Sticky described the objects in your life that are hardest for you to throw away. Usually because of some personal meaning that's attached to it.
When I was downsizing our collection of books last year, that term kept rising to the top of the heaps of books that I just wasn't willing to part with. Three categories stood out. First, all the bird books. Jerry bought one for every locale we traveled. And we made good use of them.
In each of them is a list of the birds he added to his life list on our trip there.
Then there were the books by cartoon illustrators, especially Walt Kelly's POGO books, Searle's cats, and Larson's FAR SIDE top the list. Jerry was of course a cartoonist so I've kept all the books by illustrators he admired.
Then there's a shelves of quirky early illustrated children's books -- each one a classic or wonderfully goofy, all collected at yard sales or library book sales.
What are the "sticky" things in your house that, given a choice, you'd rather NOT part with. Guessing that for more than a few of us, books top the list.
Yes, indeed, Hallie . . . books are at the top of my difficult to part with list. Photographs, too . . . .
ReplyDeleteAnd for me, SLIDES (remember those?) - so hard to know what you're getting rid of. We've got a ton of them.
DeleteSlideScan is an example of an iPhone app that lets you view your slides!
DeleteBooks for me as well. Especially the autographed books I have. I'd be hard pressed to give up the ornaments that were bought on various vacations as well.
ReplyDeleteAt least ornaments have the advantage of being small.
DeleteConsidering I still have Topsie, my childhood stuffed dog, it might be clear I consider a lot of things sticky. Photographs of family. The quilts my mother made. My grandfather's upholstered rocking chair. A Bedouin dress my sister brought from Israel in 1980. And so, so many books.
ReplyDeleteI still have my childhood stuffed toy dog that my mom sewed for me (when I was a year old). Recently saw her sitting high up in my bedroom closet.
DeleteThat is so sweet!
DeleteI still have my Pink Kitty…been with me for all the years I’ve been, Edith. Important to have and to hold. Elisabeth
DeleteI have a list of things I can't get rid of like my autographed books, all the things my son made or gave to me when he was young, my sports card collection, my jewelry though not expensive but most were gifts. I am planning on writing a list of who to leave my (to me) precious items to.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I keep trying to get my kids to take all the drawings and essays of theirs that I saved. No dice.
DeleteBooks for me, too. A lot are poetry and mysteries, and also some short story collections, but some childhood favorites, too: Edith Nesbitt, Frances Hodgson Burnett among others. And, like Edith, photographs. Because we wanted to reduce shipping, I emptied our (very heavy) photograph scrap books and put the pictures in labeled plastic bags. I imagine one day I'll sort them further and keep only a few of each in skinnier little scrapbooks. Also, I kept paints and brushes, but gave away two easels. I now only have a table easel, but that's enough. Meanwhile, we kept some of our favorite wall pictures, but gave many away (making a lot of friends happy, which is a nice trail to leave behind.) But we cleared out so many things for the move, I doubt we'll need to give away anything else for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI understand about Frances Hodgson Burnett books, Elizabeth. I have a falling-apart copy of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" with wonderful illustrations from 1911 that I could never part with.
DeleteAnd The Secret Garden, and What happened at Miss Minchin's (Sarar Crewe) and The Little Princess... She was so prolific.
DeleteAnd how could I forget to add Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. I loved that book and still do!
DeleteDefinitely books and a spoon that my great-grandmother used to stir her tea.
ReplyDeleteOh, how lovely to have your great-grandmother's spoon, Dru. I have a few small plates from my great-grandmother that I still use.
DeleteI have my grandmother's kitchen/good dishes. Some were used everyday and the finish is all cracked, and some were used for good (soup bowls) and are good. I was just given more soup bowls - the ones with a plate and a lid, and they are barely used. I would love to have someone come to visit who could enjoy them and remember good times with Gran. The dishes are clay, and definitely not dishwasher safe.
DeleteHow lovely! Grandmother's spoon! I have my mother's reading glasses. Can't even stir tea with them.
DeleteDefinitely books. And a large file box of family history stuff, some of it silly and unimportant, but still STICKY. (I love that term!)
ReplyDeleteOne large file box doesn't seem like so much to schlep along.
DeleteBooks, yes, especially the ones with my mother's name stamped in them. Truly, anything that was hers or my grandmother's is impossible to part with.
