Making Progress

It feels like my mind goes round in circles trying to uncover the real reason(s) why I am finding it so hard to part with items that I know I no longer want. It's something I keep returning to and yesterday was one such day, scrolling through the familiar reasons except ... this time something clicked.

I've read all sorts of advice on how to let go of my attachment to material things including Kondo's 'only keep items that spark joy!' but the words that clicked for me is a phrase from Graham Norton's novel (A Keeper) where one character makes a decision on what to keep from her childhood home based on the realisation that the items are 'familiar, not special or important in any way'. It's simple really isn't it, and is something that is so easy to apply to everything. I can't even say why this particular phrase resonated so strongly with me, I'm just thankful that it did.

That phrase, 'familiar, but not special or important' made all the disjointed bits of thinking tumble into place. Straight away I was able to look at the pile of books with some clarity of purpose. We have a good library in town so I don't need to have any of these books at home, I'm just used to being surrounded by books - it's familiar, but with a few exceptions I can let them go. However, I can't image a home without books and I obviously want to keep my special and important ones, that's a no brainer, so I'll also keep enough novels for a year's reading and the rest can go. All the books I choose to keep must fit in the bookcase. 

There are a number of books that are special to me (school prizes, my Bible & the hymn books), and ones that are important because I use them frequently (cooking & gardening books, local history & genealogy books) or because they support hobbies. That was quick to sort out and they are now in place in the bookcase.

That left me with about 150 books to sort through, mostly novels. The majority of these were received from my sister but some I'd bought myself. I moved them into the living room - it's more comfortable sitting on the carpet! - and spent most of yesterday afternoon sorting through them. 

I've kept 31 books to read and they are back in the bookcase. 42 books will go to Ziffit as soon as I find a box and which will add £37.77 to the coffers, and the rest will go in the book bin at the recycling yard next week. This leaves me with just Ced's books and the music theory books to deal with. They're all going once I get round to placing the adverts. As an added incentive to push on with the decluttering I will save all the money I realise from the sale of items and then use it for treats next year.

It's strange ... all the books are still in the house but because the decisions have been made I can feel the weight lifting from my shoulders. All the books are in one place and I have only kept those I use or will be able to read within a year. I think I've turned a corner and have found the right approach for me. I'll re-sort the clothes during the week and apply the same reasoning.