What are your souvenir buying habits?

Your comments put a smile on my face! Yes—there are multiple ways to tackle this mess. What boggles my mind is how I didn't realize what was happening. At one point, the second set of shelves didn't exist, and so there were boxes and piles of books on the floor, and when I wanted something, I was happy to move those. When I got tired of moving, I got new shelves built. Seriously? That just makes me shake my head now. But then? It seemed the perfectly normal thing to do. 

THANKFULLY, I saw the light about ten years ago - well, it's more than ten now. And I haven't looked back since. 

I know I can't make every quilt or attempt every technique I want to, so it's going to require a lot more culling. I know that. For the moment, I just need to get these books sorted and then get everything back on the shelves. And yes -- I have done the first cull (albeit weak!) of the books, but it's a start, and we need to start somewhere. The mental mindset has now started, and that is the hardest!

By the time I put together all the piles that I've culled, I think I've done a pretty good job for a first round. And everyone who comes to my house will be obligated to leave with at least one book! You laugh, but there was a lady here to drop off some quilts yesterday, and she went home with two books. 

While this decluttering process is mostly about getting rid of physical clutter, it's amazing what it can do for your mind. Knowing that I'm clearing this stuff up and won't have to deal with it again is amazing. Knowing that the junk is going to be gone is just an incredible feeling, and it allows one to start doing the things they want to do without the guilt. 

It's also freeing to know that packing and unpacking for a future move will not be an arduous task. Given the state of my house right now, a move would be very traumatic, but since I've started the culling process and the junk is gone, it's going to be so much easier to cull when the time comes. But this culling is a constant. The minute I finish one area, it's time to start at the top and do it all over again. I NEVER thought I'd be able to do what I'm doing right now, and I have mostly avoided Studio B. But now that I've started, it's "easy!"

And I see it's going to be a challenge to get rid of books through my blog -- no takers. That's OK. I'll just start packing them up (I have a small stash of smaller boxes in the garage), and then I'll start donating them - several boxes at a time to the thrift store. 

Oh, shoot —I didn't take many pictures while I worked yesterday. But I decided that if I was in a mess, I might as well make the shelves the way I want. 

I decided to completely empty that bookshelf and moved the stuff from the top three shelves to empty shelves, and then dealt with the items one at a time. I have emptied ONE of the three shelves. 

Dealing with the smaller stuff on the top three shelves

Here's a bit better picture of the situation on the left-hand side of the two bookcases. I moved all the scrapbooking stuff to the other set of shelves, which required emptying some piles of magazines onto the floor, which I'll have to deal with later today. 

Now all the picture/history books of quilting are on the six shelves on the left. The machine embellishment, beading, fiber art, etc., are on the five shelves on the right. YES --- I do not need that many of those, and that will be an area to cull. But for the moment, they are sorted, and you need to amass all like items together before you can start a serious cull. 

The state of the bookcase this morning

That leaves eleven shelves to put the books back onto. I think I'll have no problem doing that. I may or may not cull as I put them back. I've already been at this for three days, and I'd like to be finished so I can do something else. So I may just put the sorted groups back on the shelves. I've made huge strides, and when I'm ready to tackle it again, I won't have to go through this process. I can just pull off a group and sort through it. The first step is always the worst! 

As I was unpacking when I got home from vacation, I realized that I was missing some souvenirs. Now, we try to tame souvenir-buying as well, because what the heck are you going to do with all those things? We have been limiting purchases to fridge magnets. But DH spotted thimbles and asked why I wasn't buying thimbles. So I bought a few, but where were the three items I bought in Taormina? 

While out walking Lexi, I remembered I had put them in my little pouch of sewing supplies I took with me. And when I got back, there they were!!! The one on the left is from Vatican City, the middle one is from Sorrento, and the last is from Taormina. 

New additions to my thimble collection

There was some discussion when we were shopping for magnets. You only need to buy ONE magnet from each place - there is no need for two. And the magnet should represent something you visited or saw. That involved a lot of discussion, and M and Dillon couldn't settle on just one magnet. One of them wanted two. They eventually only purchased one. That was while we were in Taormina. But I was thinking to myself that if I couldn't find mine, I could beg for one of theirs, but since they only bought one, that wasn't a possibility! 

I have a couple of other things to share, but my focus is on those books. Speaking of which, here are two more. And there are a lot of piddly small books that I need to deal with today. Then, if I can get everything back on the shelves, I'll be happy. I need/want to move on to something else. 

Two more books up for grabs

And yes -- I will need to develop/use some kind of database/list for the books. But now that they are in similar categories, that will help enormously when I need to find one. I can't wait to search for a book! Oh my -- I have a "few" books on scrap quilts which I'll be using for research on the upcoming (fall) scrap class. 

And I have an upcoming quilt retreat, so I need to start packing. I'm going to take sewing, not cutting, because the cutting tables are in another room. WAIT --- I could raise my table in the room we are sewing in and cut. I may consider taking some stuff to cut and cut for half the retreat, then sew or something like that. It's a great opportunity to do a lot of cutting. 

Speaking of walking the girls, I started out with Murphy, then remembered I didn't have poop bags with me, so we had to come back. She is never happy about that. And then when we were walking, we spotted one tied to a post. But you never know when the incident will happen, so one must be prepared at all times. I know that people attach them to the leashes, but I don't, and I've never forgotten them before. 

MOM -- there's a poop bag!

And YES—there are some trilliums. I thought I had missed them all, but I found a couple. 

A trillium in the forest

And I spotted something else in the forest, which I should have taken a picture of, but I fixed it, and then it was too late. I spotted a plant growing up through a dead leaf. The leaves were pinned to the main stem, while all the plants around it were pushing up their umbrella-shaped leaves. I rescued the plant by removing the dead leaf. It was pretty cool to see, and well, there's no picture. As soon as I removed the dead leaf, the leaves started to open. 

I went to the movie in the afternoon and enjoyed some popcorn. The movie was great! It was the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, and of course, there was a fashion show. Can you guess where? In Italy!

But I wore shorts to the movie because it was a somewhat decent day. When I exited the theatre, it had rained, and the temperature had dropped by 7 degrees. OH -- a wee bit cool on the walk home!

So it's Wednesday, and I'm typically off to spin class. But since I am boycotting the spin class, I'm taking another class this morning. Incorporates weight training and cardio. I'm sure I'll be a bumbling idiot, but that's OK. I think the instructor is my personal trainer, so that will help with the transition. 

I still want to write a note about my dissatisfaction with Joseph being let go, and I will attempt to do that this week. I am NOT meddling in the situation; I am merely stating my displeasure and providing feedback. I am not trying to find out why he was let go - I could ask him if I wanted, but it's none of my business. 

So now that the books will be sorted by the end of the day and hopefully back on the shelves, it's time to continue processing the magazines and books. I need to set aside some time each day to make that happen. While there might be some people who have nothing to do all day, I (like many of you, I'm sure) have so many things to do that we just don't have enough time in the day. I'm bad with reading material; I start something and then set it aside. I need to stop that and focus! I will also finish reading something and then just throw it in a pile instead of putting it in the recycle bin. Or there might be bits that I wanted to blog about, and I never do that. I MUST change that behavior. 

I'm also listening to an audiobook, which I've already finished, but I just missed some major signs along the way (too focused on sorting books), so I've had to go back and listen to the last two hours to figure out what is what. And AHA—the incorrect name was used in two places. And since we are talking about an affair, it's important to know who did what to whom!

On that note, I'd better get organized so I can make it to Brooke's class. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!