August 11, 2016

Week Five: Organize Cookbooks and Recipes


Cookbook bookcase, before.

Living near the beach is hell on books.  If you don’t dust them every week, the damp ocean air encourages mold to grow on the dust.  The mysteries were the worst.  Many of these books have moved from on the beach up the hill to this house.  I could almost see the mold making brown spots on the paper while waving tiny fingers.

Will I read them again?  That’s the criteria for discarding.  I mourn those mysteries I let go as old friends.  The cookbooks and recipes were my allotted chore for the day, instead I attacked  almost any bookcase in sight.  Cookbooks were last, and they now share grandma’s old packing crate bookcase with ocean liner books. 

Week six is organizing a recycling and trash area.  Done.  Week seven organize coupons.  I don’t use them...done.  Week 8 is for healthy meal planning and creating a grocery shopping list.  I do that every week.  Week 9 “Laundry Room.”  Ours is appalling and deep into a dark corner of the garage.  LOL  So far, it’s been an interesting journey. 


Mysteries and Washington DC stuff.






  • Himself:  It’s a housekeeper day,  Gym, work, eat, and put up with me.  Feed Michele’s kitties twice a day too.

  • Herself:  Gym, read you blogs, start cleaning out the bookcases upstairs then moved down to do all the cookbooks.  There are only four shelves of cookbooks remaining.

  • Reading:  Still “The Secret Garden.”  The first used Archer Mayor arrived just as I discarded 1/3 of my mysteries.  Will I read it again is the criteria.

  • Gratitudes:  To be able to clean and discard without mourning.  For someone who has lost everything, this is a major thing.


  • 7 comments:

    1. I love that abstract painting. Who did it?

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    2. We got the book department "covered".

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    3. You last sentence struck me. Many people who grew up during the depression, held onto so many things throughout their lives. I have always known why but reading your comment made it so real. Thank you or sharing!

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    4. Great job, and I didn't know that about books near the beach. You must be super close! We are only about 10 minutes away, but at least on the west coast here, I've never had that problem or heard of it. Sad!

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    5. My problem is thinking I will read a book again. I have high hopes.

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    6. I have a friend who lost absolutely everything in a house fire. She lives very differently now. Interesting.

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