ReplyDeleteThat's the footprint of love.
DeleteBOOKS, of course. Mysteries take up the bulk of the space on the 22 bookcases in my Ottawa apartment. But I also have a dedicated bookcase containing with my 140+ cookbooks (and magazines such as Fine Cooking). And 5 bookcases have work-related reference books on climate change, natural hazards and water resources as well as my own publications.
ReplyDeleteUnlike others, I don't have many childhood family photos. My late dad was not sentimental at all. He threw out the family photo albums (despite being a prolific amateur photographer) when he downsized from our family home to a bachelor-sized room at a retirement home in 2016. Fortunately, I did make a scrapbook of my mom's first whirlwind trip to Europe. Photos & keepsakes from the Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, le Marais & other Paris locations.
DeleteMy parents "downsized" and moved when I was in college. They saved NOT A SINGLE thing from my bedroom. Wish I had my high school yearbooks that were full of signatures.
DeleteHALLIE: Fortunately, I took my junior high & high school yearbooks with me when I left home at 19. But childhood photo memories of birthdays, Thanksgiving & X'mas family dinners are gone.
DeleteWhat a good question, Hallie. Photographs of close friends and family--I can't get rid of those. The art on our walls means a lot to both my husband and me. Books I've read as an adult aren't sticky, but dog-eared children's books that I know almost by heart, especially if my mother or father read them as a child, are very sticky! And then there are shelves of useless stuff that I keep in a pair of glass-fronted cabinets in the hall: some porcelain flowers belonging to my favorite great aunt, a yarn creature our son made in the first grade, a pottery box my mother used to keep her wedding ring in, a whole shelf's worth of beautiful shells, and much more. None of it will mean anything to our son, so it will all have to go. But not yet!
ReplyDeleteNot yet... of course not yet.
DeleteThere’s the rub - our kids aren’t sentimental about the things we have kept. — Pat S
DeleteMy childhood pony books -- the "Jill" series by Ruby Ferguson. I'll hang on to them all til the end...
ReplyDeleteWish I had my Betsy, Tacy and Tibbs books.
DeleteTwo of my sisters and I read all the Betsy, Tacy, , and Tib books, over and over again. We were constantly borrowing them from the library. When we were all in our fifties, one of the sisters gave each of us a gift of a complete set of the books! They’re among my dearest treasures!
DeleteDebRo
Books are definitely a difficult one, but I think I have harder parting with unread ones that I know (honestly) I'll never read than ones I've read and loved. Unless there is some extra sentimental value, I'm not much of rereader and if it's a fairly popular book I'm confident I can find it again. As for unread books, I'm a pretty eccentric reader (some people might say I'm just eccentric, period ;-)) and I tend to buy and ask for things as gifts that I *want* to be the type of person to read but I won't ever read. I'm particularly guilty of this with books in Italian.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can read a whole book in Italian, but it takes a lot of concentration and mental effort. IN THE NAME OF THE ROSE was an absolute slog. Ditto Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels (I actually gave up half way through the series. shhh.). Letting those go feels even harder than a regular "I'm not enjoying this" donation. Especially since Italian books are more expensive than US printed books, usually. Luckily our neighbors have a little free library, so I just put them in there and imagine them blessing someone else on their lucky day. We even have a neighbor (I don't know him personally) who is Italian, so maybe he can help them find a good home. Now I'm reading Harry Potter and Nancy Drew in Italian. Much more my speed!
The other things that's hard to part with is journals. I actually do like throwing them out. They're a mish mash of to do lists, ideas, vent sessions, class notes, scribbled drawings. Everything. They are not beautiful "instagram pretty" journal entries, so I don't feel any obligation to keep them. I feel like I'm getting rid of old bad feelings and habits that I don't want to cling to. But before I throw them out, I comb through them carefully to make sure I don't have any brilliant story ideas (to keep) or super personal information (to shred!) and that alone can make the decluttering of them feel daunting.
Jill, I'm with you on the Ferrantes. "Tedious" is the word I finally settled on.
DeleteNancy Drew in Italian! Wow!
Delete@Karen, glad I'm not alone! The language is truly beautiful and I enjoyed when they were little girls (reminded me a little of A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN ) but everything else left me cold.
