The Downsizing Begins

Over the next few months I will need to sort through all of our STUFF and get rid of a lot of it.  Everything we own will be getting packed up and going into storage, so anything we don't actually use or truly love needs to find a new home.  Like a lot of Americans, we have collected an awful lot of things we don't really need.  What is it with this practice of surrounding ourselves with material things?  I welcome the opportunity to clear out a lot of it.

Some things, however, are more difficult than others to decide what to keep and what to part with.

One of the first things I'm trying to get sorted out is my collection of many books.  I have about six book cases of books that are a combination of novels, sociology books,  church books, some classics, some how-to, and a few totally random.   In this day and age where many folks are doing most of their reading on an electronic devise, some would say old fashioned bound books are too cumbersome to bother with.  I do have a Kindle reader and enjoy it for a lot of reasons.  However,  I will always be a lover of  real books.  I enjoy the feel of them.  I like turning their pages.  I appreciate the way they look all lined up on the shelves in my home.  Some are a bit ratty with lots of notes written in the margins and page corners turned here and there.  Others have been treated more gently, having been purchased or gifted to me as much for their beauty as for the words on the pages.

It's really rather silly to be so attached to some of these books that I know for certain I will never read again. Still, I'm finding it difficult to part with many of them. Some of these books feel like old friends.  I've spent many hours curled up with a book, getting lost in the stories and characters.

It's a very good thing we won't be leaving here for several months.  This downsizing / organizing task we have to do is going to be a challenge.