Simply..indoor hygge....

21/9/2018

Friends for dinner, sorting my books, being in the study.

This is the first house I have lived in with a study/library. (I've lived in 23 houses.)

I do have a lot of books and sorting them was an easy task this time round as it just involved cleaning, re-arranging a bit and discarding a few i no longer want to keep. (See previous posts here and here).

There is such a comfort in books. In some ways they reflect who I was but there is now built in space for the new, for who I am becoming, and a new feature is space for a few special things - vases and photographs which were until now inside cupboards. There was a time when the books in here were three deep on these shelves!

One of the comforts, which I have mentioned before, is knowing that when I take a book down the information I want will be in the same position on the same page and nothing will pop up in front of what I am reading! Neither will it close itself if I walk away for half an hour. Just saying..

Do your books bring you comfort and joy?

(Ticked off bills, greetings cards, wrapping paper, chequebooks, business cards, recipes and - big one - study notes. Yay!)

Tired but happy.

If you are near enough don't miss Cowal Open Studios - on NOW. (I'm not taking part this year.)

32 Comments

Elizabeth

21/9/2018 09:43:06 pm

Goodness, Freda, 23 houses?!! Can't imagine that. Apart from temporary digs as a student (4) and when I first started working (2) I have had 4 homes. I was in my childhood home for 17 years and it was full of books. I have been here for 23 years. Th move to a temporary home while this was refurbished following water damage in 2015 helped me start the process of clearing books.

Freda

22/9/2018 04:10:48 am

That's 10 Elizabeth! (I counted all the short term ones too)..)Are you glad of the push the move gave you I wonder...

Elizabeth

22/9/2018 10:13:57 am

Yes definitely, but three years on realise there is still more to do. Have had a second go at the front room shelves and enjoying looking at them. Only the downstairs was cleared then. Working on the bedrooms and attic now! You seem to manage to get through such a lot! Really stumbling with correspondence.

Susan

22/9/2018 12:14:03 am

Your shelves look super. Well done! You've emboldened me to my next layer of paper sorting: will look up Julia's lists, as well.

I love the feel of a book in my hand. I find it restful, no matter the content. Maybe it evokes the peace of reading, upstairs in the study, as a child.

And from your post, yesterday, I do like the (new to me) concept of outdoor hygge. Living in rainy Dorset, I've put a greenhouse on my wish list.

I'm surprised and intrigued by your 23 houses.

Freda

22/9/2018 04:15:24 am

Thanks Susan - I am loving being in the study. It feels alive with interest and knowledge and good experiences. I think the 23 houses may be a future blog post! Now is a good time for great bargains in greenhouses by the way. Mine was half price......

Susan

22/9/2018 09:27:34 am

Thank you, Freda. I'll take a look at what's out there, greenhouse-wise.

Damsonlily

22/9/2018 01:52:43 am

My new house will be my 13th home. I am really hoping this is not an omen, as I love the house and cannot wait to move in.

I love the idea of built in storage Freda; we had a lot at the last house and plan on getting more installed in the new one. I think it maximises the space you have available and is much easier to manage (predictive text inserted the word “mange” here, which is an interesting thought...)

Advice and thoughts really appreciated please, from you and all the other Kondo “experts” here. Shall I start on the next round before we move out of the rental house, or do it as we move into the new one?

We plan a “dribs and drabs” move, taking a little at a time over to the new house ourselves as the required building work gets finished, with a man and a van at the end for the furniture. First time we have ever had the luxury of doing this.

Viv link

22/9/2018 03:22:47 am

I am not an expert but I would take over to the new house what you really love or need and then leave the rest to sort through and possibly discard.

Damsonlily

23/9/2018 03:25:09 am

Thank you Viv, that sounds both very sensible and doable.

Freda

22/9/2018 04:19:41 am

Now is always the best time! What would be the actual advantage in waiting? There may be some advantages. But to have fewer decisions to make at the time of the move might lighten the load...

Susan

22/9/2018 09:23:18 am

Following Viv and Freda's advice i.e. taking to your new home obviously 'joyful' items, and sorting what remain within your current home, now, will help avoid the 'mange'.

Damsonlily

23/9/2018 03:27:26 am

Yes, I know you are right Freda, there is no advantage in delaying. I think post-move inertia has set in, to be honest and the thought of doing it again so soon is wearying.

Damsonlily

23/9/2018 03:28:56 am

Susan - yes! Mange is to avoided at all cost!!

Julia

23/9/2018 05:25:01 am

I’m firmly in the camp of move only what you truly want to take forward into your new life! Does it spark joy? Is it useful? Beautiful? If it evokes any bad energy: No!