DeleteJournals! Wish I'd written and kept them (I did neither)
Delete"Sticky" is a great descriptor. Books, oh, lordy. Not just mine, either. We have out-of-date wildlife identification books going back to the 1930s. If you read Latin you'd love them. Every copy of Threads Magazine since the mid-1980s. Three shelves of cookbooks. Six shelves of sewing books. Five about gardening. Two shelves about writing.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest area for us, aside from the thousands of miles of film, and many filing cabinets filled with transparencies, is the artwork. Nearly none of it is valuable; I sold a lot of the good stuff on Everything But the House five years ago, but it is still abundant. Steve's dad had so many wildlife artist friends, and we inherited almost all the prints and watercolors he'd collected over many decades. We also ended up with my stepsister's parents' art, after she moved to Wales a few years ago. On top of our own collection of lovely works, many from dear friends. I reorganized it, but it still takes up an amazing amount of space, and most of it is too good for a garage sale.
Happy birthday to Lucy/Roberta, by the way! Hope you are having a wonderful day.
DeleteYes, happiest of birthdays to Roberta (Lucy)! Hope you are having a fun, warm celebration in KW!
DeleteHappy Birthday, Lucy! It's a wonderful day to eat cake!!
DeleteDidn't realize it was your birthday Lucy.. Have a great day! Eat lots of cake and enjoy the warm weather in Key West. Happy Birthday.
DeleteOne thing, that I think my mother said to me when somebody died, was take one thing to remember them by. Then if you want or need something else take that as well, but don’t feel forced into it. It stood me in good stead, and so I have some ceramic potato S&P shakers from my grandmother, a chandelier from Harummper’s grandmother, the living room ceiling light (which no one wanted but came with a really great family story) from my other grandmother, and a mushroom ornament from my mother. My father had so many things that I cannot pick out any tactile object, but so many things/events will spark a memory and usually a laugh.
ReplyDeleteAs for books – 2 things. I used to collect collections when I actually read books. We moved them, and moved them again, and then moved them again, and of course had to build more book shelves. When the kids got too old, I started donating their books that were not favourites (they could always get a Scholastic book from the monthly catalogue) to the school library – the favourites I kept. As for the books on the shelves – too good to throw away, and nobody seems to want them – not au courant titles/authors. I saw somewhere yesterday – possibly on the Facebook page – someone who was so excited about getting an entire collection from an author. I wish I knew of people like that.
As for my current book collection, they are predominantly audiobooks, and all in one file on my external harddrive. Read my obit, find the file folder, and hit delete. Simple.
Stuff embodies memories... I cherish the things I have that are associated with the people I have loved.
DeleteBooks, a Haviland china punch bowl I liven up with small pots of flowers, some watercolors. The stuff I want to keep means the most, and eventually, everything else can go.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've already made the assessment.
DeleteWhen my husband passed away in early 2019, he left behind a tall bookcase full of books about ancient Egypt, a passion of his. I'd given him books for his collection every birthday and Christmas (among other things). I wasn't as interested in the subject as he obviously was, but those books were special. I knew I would be moving out of the area within a year, so I struggled to find just the right place for his beloved books. I finally contacted the Egyptian Museum in San Jose and found that they had not one, but two libraries where enthusiasts could come and do research about the topic. They didn't have the resources to pick up the books, but they said they would be thrilled to have them, so I packed up MANY heavy boxes and managed to get them to the museum. I am at peace that Mike's treasured collection has found the perfect place to share with other like-minded ancient Egypt lovers and are a tribute to his life. I know he would have been pleased..
ReplyDeleteMARGIE: I am so glad you were able to find a new home for your late husband's books that is accessible for scholars & enthusiasts to use.
DeleteWhat a great story! You've got me wondering whether our local Audubon society would want all the bird books...
DeleteBooks top the list here, too. I will NEVER get rid of the autographed books, in addition to many other books I won’t part with. And that includes my bird books. And there’s the small clay dish my mom made in Girl Scouts around 1932 or 33…
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I have trouble getting rid of autographed books because next to the author's signature it often says FOR HALLIE... now how many Hallie's do you know? So I'm afraid the book will show up somewhere for sale and someone will realize that I'm the one that got rid of it. Paranoid, I know. Because I just have too many books.
