22 January 2014

Organization: My Old Books

Have you ever noticed that when you're trying to get organized, one thing leads to another? In trying to free up space, I've been shifting stuff from one place to another, and it seems that every closet or cupboard I open is in worse shape than the last one. Somehow organizing Christmas decorations and my mom's dishes led to organizing our very large collection of books. Must be my inner librarian surfacing! :)

The collection grew last summer when I brought home boxes of books from my childhood home, including many books that belonged to me as a little girl. These books are some of my most treasured possessions. I already had some of them at our house, so with them all under one roof I felt compelled to pull them together and store them on a shelf upstairs, away from any dampness they might encounter in the basement.

As a child, I loved my books and spent hours and hours with them. When Bailey was a child, we pulled out my old books and enjoyed them again for many years. In spite of all the handling, they're in remarkably good shape.


I went through many tubs of books until I had gathered them all up. These baskets from Target make them easily accessible on the deep shelves where I've decided to keep them. (More on that in a future post!)

I especially treasure these tiny little books. The pictures are so firmly engrained in my mind that seeing them takes me right back to my childhood.

Credit goes to my grandma for buying me many of these books, including all the classic childhood stories.

There were some I read over and over, like Big Little Kitty. (Who is surprised by that? LOL) Karen Kay was a lucky little girl to receive a kitten in her stocking for Christmas!
 

 Another favorite was Teena and the Magic Pot. Teena lets the pot boil over and can't get the situation under control. Come to think of it, this is not unlike me in the kitchen!

 

Obviously these books had a big influence on me! I'm so glad I still have them, and they're now stored together and safely.
Janet


3 comments:

Maureen said...

How wonderful Janet! Sadly, I don't have any of my old books, but I did keep all of daughter's. One day I hope that she too will enjoy seeing them again.

Janet said...

Thanks for stopping by, Maureen! It's amazing how books can take you back to a certain time and place. Hope your daughter enjoys her books in the future!

I have been trying to comment on your blog but haven't been able to do so! I'm going to check my settings and keep trying. Meanwhile, I LOVED your tutorial on the "lens" card. Your work is beautiful and quite an inspiration!

Kimberly Marie said...

Hello, Janet! Oh, gosh ~ I recognize several of these books as my siblings and I grew up having them in our bookshelf as well! How nice to revisit those memories. :)