Professional Organizer!
Several times a month, I volunteer to organize donations for a place that allows people in need to select items for free. The room I set up focuses on bedding, towels, and curtains.
Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question. Special thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts, Patricia Josephine, Diedre Knight, Olga Godim, J. Lenni Dorner, and Cathrina Constantine. This month's question: If you ever did stop writing, what would you replace it with? If I had to stop creating stories, my top career choice would be to teach writing craft instead. But a possible second choice would be . . . Professional Organizer! Several times a month, I volunteer to organize donations for a place that allows people in need to select items for free. The room I set up focuses on bedding, towels, and curtains. When I arrive it looks like this: When I leave, it looks like this: It's rewarding to organize the chaos, knowing clients will be able to easily find the items they want.
During my latest home organization efforts, I saved the hardest category for last: books. For many people (especially writers!), the idea of getting rid of books is a difficult subject. In early 2019, there was even a Marie Kondo controversy about the idea of limiting the number of books in your home. Can we really have too many books? According to "Why You Should Surround Yourself With More Books Than You'll Ever Have Time To Read", no. But there came a point when my shelves were overcrowded, and I bought multiples of the same book because I didn’t know I already owned a copy. It was time to clear some out. The criteria I used during my office cleaning:
Many organizations accept used books, so they’re relatively easy to donate. You can also organize a swap event with book-loving friends. (We once hosted a children’s party where each kid brought a few books and they took turns picking “new” ones. They even decorated bags to carry their treasures home.) Sorting through hundreds of books can be a tough process. But now that I’ve finished, I’m happy to have some space on my shelves for new stories. And while I admire shelves arranged by color, I use categories like young adult, middle grade, adult nonfiction, or even narrative POV (see below). When I finished, I treated myself to this fun bookend: What criteria do you use to donate books?
How do you organize your shelves? |
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