DeleteSame here. Many of my hardback /trade paperback mysteries have personalized autographs, obtained at the mystery conventions I have attended over the past 30 years.
DeleteLetting go of Autographed books... the financial value isn't as good if they're inscribed to Hallie, or Kathy, or Grace, or anyone with the exception of a celebrity even more famous than the author, LOL. So, if you think the value is in the autograph, worth checking on AbeBooks to see if it does represent value after all. And if it doesn't, and you're just looking to let it go, stick a label over the inscription name!
DeleteKATHY: Thanks for commenting again today. I would have less problems getting rid of the unsigned books, which take up the bulk of my personal library collection. A good chunk of the autographed books were also gifted to me by the authors so these would be the ones I would most likely keep when I have to downsize.
DeleteTotally get it, Grace! Only you can tap into and decide the WHY behind keeping those books. For some it is "because I really want them" and for others, it can be "Because I am AFRAID to get rid of them." When that second one is the case, it's worth checking in with your emotions on why you're feeling like you're held hostage by something you don’t otherwise value, and under what conditions you'd be willing to let go of them.
DeleteBooks are sticky, for sure. But, I've downsized the collection several times and kept only those that are old friends--ones I will read again and again in terms of fiction. The basement room that used to be my office/lab holds a collection of work-related books, journals, a hard copy of my dissertation--but those won't mean much to the younger generation, so sooner rather than later, most of those will be donated. Other items include treasures passed down through the generations--six Blue Willow plates that survived the burning of the old family homestead, a pitcher from one great-grandmother and a carnival glass bowl from another, a quilt my mother pieced and I quilted--a wonderful copper pail a friend brought me from Egypt. Those are the sorts of things I live with and love but may mean nothing to the younger ones.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how many of our books our daughter wanted me to keep. It's important to ask.
DeleteOh, what a great question! We have some paintings that would be hard to give up, from my parents collection— I admire and notice them still, every day, and no matter where I would live, they would come with me. Certainly books, although that would be difficult— There are so many that I’ve never read, and maybe never will, and certainly they're replaceable. My childhood Winnie the Pooh, THAT I would keep. And photographs, certainly. And jewelry from my mother. It’s a fascinating question, really, deeper than it seems on the surface.
ReplyDeleteI agree - the answer is like a Rorschach
DeleteAgain, that was me above. But yes, Hallie, I agree. Because in the end, and I mean that theoretically :-), I could say oh, I don’t really need any of this. And that would be true. So if that’s the case, why do I hang onto it?
DeleteOh, that was me above: Oh, what a great question! We have some paintings that would be hard to give up, from my parents collection— I admire and notice them still, every day, and no matter where I would live, they would come with me. Certainly books, although that would be difficult— There are so many that I’ve never read, and maybe never will, and certainly they're replaceable. My childhood Winnie the Pooh, THAT I would keep. And photographs, certainly. And jewelry from my mother. It’s a fascinating question, really, deeper than it seems on the surface.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love how this post comes the day after the declutter post!
Weirdly, I am not attached to many books. Blasphemy, I know, but I'm not the sort to reread books, so the only ones I keep are the ones written by friends and usually signed. I have several boxes of books that I've saved that were the Hooligans' favorites when we read them to sleep -- from Mo WIllems's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus through Steinbeck's The Red Pony (youngest has yet to forgive me for that one) through all the Harry Potters, of course. I look forward to the day when these boxes go to their new home with grown Hooligans, potentially with Hooligans of their own.
ReplyDeleteNo, the things that are most sticky for me are photographs. I have so many photographs! Thankfully, things are digitized these days but the albums of yore - ugh, what to do with them all as I am quite certain no one is going to want them when I pass on is quite the conundrum. *sigh*
You can scan them and save them to a thumb drive... I gave thumb drives loaded with an avalanche of Jerry's cartoons to my kids a few holidays ago.
