A sense of order with sorting, packing and moving

As I step up efforts to downsize our material baggage, I am facing a dilemma of what to do with the copious books residing in our home.  They seem quite comfortable and content in the living room bookcases and in a couple of bedrooms.  Unfortunately, we may not be able to fit all of them in the smaller abode.  Some of them have not even been cracked open yet!

I will have to be selective with which ones can reside in the new bookcase arrangement, which ones will go into storage and which ones will have to find a new home.  It's a difficult decision. 

As I sort through the books of different subjects and attempt to maintain a logical order, I think about the library work term in Muskoka many years ago.  

As I sort out my little corner of the world, I acknowledge that the challenges I face are insignificant compared to recent tragedies and losses experienced by our fellow citizens.  My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Resisting those yard sales

'tis the season for buying other people's cast-offs

While I was out and about town this past week, I saw yard sale / garage sale notices on many a telephone pole.  Yep, it's that time of year when families and neighbours get together to sell items they have cleaned out from the nooks and crannies in their own homes.

I have been through this before and even participated in community yard sales.  It was a lot of work!  One lesson we learned was NOT to schedule ours on the same weekend as the Great Glebe Garage Sale.

What I like about some of the community events is the growing commitment to donate proceeds to various charitable organizations. Of course, there's also the much appreciated social aspect.

Since I am avoiding the temptation to bring more items into my home, I will not partake in yard sale or garage sale activities.  As I sift through my own material possessions and prepare for a move next year, I will put aside those items not wanted on the journey.  I have already tagged a few items I plan to offer first to family and friends. 


Since I want to avoid frustration, wasted time and energy, I prefer to contact directly some of the Ottawa area charities that will come to your home and pick up items.  How easy is that?  Some of them will even give you a charitable donation tax receipt.