Well, I just posted earlier today that I had found more books to add to my list.
They seem to be tucked in many places around the house, as I have just discovered more.
I believe I now have a complete and accurate current count of books.
283 books in all, and my initial goal is to get them below 100.
I have 124 books currently listed on Half.com (my store link) for sale.
This puts me currently in possession of 407 books.
I will first try to sell as much as I can, then trade in as much as I can, then donate to a local favorite charity thrift store. I have a bookshelf dedicated to nothing but books to sell at this point. My goal is to reduce my books to 100 or less, and to have all others out of the house by the end of the year.
RULE DEFINED: 1 item in, 1 item out – I will always want to spend time with a new book, and this would apply to other possessions as well.
There are many approaches that I have read about when trying to reduce clutter. Some people do sell stuff. Garage sales. Donate to thrift store or library (books). Consignment shops. Sell it for you online auction businesses. Give to people you know will appreciate receiving the item. Unfortunately, we all have a certain amount of clutter that is nothing more than garbage, and hopefully some of it can be recycled.
To answer a question that might be on your mind, I will try to sell what I can first, because I also wish to eliminate debt. That will be a future topic on my blog, and many others.
I have so many thoughts and ideas, some I am already starting to put into practice. Others I will try as soon as I make progress in other areas. The first task I am tackling is to make an inventory, and reduce possessions.
I spend most of my time doing those to-do items that aren’t specifically what I want to do, wishing I could be doing something else. Not very mindful! It largely comes back to my need to get rid of stuff. When you have so much clutter, it takes a lot of time to clean up.
Clear this counter or table, and move the pile someplace else. It’s like a huge chess game, but at least when playing chess, pieces actually get taken off the board.
Peter Walsh states, in his book “It’s All Too MUCH!”, that if you look for lost items 5 minutes a day, that will total about 30 hours each year. I’m sure I spend a lot more than an average of 5 minutes a day looking for stuff.
Have I said how much I love this book? It is truly motivating! I read a little, and want to actually take the steps to make it happen.
Peter is giving us the life we want, and I see it getting better every day.
CONFESSION: The more you clean, the more you find stuff you forgot you had, or didn’t know where it was.
I came across more books when sorting through a closet. I now have a total of 253 books, but still plan to continue to purge. After I make further progress on my list, I will be posting it, and updating it as I make progress.
RULE DEFINED: Counting Possessions – IT IS WHAT IT IS These are my rules, and you are free to take them, or share your own ideas. Everyone will never agree, and we all have to decide what works ourselves.
I had posed the question of how to count a “Jeeves and Wooster” DVD box set I have (1 set, 4 seasons, or 8 DVDs). I have decided to go with the answer my wife gave me – 1 item. It is what it is – accept it. It is purchased as 1 item. If I bought each of the 4 seasons seperately, then it would be 4. You can’t alter this and call the 4 seasons a full set, because it did not come as a full set.