DeleteThe best guidance I've heard for your most valuable photos is have (at least) 3 sources - for many, that's the printed photo, a scanned photo on a hard drive or thumb drive, and back up to the cloud. I've done my best to stay on top of that after I did a big photo organizing project myself about 6 years ago. In fact, I used to have photo albums, but I deconstructed almost all of them! (kept the travelogues from my first London, Hawaii, and Japan trips, as they were more scrapbooky in nature). For the albums, I took everything out and re-evaluated if they were important photos for me TODAY. Between the "I don't even remember her name and haven't talked to her in 30 years" and "If I want to see this landscape that I took a picture of before the internet existed, I can do that now", I was able to remove more than half of my printed photos from my life, and then I scanned half of the keepers for further preservation ("would I be disappointed if I lost this image for ever?" ) Photo albums are not only moment-in-time snapshots, but they are also moment-in-time curation. Both of those perspectives can change over time, but we tend to look at a photo album as a "finished product" we'd never alter. No rules saying we can't! (Now my "keep" photos are loose in an archival quality shoebox with dividers, and I keep meaningful sections like "growing up" and "college era" and "living in manhattan" and "my college friends' weddings".
DeleteWe just cleaned out a storage unit and pulled out TEN boxes of my mom’s photos. There are also photo albums. I am going to go through them and really don’t anticipate it taking very long. I wasn’t on the trips with them so won’t have a sentimental attachment and my mom was not a good photographer. I’m hoping it will be cathartic to get rid of 10 boxes. — Pat S
DeleteThat’s so smart! I never thought of albums as updatable, Kathy! Oh, now my decluttering heart is all over this! Woo hoo!
DeleteI will never part with the book Granddad Dale read to us. I actually don't actually remember his voice reading the book but image of my sister , brother and me trying to squeeze into his lap and balancing on the arms of his chair. The book itself has beautiful art and a story of woodland animals cooperating after tragedy to build a new life together when they shouldn't get along at all.
ReplyDeleteMy other sticky items are Grandma's china, Mom's silverware, some family jewelry and those never ending books. Family pictures are important to me. I recently found a book of negatives from Grandma Jeanette that need to be carefully sort and the best need to be printed. She was a photographer and would color sepia negatives. She was really good. I so little from her that I really need to add these to my "what to do when I retire" list.
As a person who has been trying to find a new home for her mom’s china (neither my sister nor I like it), I suggest you keep your Grandma’s china because no one nowadays values that kind of thing any more.
DeleteWhich would be another great topic: "What to do when I return" lists
ReplyDeleteWell, if we knew we were going to “return”, this would be an entirely different conversation!! (I know you meant “retire”, but at first glance, I didn’t!) — Pat S
DeleteSomething I've been trying to do with much-loved belongings is to take photos, and then pass them along. Disorganization among my photo libraries is a whole other topic, but they don't take any physical space.
ReplyDeleteI guess the biggest way to avoid all this stickiness is to not acquire "things" in the first place. I have tried mightily to discourage useless gifts-for-the-sake-of-gifts from family and friends, but it sure is hard to convince people that you don't need anything.
Right? Or if there must be a tangible gifts, something consumable.
DeleteChanging gift-giving behavior among family and friends can take years of retraining them, and being clear about expectations and boundaries long before gift-giving seasons commence. I pursued this years ago with our families and friends; my mother-in-law took it hardest but eventually got on board. For the people who just won't take no for an answer, guide them on what you WOULD truly appreciate, because they want to do something, and they want to spend the money anyway. A gift certificate to a restaurant you've been hoping to try, a subscription to the NY Times Games app to feed your crossword habit, tickets to the local art museum, a collection of your favorite tea that you're confident you'll consume. They want to give you a gift that means something to you, and you want to be less burdened with stuff. You can find a way to make both of you happy!
DeleteExactly, Kathy! Years ago my mom and I had a talk about gifts, and I asked if she would rather just spend time together. She was enthusiastic about the idea, and instead of presents we started going out to lunch or dinner for special occasions. We both enjoy that so much more.
DeleteBooks top the list for me. I keep books with author's signatures, books that are now out of print and cannot be found in libraries either.
ReplyDeleteDiana
I would want to keep all those books, Hallie. I keep all the Agatha Christies all the Mary
ReplyDeleteStewarts, all the signed books but have weeded out most other novels I won’t reread. We have tons of photographs that I enjoy. And we have some very ancient children’s books including an original Little Black Sambo
Oh, Rhys. Very difficult in parting with at the estate sale at my parents : the original Little Black Sambo book and the Black Sambo doll that my grandmother and mother had made for me. Thank for the bitter sweet memory. Elisabeth
DeleteOf course books, comic books which I have collected since the late 60's (but am not gradually selling them off), any gift my grandmother gave me, scrapbooks I made as a teenager, photo albums (my mother's and mine), porcelain dolls that I collected but finally stopped.. I no longer collect anything, would like to get rid of some. I don't have children to leave anything too and don't think my nieces and nephews care, so gradually will start trying to sell stuff if possible.
