Declutter Challenge 2022 - Day 4 - Books
Welcome back! Similar to yesterday but not quite the same, we're taking a look at our book collection.
They differ from magazines because we usually have more attachment to them. Whether it's because they cost more money, or they are written by your favourite quilter, purchased for a workshop that you took and/or they might even be signed by the author, we can't help but get sentimental.
Because we assign more value to our books, we feel that they are worthy of more space. But again, your space is finite. There is only so much that you can fit in. The more space you give your books, the less that you will have for other items like tools and fabric stash.
When you are evaluating your book collection, you need to consider the following:
If it is a reference, could I find the information online?
Is this relevant to the level of quilting that I do?
Is this relevant to the style of quilting that I do?
Does this book feed my creativity?
Some of the choices are going to be easy. Perhaps you’ve grown out of “Quilting For Dummies”. You can have a laugh and sigh at how far along you are on your quilting journey.
But with finite shelf space, you might need to rank your books and only keep the top choices.
Personally, I have three different categories of books: Reference, Patterns and Inspirational. And this year it is going to be tough as a lot of new books came into my collection. But I have defined this half shelf as the maximum space that I want my books to occupy. But full disclosure I do have two other books shelves where I keep my free-motion quilting and inspirational ones
The books I could easily part with this year are my samplers. A couple of them don't provide any patterns, like the Quilt Bible and the Farmer's Wife (they do provide a CD with templates but no measurements). The Quilt Cookbook is so beautiful but just no longer needed. And several others I have grown out of or feel I could make the pattern myself if necessary.
And speaking of CD's I found these...and I no longer even own a DVD player.
There are several places that books can go to.
You can try selling online.
You can find some local new quilters and ask them.
You can ask your guild members.
You can check with your local library to see if they are accepting donations.
And many of mine are in such good condition, I could give them away as gifts.
Then put on your timer for 30 minutes and work on your WIP (Work in Progress) or UFO (UnFinished Object). Thirty minutes at a time will get you to your finish line. So enjoy your sewing time.
What has been the hardest part of the challenge so far? Post it online or in the Facebook Group. Follow the hashtag #jgidqdeclutter2022 & #declutterchallenge2022. I’ll see you tomorrow for Day Five - The Pattern File.