Viv link

22/9/2018 03:27:12 am

Your bookcase is lovely with the odd space for a display. I do find books hard - the reference ones especially because there is always a little information you might want to keep in each. Sometimes I have retyped sections to keep just so the book can go. It is a job on my list - but I am still on with the kitchen at the moment which is a big job.
PS - will email you re:visit - just watching the weather - we thought Sunday / Monday to catch the open studios.

Freda

22/9/2018 04:26:00 am

I love reference books although they can easily get out of date - in comes The Oracle (Google). . Must link to Open Studios - I was thinking it was next weekend!!

Viv link

22/9/2018 11:58:01 am

Whoops just seen your emails - have been in the garden most of the day - been lovely here. Have sent a reply - just letting you know in case you are like me and not looking at emails all the time!!

cath

22/9/2018 08:33:28 am

My books do give me comfort and joy. I can easily part with a book i have read when I know I won't reread it again. And there are books on my shelf that have had much impact on who I am (becoming). Those I cherish.
I like the view of my bookcases, and I love to take a slow look at other people's bookcases. So interesting.

It's important a bookcase can breathe. There must be space for new additions. I like the spaces you created. How will you keep them? One new book in meaning one book out?

PennyL

22/9/2018 11:53:06 am

I love that concept of letting bookcases breathe. Freda, your shelves are so lovely to gaze on. I’ve got rid of lots of books this year, but I just seem to acquie more very easily. This sort of post , and the comments, inspire me to get on with it

Freda

22/9/2018 02:48:10 pm

i love the conversations in the comments here and get lots of ideas myself from them. Good luck with your book sort PennyL.

Freda

22/9/2018 02:46:27 pm

Some don't even reach the shelves - eg book group ones which I won't read again get read on arrival and passed on, so I think a once a year review will be enough..

Lotta link

22/9/2018 12:29:44 pm

I love the books I have but I've pared down to just 128 now. (Just counted!) It was 125 until last week when someone dropped another 3 unexpectedly through my letterbox. Still much prefer a real book to reading on a device, but I find my library's cloud service quite handy too. Well done with the clearing... I bet your house is starting to feel all sparkly! I would so enjoy arranging things in those lovely square spaces of your bookshelves.

Freda

22/9/2018 02:51:13 pm

Don't you get nice things hung on your door handle and put through your letterbox! Yes the house feels sparkly tonight with candles and little lights as I have had friends for dinner. Lovely! x

Susan

22/9/2018 11:45:56 pm

Dear Freda, I'm probably too late to as this, but how do you deal with books or papers that are 'evidence' of the life ' you've let up til now? I realise that what's important, I've internalised but sometimes, I find it psychologically supportive, to be reminded of my earlier knowledge, competencies and achievements. They're not so obvious in my current life, other than in how I conduct myself, and I forget who I was.

Lotta

23/9/2018 12:38:56 am

Hi Susan, I would keep the things that still serve you. They obviously still have some importance. Or if you want to let go of the items but need reminders of them maybe photograph them and make a book of who you were... The important thing is that what you keep either brings you joy or serves you in some way. That's what I've found. And the funny thing is that after a while of clearing out, your perspective changes and there is more headspace, so some things you felt you needed you find you don't need anymore, and there is more space for who you are now, and maybe more space to remember who you were too.

Freda

23/9/2018 02:02:04 am

Wise words Lotta.

Damsonlily

23/9/2018 03:35:43 am

Thank you Lotta, I also found your reply very helpful. I certainly did find that “headspace” you mentioned when I sorted the house earlier in the year. I also found that the decision making process became much easier as I went on. But I am realising that personal things are harder to qualify; I think this is what is daunting me now.

Susan

23/9/2018 03:37:04 am

Thank you very much for your thoughts, Lotta. I appreciate them. I like the idea of a folder with a token representation of aspects of my former life. And, I'll broaden out my concept of what serves me.

Freda

23/9/2018 02:01:24 am

See tomorrow's post Susan!

Susan

23/9/2018 03:38:26 am

Will do, Freda. x S

Julia

23/9/2018 05:22:58 am

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post, Freda; and everyone’s comments. Now...a bit better view of your book titles would have been helpful! Hahaha..i love to browse and see what other people have on their bookshelves..it’s a bit of a window into who they are! I’ve discarded probably 90% of my books but those i keep...i just love to lie on the couch and see them..and remember the pleasure i had in reading them..or whatever emotion they evoked..they touched me! Now about paper.....that is easy for me..but digital files..oh my gosh...that is the one i truly dread!

Freda

24/9/2018 02:40:10 am

90%. /Goodness! I am not even thinking about digital clutter....

Simply..indoor hygge....

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