Breaking Up With My Books

I love books.

I love books like some women love shoes.

I love books like some women love clothes.

I love books like some women love jewelry.

I love to shop for books like some women like to shop for...I think you get the picture.

My earliest memory of my love for books was reading late at night with a flashlight when I was suppose to be asleep. When my parents took away the flashlight, I would read by the light coming in from my bedroom window.

I love the way words on a page create images in my mind.

I love the sound a new book makes when it is opened for the first time.

Over the years, I have added many, many...probably hundreds of books to our home library.

But one thing I have realized (especially after reading Kathi Lipp's book, Clutter Free), is that I have hundreds of books in my home, that frankly, I just do not love. So why am I keeping books in my home that I do not love?

I kind of like the idea of a big home library, but there are many books I have read that just really aren't my favorites. They were good books, but not ones I plan on reading again.

So, I made a decision today...I need to clear out my home library and only keep books I love.

To be honest, this is going to be one of the hardest things for me to do. When I told my husband what I am going to do, he had to ask me twice what I was going to do.

Tonight, I attacked one section of a very large bookcase in one room of our home. Basically, I put the books in two piles: did I love it and would I read it again? or did I read it and I don't think I will read it again?

I surprised myself...my love pile was smaller than the other pile...

Now to figure out how I am going to get this other pile of books to live somewhere else...

Excuse me while I go sort another shelf full of books...

First Steps to a Clutter Free Life

When people come over to our home, at first glance, most things are in their place and you normally don't see a lot of clutter around.

However, once you turn the corner and see my desk...

...or the pile of magazines...

...or if you happen to be one of the very few people who get to see the dresser in our bedroom...

I am almost embarrassed to post these photos...especially this last one! Yikes! Look at all that dust! Unfortunately, these are not the only areas of clutter in my home...

But I met someone this past weekend who I believe is going to help me make those first steps to a Clutter Free Life.

Who did I meet? I can hear you asking...

I met Kathi Lipp!

Kathi was one of  the speakers at our local homeschool conference over the weekend. I had a chance to talk with her a bit on Thursday evening after I introduced myself to her as a Compassion Advocate in the area. Kathi is a speaker and writer who has recently partnered with Compassion to help more children find sponsors at her events.

She graciously gifted me with her new book 'Clutter Free' which I have practically devoured over the past couple of days. I still have about 50 pages to read, but I love her approach to identifying why we have clutter, and her three questions to help us identify what has earned a right to be in our homes.

In fact, just this morning, I had a pile of stuff to go through from VBS (yes, I know VBS was weeks ago, but I just kept procrastinating going through the stuff!) In about 15 minutes, I was able to go through two boxes and it feels so good to have it done! I am looking forward to finishing her book and taking more steps to live a more clutter free life!

“Simplify your space...take back your life.”

— Kathi Lipp

If you are struggling with clutter in your home, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Kathi's book.

National Cookie Day

I usually don't need an excuse to bake cookies, but when I found out that today is National Cookie Day, I just knew I should bake up a batch of homemade Snickerdoodles.

Snickerdoodles are a big favorite around our home. As much as I love homemade chocolate chip cookies, there are times when nothing satisfies like one of these homemade Snickerdoodles.

I have had the recipe for these cookies for quite some time, not even really sure where I first found it. But there are some important things I do each time I make these cookies. 

Unsalted butter is a must, as well as Pampered Chef's Cinnamon Plus seasoning. The Cinnamon Plus seasoning is what I use in place of regular cinnamon. The additional spices in this seasoning mix make a big difference in the way the cookies taste.

One last important step, which I do with most cookies that I bake, is to underbake them just a bit. Once I pull the pan from the oven, I let these cookies set on the cookie pan for a few minutes before removing them to cool. 

These cookies end up being lightly crisp on the outside and a bit chewy in the middle. Oh yum!

What cookie recipe is your favorite?

Tackle It on Tuesday: Car Seat Blanket

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I like to work on projects, of all types. I love that we have access to so many resources that can be made into beautiful items to display, use, and/or share with others.

Last week, I started on this car seat blanket with the yarn I purchased at my favorite yarn shop up in the foothills. The pattern was free with a purchase, and I thought this yarn would be perfect for this project. The blanket will measure 14 inches wide and 20 inches long when complete. I have about 8 inches still to knit before the blanket is complete. 

We had our yard sale over the weekend, which means I was able to clear out more boxes from the craft room. I know this room still needs a lot of decluttering, but I am really happy with the progress being made in here!

One reason I am happy that progress is being in the craft room...there is actually room in there to work on projects! God continues to bless me with opportunities to earn money for my next trip with Compassion!

This time, I will be making some curtains for a friend. Her family just purchased a cute little trailer. She is working on adding a glamping factor, and she asked me to make the curtains for her! 

So this week, I really didn't finish any projects, but I have made good progress on a couple of projects. I would love to know what projects you are tackling this week. Share them with me in the comments below.

Tackle It on Tuesday: Photo Wall

This past week, I have still been working on my craft room, collecting up items for our upcoming yard sale, and moving things around in the craft room to make more room to actually get craft projects finished. Phew! Maybe after the yard sale is over, I can share another photo of what the room looks like, but right now, there are still many boxes filled with items for the yard sale.

One project I did finish last week was updating my photo wall. Here is the before picture:

I have been wanting to rearrange the photos on this wall for some time now, but finding those prints last week was just the thing I needed to drive me to work on this project.

First thing I did was to mat and frame the new prints. Then I took down the photos I wanted to rearrange. After that, I cut out paper the size of each photo that would be going back up on the wall and jotted a quick note on the paper so I knew which photo would be going where.

Then with my daughter's help, we arranged the papers up on the wall to get an idea of what the wall would look like with the photos in those spots. Once we had an arrangement we both liked, it was time to put the photos back up on the wall.

Ta da! Now I can enjoy all these memories as I walk by this wall every day!

So what project will I be tackling this week?

My husband and I were up in the foothills this week, and they just happen to have a wonderful yarn shop there. I couldn't resist purchasing some yarn for a new project.

The yarn is nice and chunky, so I have made a bit of progress, even with knitting only a few rows. We will see how far I get by next week!

What project will you be working on this week?