to put everything back in place. I am trying to replace the plugs with something longer, but may end up putting a permanent support on each side for the shelves to sit on - I won't be able to move the shelves up and down, but I haven't in about 22 years so I don't think that will be a problem. We have put some of the books back on secure shelves, but as you see there are more waiting to be sorted and decisions made.

I find it difficult to dispose of any books, I have, after all, spent about fifty years acquiring this library. However, I either have to clear some of them out or move into a larger house, which would be ridiculous for just one person - there are people who feel I should have downsized when my husband died eighteen years ago. But, my feeling now, as then, is that this is my house, where I choose to live and I am stuck with it!

At some point we (hoping that Liz will stick by me) will have to tackle the "fabric library" and if anyone thinks I have a lot of books.... well, the fabric library is all over the house and I don't even know what I have. A bad situation, yes? I don't know when I will find much time to sew for at least the next month, but I am determined to squeeze in some hours now and then, just for my sanity. Send good thoughts, please.