ReplyDeleteI moved in 2014 and got rid of a lot if extraneous things and by mistake the small cache of photos of my long dead parents) but I still have stuff I can part with. Books, art, and anything that reminds me of the LOML goes nowhere!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh. I'm not sure what that would be. I am still hauling around my childhood books and some of our son's as well. Not Nancy Drew though, thanks to my parents "cleaning" when I was away in college. Darn it.
ReplyDeleteThat was me, Pat D.
DeleteAll of the last two days on organizing and sorting and feelings about stuff bring to mind Elisabeth Bishop’s One Art… “ the art of losing isn’t hard to master”. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteBooks are probably the stickiest for me, although a some family items are right there with them. And, children's books are mostly the ones I hope will be treasured by my daughter, who will inherit them. Between 1958 and 1961, a set of children's books called Best in Children's Books were published, 42 of them, and my mother got them all for me. The illustrators will often surprise you, such as Andy Warhol. Here's a description of the books, taken from from one in which Warhol has illustrations. ""Best in Children's Books" was a series of 42 volumes published between 1957 and 1961. Each volume contained an excellent mixture of ten to twelve pieces, each illustrated by a different artist and taken from a variety of sources. The stories could be adapted classics, fairy tales, or new stories. There could be quite lengthy stories, or short verses. Each volume also contained some non-fiction, including a biographical piece on a famous person, and a short description of a country. Most notable about this series was the use of some excellent illustrators. This volume, number 27 in the series, is one of six with original illustrations by a young Andy Warhol. Here, he contributes 19 drawings to a piece called "Card Games Are Fun". The first quarter of the volume is taken up with a very abridged version of "Robinson Crusoe", illustrated by Edward Shenton. There's also a short Grimm's tale and a Norse folk tale. And there are non-fiction pieces on rocks and Turkey and Clara Barton." So, that was the formula for content in each book. I also have the paper covers still on them, with just a few not in great shape.
ReplyDeleteContinuing in books, I will, of course, keep all the Harry Potter books that my son and I shared so happily. I have a copy of Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Walls children's book in which Neil Gaiman not only signed the book for me but also drew a wolf on the inside cover. There are a few Chiildcraft books from way back I will keep, especially the one with the "Little Orphant Annie" in it. I really do love children's books, so there are more older and newer ones I can't part with. Adult books include many signed copies and series of authors I love, like the prolific Jungle Red writers. And, now there are books of my son's that I will definitely keep, some we shared, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Harry Potters, some John Belairs, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe and more Douglas Adams, and so many more. I think Ashley has her favorites already.
Dolls. I finally packed up all the Barbies and their clothes and everything else that went with them into a big tub to give to my daughter, and now she tells me she doesn't have anywhere to store it. She thinks there might be a moisture effect in the basement. I'm still working on getting her to take these. Oh, and I have a major stickiness with cards and notes from people, but I'm getting better with that. My family items, such as the blue salt-glazed pitcher and other inherited items, and things I've bought in traveling. We're not even to the pictures on the wall yet. I think I may need help.
Yes, books are at the top of the list. I have been collecting old books, 1860's or so into the early 1900's. They are so very interesting an insight to the events and culture of the time, whether nonfiction or fiction. Then I have books I have thoroughly enjoyed and reread, those must stay as do those by favorite authors. We also have guides - birds, flowers, trees, geology, insects, etc - which we use frequently. Add to that a collection of children's books and books on history, cultures and countries and the bookcases multiply. There are many I know I could get rid of (after I read them), but it won't be easy. There are 45 or so bookcases full and more books in boxes and piles waiting for a home.
ReplyDeleteI think, for me, the hardest items to get rid of are books (as well). I love all the children's books we've collected over the years and now maybe our grandchildren will enjoy them! I have signed editions and couldn't part with those. I have collections of favorite authors and who wants to break up a set. The Halloween socks can go I suppose!
ReplyDelete