Down-sizing

Ouch! The thought I am having is in association with my book and craft collection, and it is painful to say the least. Especially as I dream of having a library room one day......
I do not (yet) own an e-reader. I do not have a library pass. I do spend an inordinate amount of time rifling through the book section on Amazon.co.uk. I love to own books and I am passionate about each and every one of them. I find it incredibly difficult to imagine losing a few - I imagine gaining more bookshelves instead! I still to this day remember once having to sell a whole load of paperbacks to raise some cash when I was strapped and Becci was quite young. They along with my bike went to good homes I'm sure, but twenty odd years later I still retain a little pain from doing it.

I don't read them all, I simply like living in the knowledge they are around in case I should want to read one again. I might one day want to make a Jane Asher children's birthday cake or a Thomas the Tank Engine embroidery or a Kaffe Fassett cardigan!!! I could need the advice in a Laura Ashley Home Furnishings Book for a roman blind, or how to do mosaic on a garden table top. Why am I wanting to down-size? Because I am afraid they cannot all stay with me indefinitely and I ought to leave some behind or take them to a jumble sale and that all those boxes of books weigh a ton!!!
I am going to start with the magazines I have on Scrapbooking!!! I have made that resolution this year and plan to take them to the sale in April. They are in Dutch, mostly, so I think people will love them as much as I have learnt from them. I don't need them any more. I know enough to continue with my hobby without them, so ok, I can do that deal.  Children's books are taboo. They are never thrown out!!! I think I spent more time picking out books for my children than any other toy or gift when they were small and I still buy them books to this day. Only now they are classics, or on baking or cake-making, vintage tea parties, or home decor or trilogies like Lord of the Rings. Tim is not a keen reader but he does like a good trilogy. Becci and I are book-a-maniacs and will read most things. Lately mine have been to do with counselling and coaching and life -learning skills, with the odd randomly wanted book like ROD at Christmas. Becci is happy to haunt all the charity shops to add to her collection, as would I if there were any here selling English books!! So me and Amazon are best friends. How many will I part with? Don't know. Have to make a logical and not an emotional choice once the weather is warmer and I can spend the necessary hours going through them in the attic. Too cold, right, to do it now? Not enough new boxes to pack them in either. Too much in front of the stacks to get to them easily as well. Apparently this is known in some quarters as "Serpentining" ( from Daring Greatly).
This zig zagging around an issue and not facing it squarely on. Dancing around the problem, making excuses, putting the moment off etc. Delaying the inevitable. Detouring. Diverting from a course. I know, I know. But I will have to do it, and not only with the books, so this is me mapping out my intention to down-size this year. Said it; put it out there; can't go back now.
Think I need to sit and read a while.......
Sue xx